How do you take care of Koi?
January 25, 2010 by KOI Section
Filed under Koi Care
We’re thinking about adding an outdoor pond to our backyard, which we are currently landscaping. We live in southern California, so the temperatures and weather are very mild. Lots of our friends/neighbors have Koi, and we want to get some. How do you take care of Koi? I’ve heard that they’re very delicate and need exact water temperatures. Is this true? For someone who’s never taken care of a fish before, how do you take care of Koi?
koi’s are not a tropical fish so therefore they will not NEED a heater..you take care of it like other fishes….feed them daily change tank every week and thats it and get a air pump
No its not true. they are members of the carp family, in the wild they come from a temperate environment, where the temperature fluctuates between seasons, They get big and a large filter is necessary, I would worry about your summers as warmer water carries less oxygen, so your job would be making sure there is good oxygen exchange when the weather becomes hot, just remember in their natural environment the water goes from extreme hot to cold.
The temperature range of the common carp in nature, to which they are the domesticated decedent of is from 35.0 – 85.0 °F (1.6 – 30.0 °C). C
But you will need as I said a filter, which you attach to a pump and then a water fall, this will help the gas or oxygen exchange,
They lIve for a very long time, over 15 years, and ive seen them 3 foot long
I read of one account, where one fish was supposed to be 225 years old hmmm the oldest recorded fish ever, I don’t know if this is true, but who knows.
I copied and pasted this part from Wikipedia
Koi can live for centuries. One famous scarlet koi, named “Hanako” (c. 1751 – July 7, 1977) was owned by several individuals, the last of whom was Dr. Komei Koshihara. Hanako was reportedly 226 years old upon her death.[11][12][13][14] Her age was determined by removing one of her scales and examining it extensively in 1966. She is (to date) the longest-lived koi fish ever recorded.[1
Well, I live in SE lower Michigan and I’ve had a 10,000 gallon pond for around 11 years. The first thing is to know that Koi get huge, so if you aren’t going to build a large pond, you better stick to Goldfish. Even Goldfish can get pretty big (most of mine are around 10 inches or so), but Koi can get up to almost three feet over the years. First you need to decide how large your pond will be before you make any decision. Also, since some of your friends have ponds, I suggest you talk to them about it, along with someone knowledgeable from a local pond store/shop. IMO, Koi and Goldfish are very easy to take care of. Of course, being in MI, our fish go into hibernation in the cold months. You need to make sure that your new pond is cycled properly before you add any fish. Also, you will need plants in your pond to create an ecosystem. About 2/3 of the pond should be covered in plants, especially if the pond is in a sunny area. You will need water lilies and floating plants to provide shade so your water isn’t pea soup green. You MUST have a good filtration system, as fish create a huge amount of waste. I would start with a few cheap feeder Goldfish, see how they do, and then add Koi if your pond is large enough. One thing…..you must be careful of predators, such as raccoons and large birds. We have a Great Blue Heron that comes to our pond, if you don’t deter it, it can clean out all your fish very quickly. Also, don’t invest in expensive Koi at first. Purchase the small cheaper ones that are available at Pet-smart, for example, for around $5.00. I would also do some research by using Google for information about ponds and fish keeping. There is a TON of info on the internet. Good luck. I hope you are as happy with your new pond as we have been with ours over the years. Our pond is gorgeous!
A few things to consider.
Location – Overheating is more likely to be your issue so try to have the pond in an area that isn’t in direct sunlight all day, but not under trees that shed leaves. Any vegetation that falls into the pond will need to be removed. A pond is basically a sump and you don’t want decaying organic matter sludging it up.
Size- Koi need large deep ponds. So Cal won’t have winter freeze problems like northern areas so you could get away with a 4 foot deep area. In cold climates I would like to see at least 6 feet depth. If however you have predators then deeper will always be better. For koi you would need a few thousand gallons, 5,000 is a minimum IMO. To give you an idea how much that is a 16 foot circular 48inch deep swimming poll is just over 5000 gallons
Filtration- Koi prefer clean water so a top end filtration system is required. Think long term with this purchase. Initial outlay may be more but if you skimp on this then in the long run starting cheap will cost more.
Surface agitation is essential for water oxygenation so as part of the filtration system construct a waterfall or fountain.
Koi are not particualry difficult to look after. But they need a LOT of space. Think around 1,000 gallons of water, preferably with some good filtering and partial water changes occasionally.
Give them that, and they are easy care. They can handle water temps from freezing to 30C, so dont worry about that.
Keeping them in a small polluted pond or tank, then you have a problem.
If your pond is smaller then get some goldfish. It’s hard to tell a Koi from a Shubunkin goldfish in a pond and as they max out around 12″ they are better for a small pond. Koi can easily grow to 2 feet long, hence needing the space.
Ian