Water Gardening With Koi

07/29/2010 By: Marc Hudson

Koi have been a mainstay of water gardens for almost two hundred years. The earliest records suggest that rice farmers in Japan noticed that some of the carp growing in the rice fields were more colorful than others. Soon the farmers began capturing uniquely colorful specimens and raised them for breeding purposes. Believe it or not, Koi are actually a hybrid species of the common carp!

Koi Varieties

Koi come in a multitude of varieties, each with different sizes and color patterns. Koi are generally limited to the major colors of white, black, orange, red, yellow, and blue, but can have any combination of these colors in any single fish. It takes a trained breeder to spot the subtle differences that can account for deviations between some species.

Habitat

Koi are extremely hardy fish which no doubt contributes to their immense popularity in home water gardening. They can withstand a wide range of temperature fluctuations and water qualities. However, in warmer climates, Koi prefer deeper water to get away from summertime heat. Likewise, in harsh winter ranges, Koi generally need to be kept in ponds with a depth of at least one meter.

Many Koi ponds are self-sustaining for the fish, meaning they rarely need to be fed as a result of natural vegetative and animal matter that may accumulate in the pond.

Many Koi ponds are self-sustaining for the fish, meaning they rarely need to be fed as a result of natural vegetative and animal matter that may accumulate in the pond. Still, many owners choose to feed their Koi formulated Koi feed which encourages rapid growth and immune system function in their fish.

Protecting Your Koi

To many Koi collectors, the fish represent not only a time investment, but a financial one as well. Specific varieties of Koi may fetch anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars on the open market. As a result, special measures should be taken when planning or improving your existing Koi pond to protect them from opportunistic predators.

Koi ponds have been a mainstay in Japanese Gardens for generations

A Koi pond should have several deep areas to allow the Koi to retreat in the event that a hungry heron should make a stop in your pond. Likewise, plant material such as Water Lilies can be used to provide a safe hiding place. Pond netting can be implemented in extreme cases where fishing birds remain a persistent problem. Also, any ledges or walls around the pond should be high enough from the surface to prevent a hungry cat or raccoon from making a snack out of your favorite Koi.

Koi Wrap Up

Raising Koi is a unique and rewarding experience at the very least and can add color and life to any water garden. They are forgiving fish, which can tolerate a degree of neglect, making them the perfect pond pet. Don’t hesitate to contact your local pond supplier for details on starting your own Koi pond today!

Interested in more topics related to Water Gardening?

Reader Comments

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Krocker360

Posted: 13.10.2011 01:17:30

great!not much familiar with Koi but got some ideas.

failafraid

Posted: 12.12.2011 06:19:46

Tips for Winter Care of Koi & Goldfish

    Augment angle appropriately. The baptize temperature is bottomward now and we should be agriculture our angle beneath as their metabolism slows down. Hopefully you accept been agriculture your angle able-bodied with a aerial protein aliment this summer to acquiesce them to body up a assets of fat to advice them through the winter. After the baptize temperature drops to the sixties you should abatement the bulk of aliment accustomed and augment alone already a day. A aureate antibody based aliment is acceptable at this time as it is calmly digested. Pond Care's Bounce & Autumn Aliment or Microbe Lift Cold Weather folrmula are accomplished foods at this time of year. As the baptize temperatures abide to bead to beneath 60 degrees you should augment alone two or three times a week. It can booty your angle two or three canicule to abstract aliment at this temperature. Already the temperature drops beneath 50 degrees you should stop agriculture altogether until bounce back the baptize temperature charcoal aloft 50.

    As organics decompose in the pond they can aftermath baneful gases that could be trapped in the pond if it is covered by ice for added than a few days. It is important to accumulate at atomic a baby breadth chargeless of ice so that these gases can escape. Do not breach the ice as the shock after-effects created can accident or annihilate your fish. One of the easiest means to do this is with a amphibian pond de-icer. This accessory floats in the pond and has a congenital in thermostat to about-face the heating aspect on back the baptize temperature drops beneath 40 degrees. They can additionally be acclimated to accumulate a baby pond from freezing solid acceptance you to accumulate your angle alive.
washing machines

Krocker360

Posted: 15.12.2011 01:27:12

Nice article... is there any more specific type of fish applicable to this than Goldfish?