Having a fish pond in your backyard is a great way to bring nature into your house. It adds a sense of serenity and tranquillity to your home and offers you a place to escape the world and its worries to simply enjoy the presence of nature, fish, and plants. Koi fish are the ideal pet for a pond as they are the most docile fish, due to which these ponds are considered ideal for a household.
Why are Koi Fish so Famous?
Koi fish are an attractive and vibrant fish species, with their striking rainbow colors and distinct lineage. Add their fun nature and social personality, and Koi fish become one of the most expensive fish pets.
Koi were first bred in Japan in the 1700s by rice farmers who mainly raised them for their colors and patterns. Since then, Japanese people have taken great interest in Koi breeding. Due to their diverse designs, the farmers decided to breed them in distinctive patterns, which increased the overall cost of the process. Koi also has a sensitive life cycle. Of the millions of eggs that hatch, only a few make it to the “saleable” group. The non-saleable group either forms deformities or an undesirable pattern that will fetch a less than ideal price. This impacts the overall price of the saleable group pushing it higher.
If you are wondering how long do Koi fish live? These fish can live up to 35 years. If you have purchased a baby Koi and manage to use the tips outlined below, you have a safe investment for a long time.
Tips to Keep Your Pond Healthy
Once you buy your fish and have your ideal pond built in your perfect location, maintaining it shouldn’t be a difficult task. A healthy Koi fish pond guarantees that every living species that inhabit it lives to its full potential, and the owners who invest a lot of money and time in it get to enjoy it each and every time.
We have put together a list of 5 tips on how to take care of koi fish and maintain a healthy, living pond to show off.
1. Find the Best Location
You must select the ideal location for Koi. If you are making a pond, you want a good shade pond. Wondering can koi fish live in a tank? Yes, they can. However, you need a tank that provides enough room for them to swim.
While Koi fish thrive in direct sunshine, they are also prone to sunburn. To provide them a shield from the harsh rays of the sun, find a location that offers a partial cover for the fish to escape to and keeps the water temperature moderate to maintain the koi fish temperature. However, keep in mind that a fully shaded pond will limit the growth of your Koi fish. You must maintain a balance of sunlight and shade throughout the day, i.e., 4-5 hours of direct sunlight exposure every day.
Trees and floating plants such as water lilies can give shade to your Koi fish pond too. However, be wary of leaf shedding. You do not want to spend all day cleaning your pond of leaf debris.
2. The Size of your Pond Matters
If you are wondering how big can koi fish get and will you need a big pond if they grow bigger- the answer is it all depends on what you are starting with. While there is no recommended perfect size or shape for a Koi Pond, it is ideal to keep it big enough for all your fishes to have a good swim in. Various factors, including your budget, available backyard space, besides the number of fish you choose to keep in your pond, will determine the size of your pond.
The recommended pond size by many experts is:
- 6 ft by 8 ft dimension
- Minumum 1,000 gallons of water
- At least 3+ ft deep
Experts recommend this as the smallest size for the pond. A pond of this size will hold five average-sized Koi fish. If you wish to keep more than five Koi fish in your pond, you will need a larger pond with a capacity of around 3,200 gallons.
Remember that Koi are very active fish and require plenty of room to swim around. Therefore, a 3-foot deep pond is a minimum depth for Koi fish, and anything less will result in a dead Koi.
3. The Shape of Your Pond
The third tip is to shape your Koi fish pond in a way you end up liking and play around to see what you like and dislike. You can have a square or irregularly shaped Koi pond.
When deciding on the shape of the Koi fish pond, keep two tips in mind:
- Have straight sides and no steps or ledges. Steps make it easier for predators to attack the fish.
- Have a pond inside the ground and not over it. Koi are excellent jumpers and can jump right out of a raised or semi-raised pond, which is dangerous for fish.
4. Your Filtration System will keep Koi Happy
Koi produces a lot of waste and ammonia, which is then converted into nitrates. Though ammonia and nitrates are beneficial to plant growth, they are highly harmful to Koi fish. Koi also have a weak immune system. An abundance of waste and other debris from uneaten food, falling leaves from neighboring trees, and other decomposing plant matter can kill them quickly.
A sound filtration system will remove all waste and debris from the pond water, resulting in clean, clear, and healthy water.
There are two types of filtration systems: mechanical and biological.
- Mechanical Filtration: A machine removes all decomposing debris from the water, including fish waste, algae, leaves, and other organic water.
- Biological Filtration: Beneficial bacteria transforms toxins into harmless substances within the water.
5. Koi Needs Oxygen Too
The last tip relates to the aeration of your pond. Even if you have enough aquatic plants, a robust filtration system, and clean your pond regularly, you will still need this to keep your Koi perfectly healthy.
A sound aeration system helps circulate oxygen in the water, which is necessary to maintain healthy oxygen levels for fish survival and keep your sensitive fish alive.
You can build waterfalls or fountains in your Koi pond, which will act as a natural way of circulating oxygen. Another way is to install aeration equipment such as pumps or jets.
Extra Tip: Landscaping
You can add rocks, boulders, and plants to your pond. Aside from aesthetics, they can also be used by the Koi to hide from the sun and predators. You can add Water Lily, Hyacinth, Smartweed, and Lotus for plants, which grow well in Koi fish ponds.
Once you have applied the above tips and tricks, you can rest assured and relax; your Koi fish will thrive in their pond happily and healthily, giving you a wonderful addition to your backyard. In addition, a well-maintained and well-designed Koi fish pond will enhance the appearance of your home. Koi Kompanion is only a phone call away from helping you design and construct a stunning Koi fish pond in your backyard. Call us today and give your Koi a new leash on life.
