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We should never lose sight of the fact that koi are living organisms first, and living jewels second. And koi is just like any living thing in that they demand their own specific requirements for life from their environment. Throughout this series of looking . . . → Read More: 01. Creating the perfect pond environment.
I’ve been fortunate enough to earn a living from the ornamental fish hobby since I was first attracted to the world of ornamental fish in my early teens. I’ve experienced aquatic retail, lecturing and training, manufacturing and wholesale – but perhaps the most memorable . . . → Read More: 01. Koi farming guide. Why Farm koi?
Having established the environmental requirements for koi in step one of the 10 steps to successful koi keeping, step two naturally progresses on to how we provide our koi with those conditions. At every stage, it will also be helpful to clarify why each . . . → Read More: 02. Providing Koi with the best pond conditions
I have farmed koi on a hi-tech farm that was already up and running, and have designed and built an ornamental carp farm from scratch. In either situation, it is easy to underestimate the real costs involved in setting up (and in the first . . . → Read More: 02. What you need to farm koi
By now you will have spent many thousands of pounds on constructing and developing your new koi farm and hatchery, and already the clock is ticking on the time by which you need to see a return on your investment. As we will see, . . . → Read More: 03. How to farm koi
Good husbandry skills are an essential part of successful koi keeping and may involve less hands-on work than you may have first thought. Koi husbandry covers aspects of how we handle, interact and even observe our koi, and describes the full range of the . . . → Read More: 03. How to keep koi. Koi Husbandry and Koi Keeping Skills
In the 4th part of the 10 steps to successful koi keeping we start to turn our focus on the koi themselves. So far we have looked indirectly at the needs of koi and how we can manage their pond environment to achieve success.
Basically, . . . → Read More: 04. Koi pond health disease
You will have been planning and working towards this day all year and from experience, depending on how it goes, can prove to be one of the most infuriating and rewarding times of the koi farming calendar. This is when you can see whether . . . → Read More: 04. Spawning koi – Hatching eggs to fry.
Last month we had successfully spawned our koi and hatched out their eggs to produce a hatchery full of fry. These have now been stocked out into our live-food-rich mud ponds. It’s June and we’ve got to get our koi fry as large as . . . → Read More: 05. Growing koi fry, harvesting and selling koi.
Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that disease will inevitably affect every koi or goldfish pond at some time – making it necessary for us to diagnose and treat the disease effectively. We have already seen that it is quite natural for koi . . . → Read More: 05. Koi diseases – Diagnosing and Treating In Koi Pond
As koi keepers, feeding koi is one of our most enjoyable activities. It represents the time when we are able to ‘connect’ with our koi, and partake fully in an interactive relationship with our dependents. I would even be as bold to suggest that . . . → Read More: 06. Feeding koi goldfish in a backyard pond
Installing a bio filter is the price we have to pay for wanting to keep koi in an artificial pond. It performs the functions that occur naturally in a lake or river within a compact unit and is arguably the single most important factor . . . → Read More: 07. Filtration biofilters for koi goldfish ponds.
The vast majority of problems in a koi pond a can be traced back to water quality. As this vital topic has been discussed in previous articles in this series as well as its impact on koi health (and how to respond to disease), . . . → Read More: 08. Koi keeping success. Avoiding common problems.
Koi have a fascinating physiology that responds to changes in their environment in a way that not only determines their behaviour, but also ours as their keeper. With a degree of certainty, we are able to predict when koi are likely to ‘hibernate’, grown . . . → Read More: 09. Koi Pond Calendar Year
Having followed the previous 9 steps to successful koikeeping, the final step – koi breeding, can prove a contentious topic amongst koi keepers. There are those of us who want their koi to breed, taking from it a degree of satisfaction that our koi . . . → Read More: 10. Breeding Spawning Koi Successfully
It is widely regarded that a garden is not complete without a water feature, and that a garden literally comes alive when that water feature involves moving water. There are a number of alternatives that bring the enchanting atmosphere of moving water to . . . → Read More: A pond with pond pumps waterfalls fountains
Aeration.
Aeration is vital in the artificially stocked koi pond to maintain sufficient oxygen concentration in the water for all oxygen consumers (fish, bacteria, invertebrates, algae at night etc.). Oxygen can be easily overlooked as a limiting factor of for fish and bio-filters with most . . . → Read More: A: Pond keepers A to Z … Aeration to Argulus
Ammonia is a wonderful thing when you’re washing your windows. It’s not so wonderful when you’ve got a pond, especially one with fish. Ammonia can be very harmful, even deadly, to koi and goldfish, smells bad and can promote soupy green algae. Luckily, it’s . . . → Read More: Ammonia in a koi pond
Are plants and Koi a good mix? In what ways can they co-exist in a Koi pond? What are the advantages of having plants in a Koi pond? Which are the most suitable varieties?
Are plants and koi a good mix? As often seems to be . . . → Read More: Are koi compatible with plants in the same pond?
As autumn approaches, our pond enters its last scene her before the final curtain of winter approaches. Even at this late stage, the story could still have two endings, either as a tragedy or with the ponds players living on happily ever after.
Everything in . . . → Read More: Autumn koi pond maintenance
When did you last attend or witness an awards ceremony? Your child’s sports day perhaps or the OSCARS or BAFTAS on TV?
The edited highlights of the televised awards generally show the most prestigious categories receiving their awards followed shortly by the winner’s thanks and . . . → Read More: Bagging transporting koi and goldfish
Bead filters represent a departure from ‘traditional’ pond filtration. How are they different, what do they offer and could you or your fish benefit from bead filtration?
Pond keeping, especially if it involves koi can be an expensive business. As more of us focus our . . . → Read More: Bead Pond Filters. To bead or not to bead?
Q: My pond has a waterfall which returns my filtered water back to the pond (2,300-gallons). As I sat in my garden enjoying my koi , I started to wonder if the wild birds are introducing pests into the pond. As they fly away . . . → Read More: Birds, Parasites and Koi Pond Health
Growing large and voluminous koi is the objective of many koi keepers. Having purchased a beautiful specimen, the quest is to help the koi to grow to its full potential. These koi are provided with a high protein diet and an expansive pond to . . . → Read More: Bloated koi. What can I do?
Goldfish were ‘discovered’ by mistake, when their brown ancestors were bred for food thousands of years ago in China. Now they are bred commercially across many continents to feed our eyes and our insatiable demand for glowing pond dwellers.
Related to the carp, the goldfish . . . → Read More: Breeding goldfish in a pond
I have been a koi keeper for five years now and I haven’t bought any koi for the last three years. My pond is approximately 3,000 gallons and has nine koi. They are all between three and four years old and range from 20cm . . . → Read More: Breeding koi in a pond
When building a pond, we generally have a good idea as to how we want it to look when completed. Our pond size will determine how many fish can be stocked and the pond’s shape and design will be a guide as to how . . . → Read More: Building a Bog Garden
When building a pond, we generally have a good idea as to how we want it to look when completed. Our pond size will determine how many fish can be stocked and the pond’s shape and design will be a guide as to how . . . → Read More: Building a bog garden.
Conservation / Wildlife Pond
A wildlife pond is best suited to an area of garden set aside as a conservation or ‘back-to-nature’ area. It may be a part of the garden where you choose not to mow the grass, but let it shoot up to . . . → Read More: Building a conservation pond
The objectives of designing a koi pond
A koi pond is designed and built with displaying the koi in a clear and healthy environment being the main objective. Everything is planned with the koi in mind. As koi are unlike any other pond fish, the design . . . → Read More: Building a Garden Pond for Koi
Introduction:
Whether it is an inbuilt desire to return to the comfort of our pre-born amniotic beginnings, or connected to the fact that our bodies are predominantly made up of water, the evidence is clear- we are irresistibly drawn to water. Holidays by the sea, weekends . . . → Read More: Building a Garden Pond from Scratch
Arguably the hardest part of a customer’s pond building project is to reproduce in their own back garden the pond they have in their mind’s eye – which is most likely to be based on what they have seen from Mother Nature on their . . . → Read More: Building a pond. Choosing the best pond liner.
A wildlife pond is best suited to an area of garden set aside as a conservation or ‘back-to-nature’ area. It may be a part of the garden where you choose not to mow the grass, but let it shoot up to provide cover, perhaps . . . → Read More: Building a wildlife natural conservation pond
Carp This is where it all started.
Carp A dull, black/grey food fish with a natural geographical range of Asia and the watershed of the Black and Caspian Sea. It is quite easy to take koi to be a new species developed by man when we see . . . → Read More: C: Pond keepers A to Z … Carp to Colour Enhancer
One of the many joys of gardening is that many rewards are available to anyone, whatever the level of interest or input may be on an individual basis. Interests in gardening may range from weeding the borders and cutting the grass to keep appearances . . . → Read More: Care for koi and goldfish fish – From egg upwards
Most pondkeepers have experienced some problems or have heard of other people’s experiences when it comes to stocking a pond with fish.
You have designed, purchased and installed a landscaped garden pond. It has been planted for a couple of weeks, the pump and filter . . . → Read More: Choosing Pond fish – Golden rules
Pumps:
If you’re considering building a pond that features a fountain or waterfall, or are looking to install a UVc and filter, then you’ll need a pump. A pond pump has a demanding role, pumping continuously through a 12 month rolling contract in extremes of temperature, . . . → Read More: Choosing Pond Pumps
If you drive a car, the odds are you will fall into one of two categories. Those whose priorities are the looks or a car and the driving experience, and those who are interested in what’s happening under the bonnet. I fall into the . . . → Read More: Choosing the right pond filter
Compared to other pond hardware such as must-have items such as a pump and filter, a pond heater is an optional purchase (depending on your budget and your approach to koi keeping).
Why consider buying a pond heater? Better for your Koi? Our cold-blooded Koi have . . . → Read More: Choosing the right pond heater
Every pond should have one. Regarded as the heart of the pond, the pump (like the heart) must be the most reliable part of a pond and filter system. Expected to work 24 hours a day and every day of the year in most . . . → Read More: Choosing the right pump for your pond
Compared to some of the previous articles in this series, looking at choosing a pump, heater or filter, where I had my work cut out trying to condense the information required into a single article, choosing the correct UV for your pond is significantly . . . → Read More: Choosing the right UV clarifier for your pond
When we view a pond full of koi, swimming and thriving in a high quality pond environment, we are in fact witnessing the product and embodiment of thousands of different microscopic processes that will never be seen by our naked eye. Every time a . . . → Read More: Clays buffers in a Koi Pond.
A koi pond is a miniature representation of many processes that take place in the wider living world. It behaves in a similar way to many natural environments in that it interacts continuously with the adjacent environments and elements, causing its own characteristics to . . . → Read More: Cycling of nutrients in a pond.
D is for Depressing!
The majority of the D’s seem to be negative – disease, dropsy, Dactylogyrus, diet(my wife thinks so!) and I could have included death! Dactylogyrus (Gill Fluke) One of the many parasites of koi that will cause them to flick and scratch through irritation. . . . → Read More: D: Pond keepers A to Z … Depressing to Ectoparasite
The goldfish apparently has an identity crisis. It is a fish with a single name, but many guises, some as extreme as to suggest that they belong to another species.
The goldfish has very humble beginnings, with its first natural mutation simply being a change . . . → Read More: Different goldfish varieties
In this series on Total Pond Management that explores a number of processes that interact to produce an aquatic ecosystem (and give a koi pond its characteristics), we will meet many processes and phenomena that operate largely unnoticed. All of these are processes are . . . → Read More: Diffusion Osmosis in a garden pond
Dissolved Oxygen Concentration (DOC) is the term given to describe the amount of oxygen that is dissolved in pond water.
Dissolved oxygen is measured in terms of how much oxygen (by weight – mg) is dissolved in every litre of water. There are many factors . . . → Read More: Dissolved oxygen and pond fish
Any aquarist who is fortunate enough to be able to keep fish inside in an aquarium and outside in a pond soon starts to see the many parallels between keeping fish in both environments. The fish are fed an artificial diet, the water is . . . → Read More: DIY Pond building
Easter
Traditionally, Easter is the time that signals the start of the pond season in the UK. It is a very exciting and mouth watering time of the year. Never to be found at the same date from year to year, the length of the . . . → Read More: E: Pond keepers A to Z … Easter to Eye Fluke
The ornamental aquatic hobby exists because of our enchantment with the striking beauty of the many thousands of different fish species – and no more so than in the world of koi. Admired for their size, grace and beauty, it stands to reason that . . . → Read More: Enhancing koi colour with koi food
Many water gardeners or pondkeepers will inevitably dabble in fish at some time or other. Lured by the attraction of a dash of living, breathing and moving colour or tempted by the choice of a myriad of red, golden, silver and blue pondfish teeming . . . → Read More: Essential Koi Pond Goldfish Health Checks: How to keep pond fish in top condition.
Fibreglass
Considered to be the ultimate way of finishing of a koi pond, fibreglass offers many advantages as a choice of pond construction. However, applying fibreglass as a topcoat to a pond can be incredibly messy, expensive and hazardous to health with the real risk . . . → Read More: F: Pond keepers A to Z … Fibreglass to Fungus
Feeding koi should not simply be regarded as satisfying their hunger. It is an opportunity. We have seen that a koi’s diet is instrumental when endeavouring to improve their health and growth. The final of the 3 most desirable characteristics that can be enhanced . . . → Read More: Feeding koi goldfish to enhance colour
Pond fish such as koi, gold fish and shubunkins are all related to the carp which is naturally a grazing fish, constantly feeding as it picks its way through the silt and debris in a pond. They do not have a stomach, and do . . . → Read More: Feeding koi pond fish
How to feed pond fish and koi in winter . . . → Read More: Feeding koi pond fish in winter
Despite our very best efforts, fish health alerts and emergencies can occur completely by surprise. Problems can arise through no apparent fault of our own or can equally be as a direct result of our action. Either way, if we do not act swiftly . . . → Read More: First Aid for Pond Fish – What to do when things go wrong.
Koi keeping is becoming an increasingly complex hobby, driven by the needs and expectations of ourselves and our koi.
On the one hand, the needs of our koi have never changed, being the same today as they were at the turn of the last century, . . . → Read More: Fish Garden Pond Water Treatments – How they work.
Any aquarist who is fortunate enough to be able to keep fish inside in an aquarium and outside in a pond soon starts to see the many parallels between keeping fish in both environments. The fish are fed an artificial diet, the water is . . . → Read More: Flexible and rigid pond liners.
A pond liner (rigid or flexible) is the unsung hero of a successful pond. A pond’s ability to hold water is only as good as the material used to construct it and rather ironically, the more reliable the pond liner the less notice we . . . → Read More: Flexible pond liner or preformed pond. Which should I choose?
Water quality is the keystone to successful koi keeping. Remove it and koi health problems are likely to follow. There are many different water quality parameters that require constant monitoring with the results and interpretation of water tests essential to maintain a healthy pond.
he . . . → Read More: Foaming pond surface problems
Q: I understand that good water quality is perhaps the most important way of ensuring healthy Koi, and as such, parameters like ammonia, nitrate and pH should be kept within their recommended levels. But what about other measures of water quality, such as how . . . → Read More: Foamy pond surface. Why?
In the short term, a frozen pond (or more precisely its surface), will not pose any problems for the health of koi. Koi and other pond fish will naturally descend to the bottom where, if the pond is of sufficiently deep (4 feet is . . . → Read More: Frozen pond in winter covered in ice. What if my garden pond freezes?
Genetics
Genetics is the science of inheritance. Although the production of artificially occurring ornamental fish started well before the complexities of genetics were fully understood, the pioneers of goldfish breeders in particular grasped some of the fundamental principles and used them to supreme effect. Wild-type dark . . . → Read More: G: Pond keepers A to Z … Genetics to Gut
It is a long time since I last watched The Wizard of Oz (I didn’t catch it this Christmas) and I can’t recall the finer details of the ending. But what I do remember is towards its conclusion, experiencing a real anti-climax when we . . . → Read More: Garden pond filtration
Over the winter I have let my fish hibernate away. My pond froze over in the winter as I decided not to keep my pond heated but did keep it covered through the coldest months. I stopped feeding them but checked them every day and . . . → Read More: Garden pond from winter into spring
Q: I’ve been a pond keeper for years but have just recently become hooked on Koi. I want to ensure I provide my new Koi with ideal pond conditions. Having just kept goldfish before there has been no need for filters, but obviously there . . . → Read More: Garden pond koi pond filtration
We live our lives at the mercy of the National Grid. From the sounding of the alarm clock in the morning and our first cuppa through to a night spent in front of the TV, with another cuppa, our lifestyle and electricity are inextricably . . . → Read More: Garden pond power failure
As water passes from our tap, into our koi pond where it circulates for several weeks and is then discharged during a partial water change, it will experience different chemical processes. Having covered the basics of pond chemistry in the previous article, let’s take . . . → Read More: Garden pond water chemistry
Go Sanke is the collective name given to describe the 3 most respected varieties of koi
Kohaku Sanke Showa. They are highly regarded on account of their complex genetic make up which makes high quality specimens particularly difficult to produce. Kohaku. A white fish with hi (pronounce ‘he’) or red . . . → Read More: Go Sanke Koi Varieties. The Big Three.
More golden than a goldfish and at times too swift for the eye to follow, the orfe is a very popular and undemanding pondfish.
The orfe (or ide) is quite a distant relative of the carp and is more accustomed to the dynamic life of . . . → Read More: Golden Orfe (Ide) Leuciscus idus
Goldfish are such a successful and indeed popular fish for the garden pond because they are so tolerant of a range of pond conditions.
The goldfish is the golden variety of a lowland freshwater carp species whose biology and lifestyle is adapted to slow and . . . → Read More: Goldfish care and feeding
As any responsible, loving parent will testify, it doesn’t matter how well you look out for your children’s welfare, at some time they are likely to experience an unpredictable eventuality or catch the latest bug that is ‘going around’.
These health problems are recognised as . . . → Read More: Goldfish health problems. Treating fish disease.
A water feature can provide an additional dimension to the life of a garden. The sound of moving water dappling down a waterfall to the pond surface offers a worthy accompaniment to fluttering of vibrant flowers and shady foliage moving in the breeze.
Gardening horizons . . . → Read More: Goldfish Koi Keeping For Beginners
Living in a world where biggest is best and quantity dominates quality, it stands to reason that we have the desire to see our koi grow to their full potential, and a sizeable potential at that.
Koi can grow to an enormous size, with several . . . → Read More: Growing big koi pond fish
Hormones
From the Latin word for ‘arouse’. Hormones are regulatory substances that are released by specialised cells from all over the body, causing an effect on distant ‘target’ cells or organs. Hormones are incredible biological chemicals that are transported throughout the body in the blood to . . . → Read More: H & I: Pond keepers A to Z … Hormones To Isolation Tank
What’s best for your koi in winter? Do I heat my pond or not?
We mustn’t forget that koi are a warm water fish and are tolerant of a wide range of temperatures – making them an ideal pond fish. Don’t presume that koi cannot . . . → Read More: Heating a pond in winter
There are two opinions with respect to heating koi ponds. Many koi keepers believe that koi should be given a typical winter period, while others believe that heating a pond is essential to maintain koi in the best of health throughout the year.
But won’t . . . → Read More: Heating a pond over winter. Top advice
The koi keeping hobby must be like many other hobbies in that each year it is a testing bed for new products and innovations. Many are launched overnight and appear to leave the hobby just as quickly. Others are launched as adaptations from other . . . → Read More: How a pond protein skimmer works.
According to the theory of evolution, as the complexity of primitive aquatic organisms developed over time, they gained the ability to leave the primordial soup for dry land in the blind pursuit of survival.
If we look at how pond pumps have evolved in the . . . → Read More: How a submersible pump works
Dear Ben,
How deep should a Koi pond be? And why does a Koi pond need to be a certain depth? Is it because Koi need a certain gallonage of water, or if the pond is really long and wide, will that make up for . . . → Read More: How deep should a koi pond be?
There may be a chance that last year’s hit movie, starring Bruce Willis was inspired the extraordinary sensory physiology that is shared by all fish (including koi). That is, their lateral line, often referred to as their sixth sense.
A koi’s sixth sense capitalises on . . . → Read More: How Koi see and hear.
The vast majority of us depend on tap water as the source of the pond water in which we keep our koi. This is the same tap water that we use to drink, cook, wash and bathe in, and our water companies claim that . . . → Read More: How tap water purifiers for ponds work.
Goldfish were ‘discovered’ by mistake, when their brown ancestors were bred for food thousands of years ago in China. Now they are bred commercially across many continents to feed our eyes and our insatiable demand for glowing pond dwellers.
Related to the carp, the goldfish . . . → Read More: How To Breed Goldfish Kill blanketweed and string algae. |
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