Some Real Noobie Questions...

[Hotwire]

First off, Im real real new at this, and will probably make some pretty strange statments and ask some questions of the same quality.

Q1) My local walmart sells koi. They are $5 each. But only like 2" long. Are they real?

Q2) How fast do they grow?

Q3) Is it okay for me to keep these small Koi in an aquerium? (a 20gal aquerium)

[Terri]

Hello Hotwire, welcome to the board :-)

Q1: Several wally worlds sell koi, they range in size but typically they offer small koi. I would urge you to look elsewhere for purchasing koi though.

Q2: Growth rates depend on several factors... if given a very good environment they will grow very quickly - sometimes 6" to 12" in a season/year - genetics plays a part in growth as well, some have the "big" genes. Over stocking/crowded conditions and poor/average water quality will slow growth,... water volume is also a factor, the more water the more room to grow. It's been suggested that koi should have no less than 250 gallons per fish(adult size) to thrive long term(that another factors aswell).

Q3: An aquarium is really not the ideal place for raising koi but hobbyists do do it with some success. A 20 gallon is very small, even for koi purchased around the 2" size. For short term housing it would be "ok", but if this is something you would like to do... bigger would be better - a 100 gallon aquarium or more would be more suitible, along with that would come filtration, your average petshop aquarium filters would not do the job for koi.

While koi are wonderful pets, they need lots of space - they don't do very well in small systems long term. The tend to be a fast growing fish and by all accounts are "messy" so maintenance on the system is not what you'd expect,... it takes dedication and time but the rewards are amazing seen in the health of your fish. While small koi are easier to maintain they do not stay small, as they grow they system they are living in must be able to grow with them to some degree, if it can not then problems are sure to develop.

I personally don't agree with Koi being kept in a glass house, the best place, besides mother natures lakes/steams ;-), would be a backyard pond of not less than 1500 gallons, but that is just my feeling/opinion...

[Jackie Ramo]

!welcome

Terri has given excellent advice. Right now I have 6 2" koi in a 29 gallon aquarium. These are babies from my pond caputred when they were just fry. The difference in size and colour between these 6 and the ones outside is quite dramatic. I cannot say these guys have thrived in the tank although they seem healthy enough. One has deformed gills, not sure if the size of water made the difference or not. So I would not recommend keeping koi in a small tank. BTW mine are being moved to a larger space very soon.

Do you have plans to build a pond?

[Hotwire]

Thank you for the warm welcomes.

I am in norther ontario canada and It gets pretty cold up here in the winters, I mean like -45c and my back yard is about 25' x 25'. So building a pond is going to be not a real option right now. Unless I can get somthing that is very deep. Raccoons and bears are also an issue.

Any suggestions would be great, maybe even an indoor pond?

[Jackie Ramo]

I know several people who keep thier fish inside.

http://backyardpuddle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227

Mudsow talks about her set up in the above link