Koi Care...

Koi Care and Information

 

Small koi can be kept in an aquarium. But because the beauty of a koi is generally the colors and patterns, they can be best seen from the top of the koi and most appreciated in a pond. To provide koi with a proper home for long term the pond should be from four feet to eight feet deep. Proper filtration in a koi pond is a must. It is important that the pond has a bottom drain to remove the solid fish waste (see pond filtration information). If you plan on raising koi to their full size they need a pond size of 2500 gallons at the minimum. Generally, most koi fanciers never start with a large enough pond and end up enlarging it later. Most serious koi enthusiasts end up with ponds from 5000 to 20,000 gallons.

 

Koi Feeding

Our recommendations are based on water temperatures

 

Water Temperature  & Feeding Recommendations

Below 45 degrees - Do not feed koi

 

50 - 55 degrees - Feed 2 to 3 times per week. Recommended food - Wheat Germ koi food, cheerios, or brown bread.

 

55 - 59 degrees - Feed 4 to 5 times per week. Recommended food - High Wheat Germ koi food, cheerios, or brown bread.

 

60 - 70 degrees - Feed twice daily. Recommended food - begin higher protein foods, such as; OSI koi foods

 

Above 70 degrees - Recommended food - feed high protein foods (OSI koi foods) and add color-enhancing foods if you wish (Hikari Koi foods).

 

At all temperatures never feed more than they can consume within five minutes. Feeding more often is better than feeding too much all at once.

 

Pond Filtration

 

Pond filtration can be done in many ways but the number one need is to remove the solid waste that sinks to the bottom of the pond. One way this can be done is by drawing water from the bottom through a submersible pump to the filter. While this is better than only drawing the water off the top of the pond, for example through a skimmer, it is not as good as having a bottom drain the deepest part of the pond. Even with a bottom drain it is best to have the drain empty into a settlement tank so the solids can settle to the bottom of the tank, with cleaner water being pumped from the top of the settlement tank to your biological filters. In the perfect situation the bottom drains should gravity feed into the settlement tank, so that the solids are not chopped up by the pump, which makes it harder to get the solids to settle out cleanly.

 

If you incorporate skimmer with gravity fed settlement tank and biological filter you will be creating a healthy home for your koi.