Outdoor Pond Essentials: Koi Care and Feeding Tips

Koi Fish

An outdoor pond wouldn’t be complete without fish swimming in the water.

Some pond owners treat their fish as a pet and would even name them. This is understandable as koi fish, like any other pets, are very personable.

They bring great joy as they add to the relaxing atmosphere in your backyard.

Koi are suited for outdoor life, can be trained to recognize your voice, and eventually be fed from your hands.

If you’re considering to have koi fish in your pond as well, here are few care and feeding tips you can use to keep them and your

pond healthy.

Make Sure Your Pond Is Ready

Koi fish need room so they can freely swim around and grow. While it’s tempting to take home all attractive kinds you’d find, this will only put to risk your koi and your pond’s water quality as well.

At least 1000 gallons of water is needed to raise one koi. Koi fish can grow to two and half feet or more and therefore would need more space so they can swim.

Basing it on the pond size, you can grow one koi for every ten square feet of your pond, and then one goldfish per three to four feet of the water surface area.

Outdoor Pond

Refrain from adding fish right after your outdoor pond is built.

Let your pond prepare for at least 30 days before welcoming another life to support.

Once your pond is ready and you have already determined the number of fish you can care for, then you can start getting your koi.

Be Extra Careful When Purchasing

Make sure that the koi you’re purchasing is in good condition.

Pay attention to the tank where the fish is kept. If you see dead fish along with live fish, move on to the next dealer. Every fish in the tank should be healthy otherwise take none at all.

You can tell that a fish is healthy if they’re active, their fins are outstretched, and their body color is bright.

Koi fish can be very expensive once they’ve turned to adults already. You can therefore save by picking baby koi fish and growing them yourself. Koi fish come in various colors and more often than not, the more desirable colors tend to be more expensive.

Let Your Koi Adapt To Your Pond

Try to shorten travel time and avoid exposing the fish in the bag in direct sunlight.

Practice caution when transferring your fish to the pond. Let the bag sit on the pond first for at least 30 minutes so it can adapt to the change in temperature.

Afterward, open the bag to mix in water from pond and then slowly let the fish out.

Feed Your Koi Sparingly

In a naturally-balanced pond, koi fish are able to feed themselves. You can even take vacations with peace of mind that your koi will not go hungry.

You can offer your koi food when they’re extra active. You can as well use food as a reward. However, during the cold winter months, your fish will hibernate. If your pond is deep enough, you need not take them inside your home because they’d be safe staying at the bottom of your pond.

You also need not feed them at this time as they would be unable to digest their food. Forcing them food can kill them and excessive food waste will only harm water quality.

In normal days, avoid feeding your fish more than they can consume. It’s only natural for koi to appear as though they need and could use more food. Don’t fall to the trap.

Check These Out!

Check out this article about outdoor pond essentials, koi care and feeding tips.

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