Koi and Pond Care Guide

Koi and Pond Care Guide to Keeping Your Koi and Pond in the Best Condition.

Buying Koi

When you are looking to purchase new koi there are many factors involved such as what origin you would like your koi to be from. The quality of the koi can vary greatly depending on what country it has been bred in, Japanese koi are known for there excellent quality along with Israeli koi were dedicated breeders have cared for their koi with the added bonus of warm weather conditions to aid the growth and development of the koi. When selecting to buy a koi we have provided you with a koi buying checklist as featured below.

Koi Buying Checklist

Good body shape and skin quality
Well distributed pattern the full length of the body
Clear, well-shaped head
Fins in proportion to body
Bilateral symmetry
Straight spine
Good lively deportment

Koi Feeding

When you are feeding your koi it will provide you with a great oppourtunity to appreciate all of the koi you have in your pond as they will rise to the surface in order to eat the food you give them. The temperature of the pond is one of the most important factors in Koi-and-Pond-Food selecting the right type of food for your koi as if your pond is heated to 14°C (57°F) all year round you have the advantage of being able to feed the fish throughout the year, enabling them to grow at a much faster rate than in a pond without a heater. However if your pond is not heated it is vital that you regularly check the temperature of your pond as this co-insides with how much to feed your koi. If the temperature of the pond drops to below 8°C (46°F) then you should stop feeding your koi and only start to feed them again when the temperature rises to 8-14°C (46-57°F) with a low protein wheatgerm for easy digestion. When the temperature of your pond increases to above 14°C (57°F) you should feed your koi on staple koi food and during the warm months in the summer you should also look to add supplements such as colour and growth enchancing food.

Koi food is available in a range of different sized pellets and sticks the sizes of which are available in small, medium and large so that you can select th correct food that will be easiest to digest by your koi. You should aim to feed your koi several small amounts each day rather than two large feeds and in the cooler months one large feed a day.

Koi Health Care

In order for you to keep a regular check on the health of all of your koi it is good practice for you to observe your koi for any signs of disease or illness when you are feeding your koi. If you notice that the majority of koi within your pond has the same symptoms this will make the process of treating them much easier as it will allow you to treat the whole pond with a selected treatment. If you notice that one or two of the fish have parasites this could be due to them flicking against the side or bottom of your pond and will require treatment. When adding a treatment to your pond you must make sure that your medications are measured accurately so that the whole of the pond is treated. To ensure this it is vital that you know the exact volume of your pond as you will need the correct measurement of treatment so that it will efficiently treat any illnesses within your koi pond. If you measure to small an amount of treatment this will have no affect on the koi and if you add to much treatment to your koi pond this could promote adverse conditions within your koi for being exposed to too much of the treatment. To measure out the correct amount of koi pond treatment use a good measuring cylinder or measuring scales if you purchase the powder form of treatment. If you notice individual wounds on any of your koi this would suggest that there is an area within your pond that is rubbing against the koi, you should treat your koi immediately and check your pond for any areas that may cause damage to your koi.

Maintaining Water Quality

In your koi pond it is impererative that you take regular water checks of your koi pond at intervals of once a week in order to make Maintaining-Water-Quality sure that the build up of ammonia, nitrate and pH is not too high within your koi pond. In order to test your water you can purchase test kits that will give you the levels of each chemical within your koi pond. As the majority of problems with your fish will come from the water quality within your pond the necessity for regular tests enables you to identify problems quickly and help prevent jeopardising the health of your fish due to the quality of your pond water. The test kits that you can purchase enable you to check your pond water by adding the test solution to a sample of your water, this will then change the colour of your water meaning you can compare the colour to the test scale provided within the kit. From this the results will be clear as to what ammonia, nitrate and pH levels your koi pond water has.

More Koi and Pond Information

If you would like to discover any more information on how to care for your koi and pond then please come and visit us at Prestwood Petzone where our staff will be pleased to advise you on choosing the most suitable koi and pond for you, plus answer any queries you may have. For a detailed map and directions on how to find Prestwood Petzone please click How to find us.

The information contained in this koi and pond care guide is intended to provide basic guidance only and is no substitute for a good book. Recommended titles can be displayed to you upon your visit to Prestwood Petzone by any of our staff members. Please contact us if you would like further information regarding any of the books or products that we stock. You can contact us by phone, e-mail or letter. You can find all of our contact details by clicking Contact Us.

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