Chuck7,

The problem you may have had was that that water, especially if it is constantly recycled and there is significant plant and leaf debris, may have had it's PH way out of whack.

not sure...I had them in a minnow bucket it was cold as I only buy minnows in December when the crappie are biting. SInce then..I had 3 different occasions where great egrets ate ALL of my big Koi ...[&o]so I've since filled my 25 foot long fish pond in..I had built it with chicken wire and concrete.