Koi Pond Tips

Many people believe that Koi bring good luck, or 'ong' as the Chinese call it. In their culture Koi ponds are used as part of the overall plan to fill their lives with ong and feng shui. In other parts of the world Koi are simply thought to be a relaxing and fun reason to build a pond in your back yard. Whether you're looking for 'ONG' with a capital 'O', or fun with a capital 'F'. It's hard to beat a Koi pond in your yard.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are going to be building your own pond, or plan to convert an existing water garden to a Koi pond....

Koi are a social and playful fish. The more time you spend with them, the more their individual personalities are revealed. The life-span of some Koi variety can go up to 200 years.

Koi are ideal for a backyard pond, or water garden, because they are hardy, beautiful, playful and love to be hand fed. When choosing Koi for your pond, look for active, fast-swimming fish that "get along well with others". Avoid fish that are isolated as well as any with signs of injury such as split fins.

The fish will eat floating Koi food but are easily overfed because they like to nibble all day. Do your fish a favor and give them just enough to eat for a four or five-minute period. Koi generally eat more in warmer temperatures, less in cooler temperatures.

A Koi pond requires filtration and oxygenation to keep your fish alive and healthy. The pumps, filters, and other water flow features of your pond or aquarium are what keep the fish alive. Don't think that you are doing your fish a favor by shutting down your filters and pumps at night to let the fish sleep. They do not mind the noise, it is part of their environment, and they need the oxygen. Especially during the night in summer-- all the aquatic plants in the pond will consume oxygen during the night, and warm water holds much less O2 than cold does.

Although a Koi pond is not a lot of work, there are regular chores that must be performed to keep your pond's environment balanced. Chief among those tasks is algae control. You will never eliminate algae 100%, but it is essential to keep it under control.

Fish ponds can get high concentrations of phosphates from food decomposition, and nitrates from the nitrification cycle. High concentrations of phosphates and nitrates are the food for pond algae, along with some iron as a catalyst.

You will also want to keep an eye on water temperature, ammonia, and pH levels. Think of your fish pond as a life-giving ecosystem and do what it takes to keep your citizens alive. Your Koi will reward you with many years of pleasure in return.

For more information about koi ponds, please visit us at www.macarthurwatergardens.com

Until then - Happy Pondkeeping!