how to tell if a fish is male or female (sexing koi)
How can you tell if a koi fish is male or female?
A mature male koi will have a slender looking body, while a female
koi will have a rounded body, particularly when it’s spawning season and she’s carrying a nest full of eggs!
Next, examine your koi’s fins. A male koi’s pectoral fins is thicker, pointy and solid color
How can you tell if a fish is a boy or a girl?
Look for tubercles. One of the main tell-tale signs that your koi
fish is male, is the development of tubercles (small white spots) on
their gill-shields head and pectoral fins it is well emphasized during
the breeding season.
Look for a thinner, more streamlined body shape
Look for a concave vent
Look for a midline ridge
Watch for chasing behavior.
Koi fish are a great addition to any garden koi pond or aquarium.
But whether you just brought your koi fish home or its spawning season fish friends
determining the sex of your koi fish can prove difficult for new owners.
This is especially true if the koi are still young.
But, determining koi fish gender is important for the health of your koi.
If you can determine the gender of your koi, you can more easily
watch for gender-specific sickness and disease in the koi’s life.
Male and female koi differ slightly in shape and size.
SEXING KOI FISH
Sexing, or identifying the koi fish sex, can be difficult if the koi is under a foot long.
However, with older koi fish you can easily identify the gender by comparing size.
Generally, male koi are slimmer and smaller than their female counterparts.
Female koi have a fuller body and broader shoulders.
But, at a young age, male koi are typically larger than female.
Male koi may also have larger pectoral fins than females. T
hese fins are more pointed than round female fins.
You can also identify a koi’s gender by examining the vent area on the underside of the fish.
A male koi will have a line from head to tail.
A female koi will have the same line, but will also have another crossing in a “T” shape.
A female’s vent will also be more round and more pink than a male’s.
Observe your koi during feeding to see if they skirt away or fight for the food.
If you carefully feel your koi’s pelvic bones, females will have a soft
abdomen in between the bones for holding fish eggs.
In male koi, however, these bones are fused. Again, these methods are difficult when koi are young.
Also take note of your koi fish’s eating habits. Females tend to be
more aggressive during feedings, staying near the surface and
continually eating, while male koi swim around more throughout the session.
During spawning season, male koi will develop some tiny white spots on the sides of their face.
These are called tubercles and feel rough to the touch, like sandpaper. Females do not develop tubercles.
How do you know if a fish is a boy or girl?
Boys will tend to have a longer, thinner body than girls. Examine the fins on your goldfish.
A boy’s pectoral fins will be more prominent and angular than a girl’s, with white bumps to the front of the fins. Study the shape of your goldfish’s body.
Do fish have a gender?
Most fish are gonochorists, but hermaphroditism is known to occur
in 14 families of teleost fishes.
Usually hermaphrodites are sequential, meaning they can switch
sex, usually from female to male (protogyny). …
The type of spawning that occurs depends on male body size.
How can I tell if my angelfish is male or female?
Photo from myaquariumclub.com
Look for a large crowned head on male angelfish. On a male, the front of their heads will have a high, noticeable crown. …
Check for a smaller, more rounded shape on female angelfish. Female angelfish might have more rounded bodies than males. …
Watch them as they swim towards you.
There are quite a few traits you can look for between the fish but,
unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to sex angelfish without seeing their breeding tubes.
In some cases it can be difficult to tell until you actually see the female laying eggs.
Sexing based on the breeding tube:
The female’s tube is blunt and wide like an eraser and the male’s is thin and pointy like a pencil tip.
Some of the traits you can look for to potentially identify a male can be:
A large bump on the forehead
The forehead drops down just before the eyes (females are more angular)
The belly line is more flat (females are more angular)
There are a bunch of other “ways to tell” out there on Google and
Youtube such as forked ventral fins, territorialism, amongst many others.
The best you can really do is try make an educated guess until you see them spawn.
Try putting a piece slate up against one of the side walls of the aquarium and see if a pair sets it up as their territory.
It becomes very apparent when they’re about to spawn because
they won’t let any other fish into their territory and you will see one or both of the fish pecking at the slate.
They are cleaning it and preparing it for laying eggs. learn more here
How can you tell a male from a female koi fish?
Male koi may also have larger pectoral fins than females. These fins are more pointed than round female fins.
You can also identify a koi’s gender by examining the vent area on the underside of the fish. A male koi will have a line from head to tail
Are fish asexual?
When a red-bellied dace and a finescale dace (freshwater fish in the
carp and minnow family) mate with each other, they produce a
hybrid with a very special ability: it can reproduce asexually.
This asexual hybrid should have a tremendous evolutionary
advantage over its sexually reproducing forefathers.
Can fish make babies?
After fertilization, the female can produce multiple batches of
babies without a male present.
Egglaying is also what the name suggests: the fish lay eggs instead of giving birth to little fish.
As the fish grow, they hatch into fry with an attached yolk sac, and then mature into fish.
How do you tell if a koi fish is a boy or girl?
A mature male koi will have a slender looking body, while a female
koi will have a rounded body, particularly when it’s spawning season and she’s carrying a nest full of eggs! Next, examine your koi’s fins.
A male koi’s pectoral fins, the ones near his head, will appear pointed and solid in color
How can you tell a male from a female betta fish?
Wait until characteristics begin to develop with age. Male and female Betta fish will look very similar when young. …
Observe the size and shape of their fins. …
Note his or her colors. …
Look for the egg spot. …
Compare their body shapes. …
Put a mirror beside or in the tank.
How do koi fish give birth?
Koi do not give birth to live young but instead deposit eggs in a method called spawning.
Spawning means to produce eggs or young in large numbers.
Koi are known as “egg scatterers” because they scatter their eggs all
over when releasing them during spawning.
Look at your koi and try to determine whether the belly looks rounded or a bit bumpy in appearance. A pregnant koi will have a very full, almost “bloated” look about it. …
Feed your female koi high amounts of protein before it lays eggs if you are aware of the pregnancy. …
Determine the age of your fish.
Do koi fish get pregnant?
“Pregnant koi” is a term for female koi who are filled with eggs they are ready to lay.
Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. Koi fish typically mate in warmer water in the spring or summer seasons.
If you started your Koi pond with the intentions of selling Koi and
making money, you must understand the koi market.
Selling Koi is something like selling coins from a coin collection. Common coins sell for less than the rare ones do! Into which one of these markets do you intend to market your koi?
If you choose to sell the rare and special Koi, you are going to need
a lot of experience and a good sized investment in order to be able
to compete with the vendors that are already selling their prized koi.
Genetics 101
Hopefully, you are aware that you cannot take just any two Koi, put
them together, and expect to get a batch of champion Koi for your efforts.
You may wind up with 500,000 fry that are the color of mud, and good luck selling them!
You must breed like to like in order to produce Koi that people will want to buy.
It is a good idea to do some investigating, and find out what Koi variety is the most popular where you live. For example, in the United States, the metallic Koi are extremely popular.
In order to breed what sells in America, you might want a trio of
the Utsuri variety and the Hikarimoyo-mono variety in order to
capitalize on this craving for fish bling!
In dog breeding, if you breed two poodles together, the outcome of that breeding will be poodles.
The same is true with the Koi. For example, you must breed Kohaku to Kohaku in order to get that variety.
There are people who enjoy crossbreeding the Koi that are of the
Kawarimono variety to see what they get, but you should not
depend on this idea to provide yourself with baby Koi to sell.
Think of this combination more as an experiment, to be done after
you have become proficient at breeding.
Sources for Quality Koi
In order to make a profit from selling Koi, you are going to need to
locate a source for nice, healthy breeding Koi that are of good quality.
Most of the people who sell Koi in a location other than a storefront are breeders themselves.
Realize that it is going to cost you more to breed your own Koi and
sell them than it would to buy quality Koi in bulk from a trusted vendor, and then resell them.
Expect to pay a nice sum for the sexually mature Koi that will soon be ready to spawn.
Koi as a Package Deal
Many of the people who are interested in Koi are suppliers of pond
equipment, or are so experienced in either the building of Koi ponds or equipment supply.
These people have chosen to sell their Koi as part of a package deal
that includes a supply of equipment for a Koi pond, or the building of a Koi pond to go along with the fish. Often, this can get you an exceptionally good price on a group of young Koi.
Learning to Ship Koi
You will also need to learn the ins and outs of shipping Koi unless
you are certain that you are only going to sell them locally.
You may well want to reconsider that choice as you become more experienced in all things Koi.
You could also take advantage of the packing and shipping
expertise that is shared by members of a Koi club in your area.
Koi Competitions
In order to become better known in the Koi world, you may want to enter your Koi into one or more Koi competitions.
You would need fish that are as near to perfect an example of their type as possible.
The color of the Koi must be just right, and size will also makes a difference.
When it comes to a Koi show, color and size are used to classify the fish for the competition.
You can find shows both hear to your home as well as far away by
perusing fish magazines, or doing a search online for Koi competitions.
Some shows are free, while other shows require an entry fee. You
may also be asked to join a Koi organization that is sponsoring a
show before you will be allowed to exhibit your fish.
A Koi competition can also give you valuable feedback on your Koi. Comparing your fish to those of others can help you to see any flaws your fish may have.
On the other hand, you may see quality in your fish that you were not aware of. Be careful of buying fish at a Koi competition.
They are stressed out, and many may harbor parasites. You are taking a chance with your money and the health of your fish at home when you buy a Koi you are unsure of.
Selling Your Koi
You have probably figured out that selling Koi is not quite as simple
as it looks when you see people in a pet store buying fish.
You will not be standing with a smile over a holding tank of fish,
netting them out as crowds of people clamor to buy their favorite! Selling Koi can take a lot of time and effort.
You are going to need a good-sized holding tank for the young fish you want to sell.
Quarantine for Your Own Sake – And Your Fish
Moving fish from one setting to another can be stressful.
If you purchased Koi from a dealer and plan to resell them, you will
want to place these fish in quarantine before you sell them to others.
Sometimes these fish will have parasites, which can cause them do
develop a bacterial infection.
Both of these maladies are contagious to other fish. Stress can also kill Koi. Even Koi of your own breeding can be stressed when moved from their familiar tank to another one.
If you are planning on breeding Koi, you are going to need a lot of
room outdoors for quarantine tanks or ponds, nursery tanks or
ponds, breeding tanks or ponds, and hospital tanks or ponds.
After you have been in Koi for a while, you will probably come up
with a few more reasons to have multiple places at your disposal to keep Koi in.
Never Sell a Sick Fish
It would be difficult to maintain a good business if you were to sell sick fish to your customers.
Some vendors do not want to take the time to wait out a quarantine period of any length.
They are in a hurry to get back the money they spent on the koi they are reselling.
This is why it is better to raise and sell your own Koi. Even though it may take longer for you to get started, you will be glad you waited.
If you choose to sell fish you have bred yourself, then you will need to cull the young koi.
Any of them who have an off color, poor markings, or some sort of a deformity should definitely be culled.
Do not feel too bad about doing this! You would not want to take the chance of one of your fish being accidently bred, and passing on its genetic defect.
When selling Koi that you have bred yourself, it is up to you to
maintain an environment for them that is as stress free as possible. Keep an eye on the Koi you have for sale, and remove any of them that show one or more of the following signs –
• Sitting on the bottom of the tank or pond with its fins tightly clamped
• Sunken eyes
• Listlessness, swimming half-heartedly
• An ulcer anywhere on the fish
• Blood streaks on the fins of a fish
• Fins that have started to rot away
Most people start out selling Koi in their own town. You may have friends and family who own water gardens, and have admired your Koi.
While you will not be able to sell too many Koi in this manner,
people will spread the word about your fish all over town, which may very well bring you some customers.
Selling Your Koi on eBay
You may decide to concentrate on selling your Koi on the Internet.
This gives you the advantage of allowing your potential customers
to see photos of your koi and ask questions about them before they decide to buy them.
People are able to bid on the Koi they like, and the highest bidder gets the Koi.
Selling online may suit you and your schedule much better than
having people come to your home at odd hours looking for Koi to buy.
Other Online Sites for Selling Koi
Other auction sites online deal in tropical fish and supplies. A little research would probably unearth an auction for nothing but Koi and Koi supplies.
You can also post online want ads to tell interested people what you have for sale.
If you can, choose a want ad that allows you to show photos of your fish.
In the United States, Craigslist is a good place to sell young Koi. Each large city has its own Craigslist, and many of the ads can be placed for free.
Some of the online sites such as Fish.com have their own rules that the seller must follow.
They usually have a “delivered alive” guarantee, which tends to
make people feel more secure about buying online.
Shipping Your Koi
You must make sure that you have come up with a foolproof
method of shipping as well as a couple of alternate plans before you
attempt to send a live fish halfway across the country.
The exact method will depend on the –
• Size of the Koi
• The season of the year
• Your climate, and the climate of the location where you are sending the Koi
• How long it will take the package with the Koi to arrive at its destination
How to Pack Koi for Shipping
Most of the time, you will want to pack the Koi in a plastic bag filled about halfway with water.
A canister of aquatic oxygen should be on hand so you can place a couple of generous blasts into the bag.
This insures that the Koi has enough oxygen to last it until it arrives at its new home.
During the winter, there are special heat packs you can use to provide warmth to the fish.
There are also ice packs to use during a hot summer.
From the outside, the box you pack the Koi in should look just like any package.
It is not wise to arouse the curiosity of anyone who may come into
contact with the box, for people have been known to tear into
packages to see what is inside if they think it may be an item they would like to have.
Seeing a fish inside a plastic bag, the majority would toss the box in the trash.
This is not what you want to happen to your precious Koi.
The best thing to do when shipping Koi is to use a package delivery
company that can deliver packages overnight.
In the United States, you have your choice of FedEx and United Parcel Service. Both offer Next-Day Delivery, and are an excellent method for shipping Koi too far away places.
The Koi may be one of the only products that increase in value from one year to the next.
You may decide to raise your young Koi for another year or so in order to be able to sell them for more money.
You can also get a better idea of a young Koi’s pattern and
coloration if you do not rush to sell it as soon as it becomes old enough.
Letting your Koi overwinter in a pond with a mud base can reveal some lovely fish to sell come spring!
Breeding Koi can be extremely rewarding in spite of all the pitfalls that may pop up along the way.
The first time you see a batch of fry from your own breeding trio, you will be amazed at their sheer number.
As they grow, you will have a hard time keeping yourself from just camping out beside the Koi pond 24/7.
This is just how fascinating baby Koi can be!
How much is a full grown koi fish worth?
It is also true that certain varieties of koi are more expensive than others. A high-quality 6-inch (a white fish with large red patches) may cost $3000.
A high-quality oghon (basically a golden, metallic-colored fish) of
the same size may cost $100.
Can I sell koi fish?
The koi fish itself varies in price. … While that may seem like a lot for one fish, some breeders will pay an astronomical$20,000 for a highly prized adult koi.
Younger koi around four inches can sell for $10 or less for less serious koi owners. But pricing varies everywhere
How much is a large koi fish worth?
It is also true that certain varieties of koi are more expensive than others. A high-quality 6-inch (a white fish with large red patches) may cost $3000.
A high-quality oghon (basically a golden, metallic-colored fish) of
the same size may cost $100.
You have breed your koi fish successfully and now the koi fish eggs are hatching.
Now you got koi fry, now what? You are now wondering how to care and raise them.
Fear not I am here share you my proven blueprint in raising and caring koi fry in this post.
I am also adding my koi fry growth rate videos for you to have an idea what do koi fry looks like during its early life.
Like koi fry weekly growth rate and monthly koi fry growth rate
This is how a 3-week old koi fry looks like
This is My 1-week old koi fry from Showa Female, sanke and hi utsuri males breeders
This is the update of my koi fry they are now 2-week old
2-week old koi fry developments are
Coloration develop of the 2-week old koi fry some still remain yellows some have black patterns appearing already
The body mass increase and getting more volume compared to 1-week old koi fry who’s body is thin like a needle
There are Tobi koi fry appearing already
And this is the actual spawning video of the koi fry breeders Spawn last October 2
koi eggs in pond
koi eggs in pond
what do koi eggs look like for those who did not see what do koi fish eggs look like watch the video below
koi eggs hatching time here in my place is just 2 days since I live in a warmer tropical region
raising koi fry is easy you just feed them the right food and give them the right environment to live.
maintain the water quality by adding strong aeration and for their first week of life you can feed them hard boiled egg yolk
Watch the video here on how to feed koi fry with hard boiled egg
Here is the update of my koi fry they are now 3-week old
Here is a video updated of my koi fry they are now 4-week old
Here is the update of my koifry from female showa, hi utsuri, and sanke male koi fish breeder
5-week old koifry
6-Week old koifry
Here is an update of my koifry they are now 6-week old koi fry
To be continued…. stay tune
baby koi fish- Everyone knows koi fish for their underwater beauty. But not everyone knows the effort that goes into raising them.
raise koi fry Sometimes larger koi will eat smaller koi. While some koi are
eliminated naturally, koi owners use a process called culling to keep
numbers of koi fish down to appropriate levels.
Culling is recommended once a month for the first three months. Raising koi can be really demanding, especially throughout the early stages.
what do baby koi fish look like They can range from milky white to yellow or green. After the next two days, the koi fish eggs will hatch. These small koi are called koi fry. … After the koi fish eggs hatch, baby koi attach themselves to the side walls of the pond.
what to feed baby koi
What do you feed small koi fish?
A well-balanced Goldfish or Koi diet consists of:
Flake, pellet, frozen or freeze dried foods.
Goldfish and Koi need more carbohydrates than other freshwater
fish; feed them foods specifically formulated for Goldfish and Koi.
how fast do koi fry grow
How long does it take for a koi fish to grow to full size?
They usually don’t get more than 15 inches but the largest types can be around 36 inches. They normally live for about 30 years but its not unusual for them to reach 100 if well cared for. The oldest koi was 226 when it died in the 1970s it can take more than 10 years to get to full size.
koi fry color usually for one week old are yellows
what to feed koi fry
Baby koi can eat food out of your refrigerator, such as hard-boiled egg yolk.
Watch Video here on how to feed koi fry hard-boiled egg yolk
Start feeding your koi fry 4 days after hatching since at 4 days from
hatching their digestive system is already fully develop
They can also eat commercial foods, such as baby brine shrimp and freeze-dried krill.
Throughout the first month of life, feed your young koi four times a day
The fry should be fed a quality food, such as baby brine shrimp,
aby fish food, or quality flake food ground into a fine powder.
Feed the fry small amounts several times a day. Maintain good water quality by performing regular water changes.
what color are koi fry
For newly hatch black and then after a week it turns yellow
how to build a koi pond If you are planning to breed koi fish , then you must start out on the right foot.
You cannot simply find someone who is selling koi, bring a few
back home with you, then toss them into a five-gallons of water
bucket and expect them to thrive in this “new home”.
Koi are hardy, but this treatment would certainly not be good for any fish, much less the Koi.
These fish have the potential to be very time consuming, but you
can curtail this somewhat by doing your homework before even purchasing a few Koi.
A Pond for You
If you want to keep koi, then you need a pond. It is best to build the
Biggest gallon pond you can afford, because these fish can grow in length
to reach twenty-four inches or even more.
You will also want to make sure that you have plenty of room for spawning when the time comes to breed your koi.
You may want to design your own pond, and do all the work needed to build it yourself.
You may want to hire someone to design and building a pond for you. You may decide to purchase a pond liner, filter, and pump from a dealer who specializes in fish ponds.
Formal or Informal?
One of the best ways to decide exactly what kind of pond you want is to look at what others have done to create theirs.
Keep in mind that you must decide on how large it will be, and
what shape will fit best in the area of your yard that you have selected for a pond.
Ponds can be formal, or informal, and it is up to you to decide which one of these styles will work best for you.
Pond Size Counts
Pond size is everything when keeping koi carp. Large koi or small, your
choice of size is going to affect how many koi you will be able to
keep, what kind of biological filtration system you will need to keep the pond
water fresh and clear, and how much time, effort, and money it will
cost you to do daily upkeep and routine maintenance on your pond.
Koi experts agree that if you enjoy koi enough to want to breed
them, you need to build the largest outdoor pond you can afford.
You certainly do not want to go to the time and expense of building
a pond (or having it built) only to have to build another one because your fish are outgrowing the first one!
Water feature Pond Depth and Width
Keep in mind pond owners that you need to consider not only how wide and long your pond will be, but also how deep is your pond water.
Long time breeders insist on ponds that are at least four feet deep,
as they claim the fish grow larger and have better conformation when living at this depth.
Koi also need a pond that is at least twelve feet in length, and has at
least one hundred forty square feet of water surface.
Once you see the number of fry that come from the first spawning
in your pond, you will understand why lots of room is essential!
You can certainly have a smaller pond, and enjoy watching your koi
swim and frolic about, but you will not have much luck in breeding your koi. Pond size is crucial when it comes to breeding.
Where to Build Your Pond
You will want consider carefully the area on your property that you
choose for the location of your breeding pond.
You will want your koi pond to be accessible to you, so that you do not have to put forth an effort to get to it.
If you choose an area that is difficult to maneuver in during good
weather, it may be impossible to navigate come winter.
The same goes for a breeding pond that is built during the fall, after the leaves are gone.
If your pond is too close to shrubs or trees, things may get a bit crowded in the spring when they leaf out and/or bloom again.
You will also have to put up with leaves dropping into your pond.
It is best to place the breeding pond as close to your house as
possible, so you can see your fish from a window while inside.
This makes it much easier to check on them during bad weather.
It also makes it much easier to feed them if they are just a few steps away from your door.
Sun, Shade, and Tree Roots
You do not want to build a breeding pond that will be in the sunlight or in the shade all the time.
A little sunshine is good for koi. However, koi can sunburn unless they have a place to go in order to get out of the sun.
Too much shade can inhibit the growth of the fish. Watch out for the roots of any large trees that may be nearby.
They can snake out much further than you would think. Many an
area chosen for a koi breeding pond has been abandoned because
of the massive root systems of elderly trees.
You can either be sure to choose an area that is not around any
large trees, or choose the type of tree that you would like around the pond.
Many people choose palm trees, as the roots of this tree cannot hurt a pond. Palm trees are not messy like most trees are as they shed their leaves.
If too many leaves make it into your bottom of the pond before you have a
chance to use a net to get them out, the resultant decomposition is
going to make your filter system work much harder than it needs to.
Providing a breeding pond for your koi may mean a lot of work for you if you choose to design and build it yourself.
However, you will be rewarded tenfold by taking the time to do the job properly.
How much does it cost to build a koi pond?
A shallow 4′ x 6′ or 6′ x 8′ professionally-installed pond, including
excavation, liner, filtration system, and simple rock border might cost $2,000 to $3,500.
As a DIY project, the same pond might cost $500 to $1,000. Larger ponds, depending on features and equipment, can easily cost $5,000 to $15,000 or more.
What is the minimum size for a koi pond?
Well, at three feet deep, a six foot by eight foot pond will yield 1077 gallons. But these are merely the minimum recommended requirements.
Also, the more fish you have, the larger your pond should be. A pond of the aforementioned size will be enough for no more than five average sized Koi.
How big does a koi pond need to be?
A pond for goldfish or water lilies need be only about 2 feet deep for zones 5 or greater.
Ponds built in colder areas may need more depth to keep the pond from freezing solid.
Ponds built for koi should be close to three feet or deeper to allow these larger fish enough space.
How much does a pond cost to build?
The average price to install a pond ranges from $1,288 and $4,882, with most homeowners paying around $3,005.
The expense is usually $2.50 to $7.15 per square foot. For a larger-scale project, expect to pay $3,000 to $8,200 per acre, or more. Ponds can be surprisingly inexpensive to install.
How much does a small pond cost?
Landscapers can charge anywhere from $3,000 for a small, simple pond, to $10,000–$30,000 for a larger more complex pond.
These expenses include the costs of the design, materials and labor.
The area must be dug out, lined, and a filter and pump need to be installed.
How many koi can be in a 500 gallon pond?
Most pond experts say you can have one Koi per 500 gallons.
But this is NOT true, The number of koi is dependent on the pond
location, size of koi, quality of water and climate conditions.
Small, shallow ponds can heat and cool fast. Our quarantine tank is a 12 ft intex pool that holds 1800 gallons and is 32 inch deep.
How thick should a concrete pond be?
You should consider pouring concrete for the sides of the pond as well. If they are vertical, you will have to form them with wood first.
The reinforcement should extend from the floor into the wall. The thickness of the wall should probably be about 6 inches.
How do you build a fish pond?
Set up a space. …
See if the dirt is suitable by making a small hole and pouring some water in it. …
Dig a hole. …
If the ground is not suitable for the water, put some material such
as plastic, sand, a thin layer of concrete, etc. over the dirt after you dig the hole. …
Put in wet land plants. …
Add water.
How deep does a pond need to be to support fish?
A pond for goldfish or water lilies need be only about 2 feet deep for zones 5 or greater.
Ponds built in colder areas may need more depth to keep the pond from freezing solid.
Ponds built for koi should be close to three feet or deeper to allow these larger fish enough space.
How deep should a pond be for fish to survive?
Koi ponds should be at least 3 feet deep. The ideal depth of a pond
that supports a population of koi is 48 to 60 inches, although koi can survive with a minimum depth of 36 inches.
That depth offers the koi protection from wading birds and also
allows for a more uniform water temperature.
How much does it cost to build a pond?
Average Costs to Dig a Pond. The average backyard pond is between 200 and 300 square feet. Since the typical price per square foot is $2.50 to $7.15, most people pay between $500 and $2,145. The total average cost for this size is roughly $1,100.
How many koi are in a 4000 gallon pond?
Let’s do the math using our conservative rule of thumb suggesting
one Koi for every 250 gallons of well filtered & maintained pond water. A 2500-gallon pond translates to 10 full-grown Koi and you have 30! Obvious Solution – Get rid of 20 koi or build a bigger pond.
How big is the average pond?
So, a pond with a maximum depth of 12 feet would have an average depth of about 4.8 feet.
A more accurate method for calculating average depth is to make
many measurements and calculate an average.
How many koi are in a 1000 gallon pond?
Just because you have a 1000 gallon pond and you bought a filter
for 1000 gallon doesn’t mean you can put 20 Koi in there and expect great water quality.
As a general rule, cut the number of gallons the filter says it can
filter in half, and even then keep the stocking density low.
How do I calculate the size of my pond?
Square/ Rectangular (Gallons): Multiply length x width x average water depth (feet) x 7.5. …
Square/Rectangular (Acres): Multiply length x width, then divide by 43,560 (square feet per acre) …
Round (Gallons):
How many gallons of water are in a one acre pond?
Example: I have a 1.25 acre pond with a 6′ average depth. 1.25 x 6′ = 7.5 acre-feet. If you are trying to figure out GALLONS, multiply acre-feet by 325,829 (gallons in 1 acre-foot) = Gallons. Example: I have 7.5 acre-feet of water.
How many koi are in a pond?
Let’s do the math using our conservative rule of thumb suggesting
one Koi for every 250 gallons of well filtered & maintained pond water.
A 2500-gallon pond translates to 10 full-grown Koi and you have 30! Obvious Solution – Get rid of 20 koi or build a bigger pond
koi breeding tips that will make you breed koi fish successfully
koi breeding This is my personal experience on how to breed koi fish.
I had also included the actual koi breeding step by step videos that I had done in koi breeding.
The videos start with identifying the koi fish genders down to hatching and caring and raising koi fry.
The most important part is to identify koi fish breeder gender check out the video below
How can you tell if a koi fish is male or female?
A mature male koi will have a slender looking body, while a female koi will have a rounded body,
particularly when it’s spawning season and she’s carrying a nest full of eggs! Next, examine your koi’s fins.
A male koi’s pectoral fins, the ones near his head, will appear pointed and solid in color
Also, check the male breeders if they are ready to be breed by checking if they have enough milt and sperm watch video below on how to do it.
koi breeding setup
My koi breeding setup is simple DIY breeding koi pond tank and the materials I used are bamboo for the koi pond frame and Trapal for the liner.
how old do koi have to be to breed
Koi fish are sexually matured when they are about 1-year old already but it is not advisable to breed them at young age
Why? because the membrane of the female egg is thin yet and the outcome is high mortality rate of the koi fry,
It is hard to determine koi fish age if you just bought it from somebody else or at the pet store, since sizes will not determine koi fish age,
because koi fish that are placed in smaller koi pond grows slow, so tendency some will breed even if their sizes are small because of their age are sexually matured already.
How long is a koi fish pregnant?
Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. Koi fish typically mate in warmer water in the spring or summer seasons.
There is no timeframe how long will the female koi fish developed eggs. What you can do is isolate the female koi fish breeder.
This will make the female koi fish breeder to store and develop eggs.
You can tell if the female koi fish breeder has enough eggs already by looking at its abdomen.
The female koi fish breeder abdomen will be swollen
The mating period lasts about two to three days in which the female lays the eggs upon various surfaces while the male shortly after fertilizes them.
how often do koi fish lay eggs
Normally koi will breed once a season on Countries that have four seasons usually spring time.
Why, because during springtime the temperature is warm and foods are abundant.
but not always, sometimes it will take warmer water and sometimes colder water.
Sometimes a sudden change in water temperature and water chemistry stimulate them to spawn.
Once instance to prove this is I transfer my large female koi to the breeding tank with cooler water
and when I check her in the morning it had spawn that night already.
It did make for a mess in her show tank. Some will spawn twice in a year, some won’t and even skip a year.
Some breeders will induce spawning so that they can develop fry on a schedule.
I always do this though I am not using an artificial breeding method controlling environment works for me.
I isolate the female from males and condition both the female and male koi fish breeder
I can breed my koi fish the whole year round since We don’t have four season here in my place.
Some koi will spawn later in the year but for the most part the farms time to a part of the season to keep their whole operation running on a schedule.
What age to breed koi?
A Koi’s prime mating age is between 3-6 years old, but koi have also been able to produce baby koi fish until they are up to 15 years old.
Make sure to give your breeding koi couple some privacy when it’s time for them to mate. Koi need a place to lay their eggs.
How long does it take for koi fish eggs to hatch?
Your koi eggs will hatch around 4 days after they are fertilized for colder Countries. 2 days for Tropical warmer Countries.
They will then attach themselves to structure like the side of the tank or pond for 2-3 days where they will be feeding off their yolk sac.
Is my koi fish pregnant?
However, your koi will appear bloated and pregnant for up to several days before she’s ready to release her eggs.
At this point, you could still stop the spawning from happening if you don’t want eggs or baby fish (fry)
in your pond by simply removing the females from the pond, keeping them separate from the males.
koi breeding Separate the female koi fish breeder for conditioning
Separate the female koi fish breeder from male koi fish breeders. Why? It will help ensure the female koi fish breeder to develop more eggs.
If female koi fish breeder is mixed with male koi fish breeders in the community pond.
The males will mate her without your knowledge, so the female koi fish cannot store enough eggs on its tummy.
Here is a photo of a koi fish female breeder prior from separating and conditioning
I change the water 60 % and leave the water dripping slowly this will stimulate them to breed too.
Add nesting media I created a floating yarn and net
how do koi fish mate
The male koi fish will chase the female koi fish and bump its abdomen to the pond wall or nesting media.
Adding the koi fish breeders
I add the koi fish together at 6 pm in the evening and note this was also done at the full moon.
I check them at 12:00 midnight if they already breed but there was no koi breeding sign yet,
a breeding sign is female will gather the nesting media and seems like creating bubbles and males will chase her,
so I just leave them and then when I wake up at around 5:00 am in the morning they are already chasing and breeding here is the actual video of them breeding watch koi fish actual video breeding
Remove the koi fish breeders after they are done mating.
You will notice if they are already done mating when the males no longer chase the female koi fish breeder.
You need to remove them fast immediately because after laying eggs they will start eating their eggs.
Then perform 60% water change this will prevent water to be foul because of the sperms.
in koi breeding you must always prepare methylene blue for protecting the eggs.
Place methylene blue to prevent the molds attacking the eggs.
how fast do koi fry grow this will depend on the temperature of the water the climate the faster they grow because warmer temperature stimulate their metabolism and this will trigger them to eat fast.
What do koi fish eggs look like?
Koi like to lay their eggs on pond plants, spawning mats, or spawning ropes. … Koi eggs are tiny and translucent.
They can range from milky white to yellow or green. After the next two days, the koi fish eggs will hatch
Here is a video of a koi fry growth chart watch it here
koi fry growth rate in the first week from hatching their sizes are about 1 cm and their koi fry color are all yellow yet.
you can watch this video of my 1-week old koi fry
how fast do baby koi grow to depend on the temperature, size of the pond and sources of live foods.
If you feed them daily with live foods they grow too fast also if your temperature is warmer they tend to feed more in warmer temperature because warm climate makes their metabolism fast, so they get hungry all the time.
koi eggs hatching depends on the temperature here in my place which is tropical and warm koi eggs hatch in 2 days in colder region koi eggs hatch for 7 to 10 days.
3-week old koi fry
what do baby koi fish look like It really depends on the stage for the first-week yellow, second week two colors appear black and yellow, third week 3 colors? If you want to see baby koi fish fry see my video below
1-Week Old Koi Fry Video
2-Week Old Koi Fry in our koi breeding
3-Week Old Koi Fry
4-Week Old Koi Fry Video
5-week old koi fry video
6-week old koi fry video
Here is the vidoe of my 7-week old koi fry now
Update of our koi fry today, they are now 8-week old koi fry, here’s a video below
Update today the koi fry are now 9-week old koi fry their number decreases because
I was not able to remove the tobi koi fry and last week also the water quality was degraded because some of the clams died and also their pooh increase already since they are growing to watch the video below
THE NATURE OF TOBI
Steve Hopkins
Rain Garden Ornamentals
June 2007
Anyone who breeds koi knows about tobi. In other species these are often called “shooters”.
They occur in goldfish spawns too. They are the fry that grow to juvenile size very quickly.
They are noted for eating their smaller siblings.
Most tobi koi do not have the refined characteristics the breeder is looking for, although some do.
I have never seen a good explanation of how and why tobi develop.
If anyone knows of an authoritative description, please let us know. Until then, I will give you my off-the-wall
theory about tobi.
I think tobi are hard to explain because there are two factors at work, genetics and blind luck.
Genetics: Koi and goldfish carry in their genetic code remnants of everything that come before.
A top-notch pair of gosanke or ranchu carries all the genetic material needed to make the ancestral common carp or crucian carp from which they were derived through selective breeding.
They also have all the genetic material needed to recreate the incremental steps in their evolution.
In the offspring from a pair of sanke you will find kohaku, higoi and perhaps even a magoi.
A group of ryukin offspring may include individuals with characteristics of wakin and common goldfish.
The more ancestral forms are always more hardy.
Left to their own devices and allowed to breed indiscriminately for many generations, a population of koi will revert
back to something resembling the ancestral common carp and goldfish will revert back to something resembling a crucian carp.
In a group of sibling fry, those with a more primitative genetic make-up will be just a little bit stronger and faster giving them a slight advantage when it comes time to eat or avoid a predator.
But, in the world of fish fry, a slight advantage can become amplified many fold.
There is a snowball effect. A fry that gets just a little bit bigger than its siblings is better able to
capture and compete for food so it grows faster.
The larger the size disparity, the bigger the advantage. So, over just a few weeks time an individual that is just slightly
larger than its siblings becomes ten times larger than its siblings.
At some point, the size disparity becomes so great that the larger individual can eat its siblings providing it
with a new limitless food supply.
The snow ball effect escalates. Blind Luck But, how can some tobi be excellent examples of highly refined koi or goldfish and show no signs of being a throw-back to an ancestral form?
I think it is because there is a blind luck factor at work as well.
Imagine a group of larvae which have absorbed their yolk sack and are ready to begin feeding.
Perhaps some arrive at this stage a few hours ahead of the rest because they were spawned first or their position on the spawning substrate was a fraction of a degree warmer then the rest, or because of some other factor.
The larvae instinctively dart at a moving food particle.
Some times they catch it and sometimes they miss.
They are growing extremely rapidly and catching one or two extra choice food morsels can make a difference in that growth rate.
Some individuals are just lucky and are able to get a tiny bit ahead of their siblings.
As described above, a very small advantage can quickly snowball into a large advantage.
An individual with no innate genetic advantage can become a tobi just through bind luck.
Another Observation In some batches of fry the size distribution is large and there is an unusually large number of tobi.
In other batches the size distribution is narrow and the siblings look almost identical.
In general, the better the fry are fed the less variation there will be in their size.
If abundant live food can be kept in front of the fry at all times while maintaining good water quality, there is a much lower incidence of tobi.
Under the best of conditions the growth of fry is phenomenal and most of the population (except for those with serious deformities) has the potential to grow at the rate of tobi.
The best way to minimize the number of tobi is to provide better nutrition and husbandry.
The biggest and best koi and goldfish will have had the best nutrition and water quality their entire lives.
Periods of less than optimal conditions can have long-term effects.
In extreme cases, we say that the fish is stunted.
The younger the fish, the more severe and lasting the effect of poor nutrition and water quality.
Tobi are considered by most to be undesirables.
If they are genetic throw-backs then they probably are undesirable. However, you should be on the look-out for those fish
which have both the genetic potential to meet your selection criteria and the good luck to have gotten off to a fast start in life and become a tobi.
It is always a good idea to separate tobi if you can; especially if they have become large enough to be cannibals.
But, do not automatically assume they have no potential.
