Koi Queries

[Nick South East]

I would be interested to know if there are any koi keepers out there? and would like to offer my services to answer any queries or questions on keeping them, treating illnesses, water quality problems, filtration, varieties etc.

[Bradford Angler]

I have bought quite a few, but as for keeping them . .

 

I now keep coarser pond fish, they seem to be a bit hardier . .

 

but still have two Koi and about 4 ugly commons, all of which have been given to me . . they are holding their own at the moment . .

[Nick South East]

Koi really are no more difficult to keep than any other pond fish if given the right conditions, they are however more sensitive to slight changes in their environment, the most common time to have problems with your fish would be a few weeks after introducing them to your pond, spring time or autumn, these times will see greater fluctuations in tempreture, (fishes immune systems are dependant on tempreture they work most effectively at 60f or above) water quality and oxygen levels. First and formost all fish keepers should be 'water keepers' as if the pond system is stable then the fishes health will follow.

There are many more things to take into account but I can go into mre detail about specific topics so direct any queries here, to stop me waffling!!!

[Hereford_angler]

I have a Tancho Koaku koi about 6" long (noy including tail) and some smaller ghosts. They have been in there since summer and have put on some weight. I wanted to know about how old this fish is (6" long) and how much bigger it will get in a years time. I know they grow fast as juveniles then slow down as adults, but how fast and how slow?

[Nick South East]

Hi There,

 

Ok I'll try to keep this shortish as the subject could see me going into loads of detail!

I am going to presume (please correct me if I am wrong!) that you bought the Tancho at 6" and it's Japanese and was imported at this size.

 

On this basis I would expect the fish to be about 1 year to 18 months old.

 

I would expect the fish to have been spawned in the spring then left in the mud ponds over summer, harvested at around 4-5" In November then held inside until next spring, then, either put back outside and shipped the following October/ November, or if he was a fast grower maybe earlier in March.

 

This you will be able to tell by when you brought him, Phew hope thats clearish.

 

There are some slight variations to this as some varieties grow much quicker that others, such as single coloured Koi (Chagoi, Soragoi, Magoi etc) but the Go-Sanke varieties (Kohaku, Sanke, Showa) will all grow at a similar rate.

 

Its all about genetics, big parents = big kids!! Two large, say one metre Koi bred together will give the basic genetic make up to produce big offspring. With the culling the Japanese conduct to keep the Colour, shape etc desired, entails good strong bloodlines throughout the next generations.

 

As for how big your Kohaku may get, and at what rate depends on feed, temperature, whether it is male or female, depth of pond, parentage and size of environment. Although fish do not grow to the size of their environment it is a factor of how fast they will obtain their max size.

 

So if given good food, and is from a good bloodline, and lives in a reasonable size pond, is female and we get a few warmish summers, there is no reason why 'she' should not get to 20 - 24" and should put on two to three inches per year.

 

A long answer I know but hope its of interest!! All the best Nick

 

[ 07. January 2003, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: Nick South East ]

[peter mccue]

Bradford, this may be of interest to you in terms of hardier stock.

 

10 or so years ago when I decided I wanted to keep a few Koi in my pond, I had quite a time trying to get them to thrive to the same level as the other 'hardier' fish. The end result was disappointment & a belief that koi Carp are just to delicate for a sink or swim wildlife pond such as mine at the time.

 

The general advice was you must have a depth of at least 6 foot, gin clear water & enough medication to dose Rutland reservoir!!

 

This I believed until one day I went to see a workmates pond, 2 foot deep, no filtration at all, coloured water, thick with plants & wildlife. He threw some Cat & Dog bicuits on the surface (he didn't & still doesn't believe in expensive floating pellets)& what came to the surface was eye opening.

 

Two superb beautiful koi of I would think just getting into double figures began happily knocking hell out of the floaters.

 

When I asked how such delicate fish survived in such conditions, he admitted that he to had had problems keeping them, until he stopped buying cheap koi from pet shops & garden centers.

 

On an impulse he bought a grade A japanese shiro bekko from a koi specialist for a very pretty penny & the damn thing never missed a beat, growing fast & needing very little looking after.

 

He followed this with another top quality koi & had the same result. I followed his example & now have had koi in my semi-wildlife pond for years with very few casualties other than providing some very expensive breakfasts for Herons.

 

The thought behind it is that the pet shops etc mostly get the runts of the shoal & basically you get what you pay for.

 

The grade A fish are bred not only for colour, shape & size, they are also bred for toughness. It's worth noting that Japanese winters are a lot more severe than ours.

 

Incidentally, I'm not suggesting that you keep your koi pond as my mate did - he only ever seen them at feeding time - but it does illustrate that in general there is a lot of cheap Koi out there & in this hobby you tend to get what you pay for.