Tropical Fish Information – Your Fish Tank Guru

Koi is one of the most colorful and beautiful fish that owners can have in their koi pool, but keeping them in good health and great condition will require at the basic knowledge about outdoor koi pool and fish, and a few necessary koi stock as well.

First off, you need to have filtration system that will maintain the water quality of your koi pool. There are two types of filters, the biological and the mechanical ones. The function of the filter is to remove those unwanted pollutants which will decrease illnesses that may affect your fish.

Now, the only way for the filtration system to work in processing the water is when the water will move, that’s why there’s a need for you to install a pump, which is another important factor that will promote the health of your koi pool. Although you can have a waterfall or fountain in the pond to aid water movement, they should not completely replace the pump, as they don’t have the necessary strength to help with the filtration of the koi pool.

The advantage of having a fountain in your koi pool is that it will give you feeling of tranquility, which will drown those unwanted noise, stir the water, and provide oxygen to the koi pool.

Other koi pool supplies, although they’re not needed on a daily basis, should still be kept available when the need for it arises. The dechlorinator is a device used to replenish the water level of your koi pool with tap water (but you need to eliminate and remove the harmful chemicals of the tap water first).

The nitrate and pH levels of the water should be checked weekly with the use of test kits available in local pet stores. Pond salt and baking soda can be added to the water in regulating the nitrate and pH levels of the water when the test will show that the levels of chemicals are off.

Food is perhaps the most important koi supplies. Although they eat a variety of natural foods, it is still necessary for you to keep a basic food source ready at all times. The fish can eat out of their owner’s hand, so treats and snacks can also be offered to your fish.

Also, watch out for those predators. These are the herons, kingfishers, cats, foxes, badgers and raccoons. A good koi pool design can keep them in safety. Pond waters should be deep enough to prevent heron attacks. You can also create overhangs on the side of the pond to prevent these predators from reaching the water.

Another way to do this is by placing the koi pool under a tree, to cover the aerial view of the birds. Nets can also be placed entirely over the koi pool, and this will work two-fold: protection from predators and prevention for debris like leaves from falling into the water (which will really mess up your pond if left to fall).

Remember that your fish will take a little effort on your part in taking care of them when setting up your pond and considering all of the koi supplies that you’ll be needing for it. But rest assured that these are beautiful and magnificent fish that are truly worth your time and effort!

When it comes to taking care of your Koi, part of it is protecting them from a deadly koi ailment known as the KHV (or Koi Herpes Virus). Fact of the matter is that your pets is really susceptible to this kind of disease. So what can you do to protect them from it? The only way you can protect them from this virus is to ensure that they never get exposed to it. Getting the necessary information that you need to know about this koi ailment will get your koi the best protection that they’re going to need.

The Facts About The Disease:

Since its first outbreak, little has been known about this koi ailment. Knowing the facts is an essential thing for the protection of your koi. The KHV is a deadly koi ailment which has just recently appeared in the Koi industry. In the late 1998 and early 1999, the first outbreak has been reported in Israel, then in the following years has been confirmed in places like Europe, Asia and the U.S. This kind of koi ailment is known to infect the victim throughout their life. Even those who don’t show signs of the virus are considered as carriers if they have been exposed to it for a certain amount of time. The mortality rate for those that have been exposed to the koi ailment is 60 percent to 80 percent.

There is still no known cure for this koi ailment. Even if proper treatment has been given to your koi, they will never again go to a new home, because if you put them in a healthy koi population, they will spread the virus to the others. This virus can spread in many ways, like the fish coming into contact with the infected ones, tools used to handle the infected fish, the water in which the infected fish swam, and many more. Stress can increase the mortality rate of the fish. Temperatures around 74 degrees Fahrenheit can be used to track the koi ailment, and it will allow the necessary testing and quarantining of your koi to observe if they have been exposed or not.

The Preventative Measures: Depopulation and Quarantine

Depopulation is one of the best preventative measures that you can do to eliminate the possibilities of this koi ailment, and this means the elimination of your whole pet population. Although this may seem cruel to your koi, with this you can really ensure that you don’t infect the other koi in your pond. Another method is by quarantining. If you buy a new fish, quarantine it before mixing it with your current Koi population (for 15 days or more).

In quarantining your koi, they should be totally isolated from anything else. Separate the food, tools and water that you’re going to use for the quarantined koi, and ensure that the tools that you use for them doesn’t leave the area in which they have been used. Procedures for proper hand washing in handling your koi and the essential items should be observed. Following these effective preventative measures can help you avoid your koi from catching the infectious disease.

What are the things that you need to do with your koi pond after the storm? What you do first is just relax and take time to breathe, because your koi are just doing fine. Their condition right now is that they’re just traumatized by the experience (just a normal reaction for any fish who have undergone an unusual and extreme situation). Unless there’s a big damage done to the koi pool water and the whole koi pond, you don’t have to worry about their health. Now, what you should think about is their home, which need some repairs to be done.

Now, you may have either prepared completely for the storm or may have been taken by surprise by it… but whatever your case is, take the necessary action so as to make sure that no further damage will be done to it.

So here are the things that you need to do. First, undo all of the storm precautions that you have made to survey possible damages that have occurred. If you put a net over your koi pond, you have to remove as much debris off the net as you can and then remove it. Once removed, you’ll be able to make a survey of the damage and then check the condition of your fish.

If you were expecting high waters and then your sand has extended outward beyond the usual point in the area around the koi pond, you should remove all of the sand bags for you to have an easy access in your koi pond (given that the koi pool water level is normal too). Now, don’t fret or get discouraged if things seem out of their place, and it may not be as bad as its original setup.

Once all of the netting and the other precautions has been removed, what you need to do now is take your time to look and examine the area. If you see any debris, remove these by skimming over and netting. If the surrounding plants or other decorations has been uprooted or put out of their places, just bring them back to their original spot where they have been put.

Now, if your koi pond has undergone a major damage, make it a point to remove your fish as soon as you can from the koi pond. Although proper bagging as well as transporting techniques are needed if the damage will take some time to get fixed, there are some transitory options that you can have if the damage can be fixed fast. You can always use a children’s pool as a temporary place for your fish. You can also contact your local zoo or pet store and ask them of an available program to help you in housing your fish until the necessary maintenance can be made.

If only small repairs are required, what you should focus on is the koi pool water quality. Your pond’s water may now seem dark or cloudy because of the storm and the extra water given by the rainfall. You should be worrying about ammonia issues if the storm lasted for a longer period. Then test your koi pool water for Nitrates. If these are present, what you do is you add the right amount of salt to the koi pool water (about three-fourths to a pound of salt per 100 gallons of water).

It may be a good idea to add more salt if your fish got shocked by the storm or if they got any type of injuries (if you have plants lying around in your koi pond, remove them first before adding the salt). Just keep in mind that your fish should be of primary importance compared to your plants.

If you have any KH issues (especially those that fall below 100), just add baking soda to your koi pond (1 cup of unpacked baking soda per 1000 gallons of water). This will be able to protect your koi pond from a pH crash that may take place in the future.

The Koi come in a wide variety of patterns and colors. The black koi family are distinguished from the other varieties due to their coloring and pattern, and not much else. They can grow up to about 36 inches in length, that is why there’s also a need for them to be kept in large ponds like all of the other fish. It has the same lifespan as the others, around 25 to 35 years of age. They are seen regularly in outdoor ponds anywhere in the globe.

Types Of black koi variety:

There are many types of the black koi variety. The Kumonryu koi is the most popular of the species. It first appeared in the 1980’s. The word “Kumonryu” means “dragon fish” in Japanese. It has been coined as such due to its body is nostalgic of the bodies of dragons drawn in ancient paintings. Others think that these fish look like dragons rising up through the clouds. It can also change its color and pattern.

The Magoi koi is one of the first all black mutation that can grow very long. Seemingly black in color when viewed from above, their actual color is deep bronze. Because of their great possibilities in size, their blood is being reintroduced to other koi so as to hasten and maximize the growth potential of the others.

The Matsukawabake koi has areas or white on its body. They can change color, and because of the environmental effects and their diet, their color changes from a duller or brighter shade of color. The temperature can completely change their color, turning completely white or completely black. It will only return to its original color once there’s a change in temperature. The Karasu koi (meaning “crow” in Japanese) is another of those very old species. This koi is known by its black-colored body and fins. Others can also have an white or orange belly.

The wide array of colors of the black koi variety is one of the factors that makes them an attraction to people. What’s even more exciting is that you have the ability to own a koi that can amazingly change its color in an instant just like some of the species of the black koi variety can!

In koi pool, overpopulation of the pet is one of the hardest problems that pond owners have to deal with. This can cause big problems to your koi pond, which can even cause death to your koi. To avoid these dilemmas, here are a few ways to help prevent overpopulation in your koi pond water.

Don’t Overstock: (This is the same as an aquarium DUH)

Overstocking is one of the common problems among new koi pond owners. When you first start purchasing your koi, decide between a number of koi that are equally playful and beautiful so as to save your own koi pond from overstocking. You can always talk with your pet store professional or dealer about your koi pond’s specs.

Tell them the total size of your koi pond, the type of filtration systems you use, and where you’re planning to place your koi pond. These helpful information can help them to successfully predict the right amount of koi that you can have in your koi pond. Don’t worry if the number may seem small, because keep in mind that this species grow rather fast and get large quickly!

One of the problems that people or owners run into is not able to turn down offers from others. When you are being offered with a koi by other pond owners, always look at the reasons as to why they’re giving you their koi (this might be due to overpopulation issues as well). Turning down offers such as this doesn’t mean you’re causing damage to the koi, but it’s just that the owner may have to find a different individual to take the offer.

Steps To Take Once Overpopulation Has Occurred:

If the time comes that your koi pond has reached overpopulation, here are some steps to remove the babies from it. A good way is to stop feeding your koi once you realize that spawning has actually occurred. Stop feeding your koi for no less than 3 weeks. Don’t worry about your koi starving, as they’ll focus more on the natural food that they can get if you’re not feeding them everyday. Their natural diet includes their young.

Although they aren’t one of those cannibalistic animals, it’s natural for them to eat their young when they’re still eggs or if they’re small, resembling insects. Once the babies looks like real fish, the adult ones will recognize this, and they’ll no longer see them as food.

It’s quite important to start this process as soon as you’ll observe spawning or babies in the koi pool water. Though cruel as this may seem, it’s only a natural process. Another way to do this is by giving those unwanted babies away. You can first check with your local pet store, as many of them have programs wherein they’ll accept those unwanted animals and provide shelter for them (some may also pay a certain amount of money for each koi since they sell them). You can also go to local zoos, local Koi societies and online forums.

Having a garden for Koi pond is a great experience for a pond owner. But before adding pets into your outdoor garden or planning a pond for your fish, you need to consider some things first. Talking about gardens, plants will surely pop out of anybody’s mind. A garden for Koi pond is a beautiful sight to behold, and it is a healthy and thriving system that mixes different kinds of elements. It is composed of three vital things: the pond, the fish (Koi), and the plants.

Consider the size and depth of your pond. In giving your fish enough room to live in, ensure that your pond’s depth is around 4 feet deep at the very least. Having these depth will protect them from outside predators. A great space is needed for your pond as your pets can grow to large sizes. This kind of space will help you to add more fish in your pond. Having determined the size of your pond, now you can decide where you will place the garden. A great spot would be that where its not directly laid down under the sunlight, but where it can have a shade from a tree (which will also provide protection from flying predators), and also those spots that are protected from harmful chemicals like pesticides.

It is a fact that the plants and fish really can’t co-exist that much in certain habitats, but this doesn’t make placing plants in your own garden for Koi pond a bad thing to do. The Koi sometimes mess up with the pond itself, destroying the plants placed in the pots, digging into the soil and knocking the plants over. For this, you can wrap netting over your pots, unabling the fish to dig into them. You can place big river stones and pea gravel over your plants to keep the fish from invading the pots. Your fish will feed on the foliage of the plants located at the bottom of the pond. In planning as to what kind of plants your going to place in your garden for Koi pond, you can choose to put lilies. Some of these plants live in shallow ponds, and others live in further depths of the water. Having lilies will provide you the necessary shade and shelter for your fish.

Observing your garden for Koi pond as a whole rather than just the fish and plants will really guarantee you a beautiful sight to behold, and what you can do with it is to make it flourish for a long time!

Koi enthusiasts always find it fun and popular to give their fish some food. It’s fun to see your fish respond to the food that you give to them, an activity that you can do with your children and grandchildren. Feeding your fish is a great bonding experience with them, and some important precautions should be taken all the time. It’s important for you to know that your fish will eat anything that they’re going to get (not minding if it’s good for them or not). For this, you should be the one who controls their diet. Overfeeding of your fish should be avoided, as this could cause some weight issues for them if not monitored closely.

Any owner would think that their fish deserve food, so there are many kinds of food that you can give your fish that contain nutritional value, and those that are guaranteed not to harm them in any way.

Natural Koi Treats: The best food for your fish are those that can be found naturally in the pond, and these are bloodworms, earthworms and tadpoles. You can look around your pond to find them, and once you locate them, you can always dig up these treats from the ground around the pond, or you can also buy similar products at your local pet store.

Lettuce: This fish food for Koi is rich in essential vitamins and minerals, making it very healthy for your pet. No need to tear it into small bits, as the Koi will enjoy doing it themselves!

Prawns: These are edible crustaceans which are quite similar to shrimp, only larger. These are great for your fish as they’re rich in protein. You can purchase prawns in department stores, local pet stores, and also feed stores. Prawns are sold as regular and frozen (if frozen, be sure to melt them down before feeding it to them). These are good in promoting hand feeding.

Bread: Wheat bread is one of the cheapest fish food for your Koi available. What you do is take a piece of it, break it up, and roll it into small balls, and then throw it into the pond. Avoid all types of those white bread, which contain small amounts of bleach and other chemicals that can be very harmful to your Koi.

Fruit: Koi eat a wide variety of fruit. When feeding, break the fruit up into smaller pieces. Keep in mind that most fruits contain a high amount of natural sugar which can be harmful to Koi if given in large amounts, so make sure to feed them with fruits only on special occasions.

As you feed your fish with food like corn, beans and grapes, make it a point to remove the outer casing that comes with these, because swallowing those casings will be dangerous and harmful to them. Also, never overfeed your fish, regardless of the kind of food you give to them, because giving them too much will interfere with their diet, which can do more harm than good to them.

The Koi is well-known for its uniqueness when it comes to its wide array of colors and patterns. The black Koi are is unique due to its own distinctive coloring, and nothing more. In terms of age, the fish normally lives about 25 to 35 years old. These fish thrive in outdoor ponds throughout the world. The females can lay up to a thousand eggs. The males have concave anal sections and those breeding spots on the top of their heads. The babies (known as the fry) will start to emerge within four to seven days, but it depends on the water temperature conditions, and their colors will surface when they’re three to twelve weeks old. Through years of breeding, these pets have come in a wide variety of colors.

The pets can reach up to about a length of 36 inches, which calls a need for them to be kept in ponds that are large in size. The species known as the Magoi Koi is considered as one of the first black mutations which can reach to great sizes in length. Their actual color is deep bronze, which can be seen as black when they are being viewed from above. Due to their unique possibilities in terms of size, the blood of the Magoi is being re-introduced to the other species so as to maximize their potential when it comes to growth.

The Karasu Koi (“karasu” which means “crow” in Japan) is another one of those extremely old species. These fish are characterized by their black fins and black body. They can also have an orange or a white belly.

These pets can also have the ability to change color due to environmental or dietary effects. The color changes range from duller to brighter shades. The Matsukawabake Koi is known for this characteristic, which is typically black in color that has areas or white on its own body. Depending on the temperature of the water or seasons, its color can completely change. It can turn to a full white or full black, and will return to its original pattern once the temperature conditions will change.

The Kumonryu Koi (“kumonryu” which means “dragon fish”), which first appeared in the 1980’s, is considered to be as the most popular of the species of the black Koi. It was designated with such a name as it is reminiscent of the bodies of dragons that are depicted by the paintings of the ancient times (some would say that these fish looked as if they were dragons that ascend through the white clouds). This Koi can also change in color.

Enthusiasts love the Koi for their colors and patterns, and what’s even more exciting is that they can own a fish that can literally change their color right before their eyes, such as the black-colored Koi!

I want to learn about Koi ponds and believe Koi and Koi Ponds information could add value to all tropical fish hobbyist.

Real good Koi ponds would add value to your property, granted I own no land since I rent and live in New York City. I know Koi ponds are getting popular but I have no idea about them and want to learn more so please anyone that does please feel free to add to our site.