Anyone who has never had a pond filled with goldfish and/or koi would never understand the closeness we feel to our little finny friends. They aren’t like tropical fish in an aquarium. The more attention you show them the more they show you their individual personalities. Koi, especially, are very playful. Many times plants are destroyed — not because the koi are eating them — because the koi are playing in them. We’re hearing more and more about people constructing toys so that they can interact with their koi. One person in particular, Babette Smith (you may remember her husband, Donovan, winning the “Name Our Mascot” contest), gave me some great ideas for homemade toys that her koi go bonkers over.

The Ol’ Ball & Chain — (She stole one of her bird’s toys to make this one.) Secure a plastic bird chain toy to a hard, plastic floating object. The koi love to pull the chain around the pond.

Large PVC Elbows & Connectors — These serve double duty. Koi have a blast swimming from one to other, playing peek-a-boo and, if predators come around, the PVC pieces offer shelter to the koi. I would use no less than 3” PVC. Larger koi may need the 6” pieces. These can be painted black to camouflage them. Be sure to sand down any sharp edges.

A few other suggestions that we’ve heard are:

Rubber Ducks — Koi push them around the pond.  We've had them in our pond before and loved to try to catch them in the act of playing with them.  We have them available in singles and 3-packs.

Ping-Pong Balls — Make sure the balls cannot be swallowed.

Plastic Hoops — Train the koi to go through the rings. I’ve heard it can be done!