It is amazing how much work you put into Koi care. But it is all worth the trouble and the expense if you want to have a school of the world’s most beautiful ornamental fish frolicking in your pond.
The first thing to consider when starting your koi care is knowing everything about the fish that populates Japanese and Chinese ponds. Koi is prized for their beauty and watching a pond teeming with colorful koi is like watching a burst of colors come alive on a shimmering fluid canvass.
The fish is also commercially valued and a rare color combination can fetch you $100,000 but apart from this, the fish is thought to symbolize individualism and strength for their ability to swim upstream or against the current.
Koi grows up to three feet long so you will need a pond big enough to accommodate a number of fish when they reach their full size. If you think you can cram them into a tank or into a small aquarium, it might do for a while but as the fish grows and crowd the tank or aquarium they won’t thrive.
An 18 inches deep pond can be a good home for a number and variety of koi. The secret to good koi fish care here is to keep the water filtered and give the fish space. It is also important to keep the water temperature constantly cool enough because as temperature rises, the amount of oxygen in water decreases and this would be deadly to your koi raising.
Koi can catch cold when there is a sudden drop in temperature about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. A whitish film on the skin on the head will appear but when the temperature rises after a few days, the cold will eventually go away. If you are unsure about the koi’s health, always ask an expert on koi care.
Koi eat more during summer and require feeding thrice during the day. A high protein diet, usually fishmeal, benefits the fish during this time of year. They need the protein for growth and reproduction. Yes, the fish is not a picky eater but it is best to see they get the nutrients they need from commercially prepared koi foods.
Watch out when water temperature plunges below 55 degrees. When it is, don’t feed the fish because their body temperature will prevent natural digestion. The food in their gut remains undigested and will rot, eventually killing them.
To prevent sudden changes in water temperature, adding one to two kilograms of good grade coarse shale for every 1000 liters can help. Do this when the temperature shows a sudden drop.
A secret to good koi care, especially when feeding them, is to make them fat before winter. With loads of body fat, the fish can survive the cold weather even if feeding is reduced. At this time, you can heat the pond water with electric and gas heaters if you want to keep on feeding your koi.
Protect the koi from winter chill by covering the pond’s surface with a bubble wrap. This will also slightly increase the water’s temperature by five degrees Fahrenheit.
Basically, good koi care is about keeping the pond water clean and filtrated, and the water temperature stable and feeding the fish right all year long.
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