Fisywild

As you know,   In 2017, a koi fish was sold for a record 1.8 million dollars. It was a 9-year-old large female Kohaku. It was white with red-orange splotches. An artist even did a painting to immortalize her legendary beauty. That is the most expensive koi fish to date.   Although this prize fish was explicitly bred to compete in the All Japan Koi Show, koi fish costs are substantial compared to other fish. The reason is koi are mainly ornamental pets. Luckily, most koi fish are not usually as expensive as that prize breed. So, exactly how much are Koi fish worth?.   Well, The value of a Koi can be broken down into many factors, including things such as the manner in which the fish moves in water, bone structure, shape, skin quality, potential for the future. For the many different varieties of Koi there are many more factors.   A variety of factors determine koi fish prices. Because they are prized for their beauty, koi are more expensive than other fish...

  During winter months when the water is cold, your fish might begin to refuse food and sit low to the bottom of the pond, in these instances Koi can go for long periods of time not needing to feed and can rely on naturally occurring food in the pond. However if your fish still surface for food during cold periods it is advised that you continue to feed them a suitable food such as wheatgerm.

  Contrary to common belief Koi are not made of porcelain and are very forgiving animals. The key to maintaining a happy and healthy Koi pond is a combination of good practices and routine. This includes but is not limited to, cleaning your filter frequently, partially changing the water and water testing. If you have any concerns with your Koi do not hesitate to contact us.

  Despite being two distinctly separate species many new hobbyists often get confused identifying the two, here are a few easy signs to look for. Koi have small barbels on either side of their mouth, these are absent on Goldfish. Koi reach sizes three times greater than Goldfish. Goldfish have a detached dorsal fin just before the tail, whereas on Koi it is attached to the full length of the body.

  When selecting Koi there are numerous criteria that makes a Koi ‘Perfect’ however these ideal criteria might not appeal to your personal taste. It is important therefore to purchase fish that you yourself will enjoy to see swimming in your pond.

  Koi, or Nishikigoi which translates to brocaded carp are large ornamental fish that are very docile animals that when kept under the right conditions will be one of the most rewarding creatures an individual can own.

  Yes and Yes.  Koi and goldfish are both types of carp, they will live side by side in perfect harmony.  Also, large koi will not eat or harm smaller koi.  Larger koi will eat koi eggs after a spawn and perhaps the tiny koi fry after they are hatched.  But a 24" koi will not eat a 4" koi.  The only concern with mixing large koi and small koi or goldfish is that the larger koi tend to get all the food and smaller fish don't get the nutrients they need to grow.  So the small koi can stay small if you don't take care to make sure they are also getting food.  Sometimes just switching to a smaller pellet is enough.  Large koi can eat a small pellet without issue.      

  Yes!  Well, it's not a requirement, but it sure is a great filtration tool.  A UV filter does far more then just clear up green water.  Although it does get rid of green water very nicely!  But it will also make the water more healthy.  Aeromonas bacteria, the kind the causes  bacterial infections,  will pass through the UV and be destroyed.  Also, every parasite has a stage in its life cycle where it is free floating and not attached to a host.  If during that time they pass through the UV, they too will be destroyed.  So a UV filter is very important for the general health of the pond.  Even koi ponds that don't have a bit of algae can still benefit from a UV filter. Please keep in mind that in order for a UV to be effective it needs to be properly sized for the flow from the pump.  If water is pushed through too fast then the UV will not be effective.  If it is pushed through too slow, then the bulb might over he...

  Frequent testing is the best way to monitor your filter.  If the tests show 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrites and low Nitrates, then it is working properly and probably the correct size for your fish load.  However the fish will continue to grow and eat more food and produce more waste.  A filter that has been fine for several seasons may one day not be big enough.  This is very common for hobbyists who have numerous small koi in a small pond with a small filter.  They are fine until the koi get bigger, then all of a sudden they start to have problems. Usually when somebody is telling me about their pond and I ask about the filter, the first thing they say is, "oh, but the water is very clear, the filter is doing a great job!".  The clarity of the water really has very little to do with the health of the pond or the filter.  Ammonia, Nitrites, DOC's and countless other toxins have no color and gin clear water may be toxic to the koi.  And just the oppo...

  Feeding your koi is a major part of pond maintenance.  Always feed a high quality food with no fillers.  Cheap foods often have fillers that are not as digestible and cause more waste.  Most premium foods don't use fillers have are more digestible and therefore you will have less waste in the pond.  The frequency of the feeding will depend on many factors.  Time of year, number of koi, size of pond and quality of filtration.  Koi do prefer to have more frequent small meals rather then one large one.  Just like humans, we don't eat one giant meal in the middle of the day, we eat three smaller ones.  Will we survive on one big meal a day?  Yes, but its not good for our digestion.  Koi prefer the same thing, several smaller meals during the day.  During peak summer temps you can feed the koi as often are 4 or even 5 times a day, assuming the filtration can hadle that much koi food.  If not, still feed multiple times a day, ...

    Koi are a four season fish.  They actually prefer to have a winter slumber where the water cools down and they stop eating.  They are biologically programmed for this to happen.  In fact, if a pond is deep enough, they can do just fine under the ice of a frozen pond.  Just make sure you keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange.  Surprisingly more people run into problems in the summer then in the winter.  Warm water holds less oxygen then cool water.  Everything in the pond is highly oxygen dependent and it is a good idea to add additional oxygen to the water during the hottest months of the year, especially if the water might get into the upper 80's or even the 90's.  The additional oxygen will cool the water and make sure everything in the pond is happy and healthy. One last note, if you live in a region where you get extreme temps either hot or cold of both, then make the koi pond deeper.  This will help stabilize the temps an...

  Short answer, yes.  However there are those who will argue the point.  I guess it depends on your definition of "koi".  Some will say that only those that conform to the conformation standards set forth in the judging guidelines are koi and all others are not.  I suppose that is a valid argument.  And by that definition longfin koi and butterfly koi do not fit those standards and are therefore not koi.  But really lets look at this a bit closer.  Longfin koi were developed by an Indonesian river carp that had long flowing fins.  The river carp was genetically close enough to breed with standard koi and produce fertile off spring.  So right there is proof that they are very close genetically.  But to take it further, koi and longfin koi have been bred and cross bred hundreds of times over in order to achieve the same patterns and colors as regular koi.  Also, longfin koi are hardier then standard koi (because they are not as m...

  While it is true that domestic koi are bred from Japanese parents and have much of the same bloodlines, they are not always the same.  First because the Japanese have about 200 years more breeding experience then we do.  Also because to breed the best koi you must start with the best parent koi.  But the absolute best koi never leave Japan so the breeders here in the US have a handicap right from the start.  They simply don't have access to the absolute best koi genetics.  However it's not fair to say all Japanese koi are better the all domestic koi.  There are low grade koi even in Japan.  What is fair is to say the very best Japanese koi are better then the very best domestic koi. But how many of you will be buying the very best koi in Japan?  Not many hobbyists these days are willing to spend more then a brand new BMW on one koi.  Most hobbyists will buy high grade and mid grade koi, koi that are still very beautiful and easily meet...

  This can vary greatly depending on several factors.  Budget, space available, the number of koi you want, how big you want you koi to get and of course local building codes.  Before we get into specifics, lets first define the difference between a koi pond and a water garden.  A water garden is usually very shallow, has many plants and minimal filtration.  Water gardens are usually a better home for goldfish then koi.  A koi pond will be deeper, usually few or no plants and a more advanced filtration system.  Generally a minimum of 3 ft is best for koi and deeper is better, many will go 5, 6 or even 8 feet deep with their ponds.  A minimum of 1000 gallons is generally best.  Some have built smaller ponds around 500 gallons and they have established a balanced system over time, but this is much harder to maintain.  Others have built much larger ponds, well over 5000 gallons and even 10,000 gallons or more.  This will usually create...

  Yes, koi are shipped all over the country and all over the world.  Shipping koi domestically is much easier as there are no international customs to deal with.  Simi Koi ships thousands of koi every year!  The trick is the pure oxygen in the bag.  Oxygen is actually more important then water.  The koi only need enough water to cover the body and the rest is pure O2.  Generally its 1/3 water and 2/3 oxygen.  With a little water conditioner the koi can be in the bag over 24 hours.  I have had koi get delayed in shipment and arrive over 48 hours late and in perfect condition. The koi will produce large amounts of ammonia while in the bag but a surprising thing happens at the same time, the pH drops very low.  And the lower the pH the less toxic the ammonia becomes.  This allows the koi to live in the bag water even though there are very high levels of ammonia.  That is also why, after shipping, you NEVER want to mix any bag wate...

  It can seem strange to the new hobbyist that one koi can sell for $100 and another only slightly different looking koi can sell for $1000 or more.  It is difficult to sum up what makes a koi valuable, but the easiest  place to start is the koi show judging standards as these will dictate what the rest of us pay for koi.  Koi shows are not unlike dog shows.  It's a competition were the koi are viewed and judged by a group of experts.  Numerous winners are chosen including the Grand Champion.   Just like in dog shows, the judges use a very specific, even rigid, set of standards to judge the koi.  Body shape is by far the most important aspect and is worth the most points when judging the koi.  Other attributes like skin quality, color and pattern also come into play.  Each variety or type of koi also has their own set of standards for that variety.  The value of the koi is often determined by how closely the koi fits into this ...

  Once again this is determined by the environment the koi are raised in, diet and genetics.  Most koi will break 24" without breaking a sweat inside of 5 years.  Anything over 30" is considered "jumbo" and many Grand Champions have been 36"+.  But many times koi will not even break 20".  Often times koi are kept in smaller ponds with less then ideal water quality and they never get bigger then 14" or 15".  To grow koi large, you need two main things, lots of quality food and really good water.  The problem is these two things often works against each other.  The more you feed them, the lower the water quality gets, which slows the growth of the koi.  But if you feed the koi less, you may have good water quality, but without the nutrients the koi won't grow.  What you really need is BOTH.  Really good water and lots of food.  To achieve this you need great filtration, a large pond and a low stocking density.  This will all...

  This can vary greatly depending on the environment the koi are raised in, their diet and of course genetics.   In most good quality backyard koi ponds, the koi can live upwards of 20 years, maybe even 30.  In truly spetacular koi ponds with high end filtration and larger amounts of water, some hobbyists have gotten over 40 years from their koi.  However this is nothing compared to koi that spend their life in mud ponds and lakes.  The Japanese have koi that are well over 70 years old, but these never spend much time in small cement or liner tanks.  They are in large mud lined ponds fed by a natural spring.  There are stories of koi living over 250 years.  As far as I know, these are just rumors.

  Yes, koi can and do eat plants, and in plant-free ponds, some koi keepers feed their fish on whole lettuces to provide some roughage. In the main pond plants can be damaged by koi as they root in and around them in their search for aquatic invertebrates. Some koi will eat all the plants that are placed with them while in other ponds they won’t eat any. This could be down to a number of factors including not getting enough food or being dietary deficient. But most of the times when water lilies don’t do well with koi its because the delicate shoots are damaged early in the season and the rhizomes are dug at and exposed. A mature, potted lily with large floating leaves and soil protected by a deep layer of large stones is usually ok with most koi. Usually!    

  Most Japanese koi owners aim for a koi ponds of 5000 gallons (22,700 litres) or about 15’x10’x5’ 5mx3mx1.5m. Depth is important for overwintering and developing good body depth. Too small a pond and your koi will stunt. It is true that Koi will only grow to the size of the garden pond as they release growth inhibiting hormones when overcrowded. Understock and change lots of water in order to facilitate growth. 

  Koi carp are egg scatterers with slimmer, smaller males chasing the larger females before pushing them into weeds and expelling thousands of eggs and sperm together. Do nothing in a large planted pond and your koi may spawn of their own accord when the water warms in spring and summer. They eat their own eggs after spawning so wait to see if a few survive or remove the plants they spawned on and raise separately.  If you want to deliberately breed koi, separate a ripe female and two males and move them to a spawning vat containing only water, an airstone, and koi spawning brushes. On a sunny morning if the temperature is right they will spawn before the parents are placed back in the main pond and the eggs and fry are raised separately.  Professional breeders may even hand strip selected males and females, squeezing the fish’s flanks by hand and mixing eggs and sperm in a bowl. Fry can be placed in a growing pond consisting of green water and live Daphnia or raised on n...

  In the wild carp are omnivores, eating everything from worms and snails to mosquito larvae, plant matter and detritus. They eat from the top, middle and bottom water layers, slurping food from the surface or sifting muddy substrates for juicy morsels. Anglers will know Koi will eat anything from Sweet Corn to Spam, to maggots and Boilies.  In captivity, Koi are fed  floating food sticks and pellets almost exclusively . Different diets are available for different times of the year and water temperatures, with low protein Wheat Germ being fed in cold weather, and high protein growth and colour foods being fed in summer months. If you want great koi don’t skimp on good food, as good ingredients don’t come cheap. For maximum growth potential load up an Automatic fish feeder to feed your fish several times a day when you’re not there.  

  Any koi is only worth what someone will pay for it, but one Japanese show winning fish sold for £1.4 million pounds. High quality Japanese koi worth over £20,000 have been bought and imported to the UK but at that sort of money, it is all about bloodline, parentage, shape, skin quality, pattern, variety and the potential to be a Champion. All show winners are female as they grow larger than males (size is rewarded,) and the most expensive fish are always Go Sanke - one of three varieties including Kohaku, Sanke and Showa. Red and White Kohaku are the most desirable variety at the moment, winning shows in the UK, Europe and Japan. Ghost koi are crosses between koi carp and mirror carp and are rarely worth more than £100, regardless of size. If a fish is big it may not be worth much either as value is related to the pattern, body shape and bloodline.  

  Koi carp can grow to 120cm in length, although any fish over 100cm is considered huge. Most koi don’t grow much over 60cm in length in average garden ponds and a number of factors affect growth including genetics, water temperature, food, space and water quality. If a fish didn’t have large parents and isn’t fed the best food, in year-round warm water, in a large pond, it may never grow to record size. Lots of people think their koi are large (Ghost koi grow big and quickly,) but if you go to a koi show and see a 90cm or even a 100cm Jumbo, you’ll be amazed at just how big that is.   

  Koi fish are a species of ornamental carp that are often kept in outdoor ponds or water gardens for their vibrant colors and graceful movements. They are a type of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) that have been selectively bred for centuries in Japan for their beautiful patterns and colors. Here are some key points about koi fish: Color Varieties: Koi fish come in a wide range of colors and patterns, including red, orange, yellow, white, black, and blue. The patterns on their scales can vary, and each combination is often given a specific name. Symbolism: In Japanese culture, koi fish are highly regarded and are often associated with positive qualities such as perseverance, success, and good fortune. They are also a symbol of strength and courage. Size and Lifespan: Koi can grow to be quite large, with some varieties reaching lengths of over 2 feet (60 cm) or more. In well-maintained environments, koi fish can live for several decades. Habitat: Koi are typically kept in outdoor...