How to Keep Healthy Koi in Your Fish Pond

Koi is one of the most preferred pond fishes. They are graceful and beautiful and intelligent as well that can be tamed over years. Their life span is usually 25 to 35 years when suitable environment is provided and they can live up to 200 years. These koi, however demands for special care and a bit of maintenance than an ordinary carp may require.

Koi requires high level of oxygen in the pond as well as an efficient filtration system if you want to live them to survive several decades. Biological filter are most suitable for Koi maintenance since they help maintain water quality in the Koi pond by processing all the waste and residue in the pond naturally and keeps the water in the pond clear and clean.

You may need to take some more precautions to avoid your Koi to acquire illness. Water in the pond must be changed regularly to keep the toxic element’s level under control. At least once in each season the elements such as ammonia, nitrates and nitrites should be tested using test kits. Stress is another cause of illness in fishes. Hence they must be provided with an environment that is safe and healthy.

Koi requires a larger pond to live in. If they are in a smaller pond, they would not grow to their regular size. Ideally a Koi pond should size up to about 500 gallons of water with about 60 cm (24 inches) especially when the climate is cold. This is required since the Koi are vulnerable to fall prey to birds and other wild animals. You can protect the fish from such dangers by providing vertical walls to the pond and by giving more volume to the pond.

For optimum health for Koi, the pond must have the right level of pH. An undesirable variation would reduce the level of oxygen in the water. The ideal pH level in the pond is around 7.2 to 7.4. If they are higher than this, water softeners formulated for ponds can be used to bring them up. If the pH level is lower you could just replace some water to correct it.

The hardness of the water should be frequently checked as well. The level of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be zero. If the pH level is higher in the pond water, this means that the toxic elements are higher too. A surface skimmer is a special tool that can be used frequently for maintenance of water quality. Surface skimmer keeps the surface clearer and allows enough oxygen to pass through the water which eventually promotes the health of Koi.

Feeding the Koi with the right food also improves the health of the fish and provides longer life. Since Koi are omnivorous they eat both animals and plants. They can be fed with fresh fruits so that they acquire lot of nutrients that may not be sufficient in manufactured Koi food. Fruits like watermelon, lemons and oranges can be given after washing them thoroughly to rule out any traces of pesticides before feeding to Koi. You may remove the skin and seeds of the fruits before feeding them. You could cut the fruits in to small pieces or slices and drop them into the pond.

In addition to fruits Koi can also eat bread, fresh shrimp, krill, catfish chow, lettuce, trout chow, peas and earthworm. For regular feeing you may also get Koi food from pet stores or online stores.

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