Getting the Right Koi Supplies

Keeping koi is a wonderful and rewarding pastime but in order to keep your fish happy and healthy you will need to know how best to look after them and make sure you have all the essential materials and supplies. The supplies you need will depend on the size of your pond, its location and the number and size of your fish.

Some of the regular koi supplies you will need are food and medications, water treatment chemicals and water testing equipment, including a thermometer as water temperature can be critical in caring for koi. You will need to replace the water frequently and tap water will need to be dechlorinated before being put into the pond.

The initial supplies you will need include filters, both mechanical and biological and, of course, a pump or the filters won’t work at all. The size of the pond will influence how big the pump needs to be and what size tubing you will need. If your pond is large and you have a good collection of fish it would be well to have backup equipment in case of failure. It might be a smaller unit for emergencies until the larger one is repaired or replaced but it must still be able to do the job.

One of the most important things you will need is a quarantine tank. Koi are quite hardy creatures and are able to survive the journey from the breeder to their new home but a quarantine tank offers several benefits. It’s a place where you can evaluate the health and condition of the new fish and can conveniently treat it and monitor its recovery if there’s anything wrong with it. It will also save any disease or bacteria going into the existing pond. If a fish is unwell it is far easier to keep a quarantine tank at the right temperature than a large pond. Heat will increase the growth rate of bacteria that may otherwise lie low during, for example, the winter hibernation.

The fish may need to stay in the tank for several weeks so it is important that the tank is as large as possible. The filter and pump for your existing pond may need to be routed to the tank or you may use a smaller one – perhaps your backup unit.

Other essential supplies for your koi tank include an airstone to keep the water aerated, a plant or other hiding place for the fish to reduce stress and a cover to protect it from predators. If you are keeping a single fish in the tank you should consider adding a healthy companion as koi are social fish and you can also see how the fish react to each other.

Another advantage of the tank is that you can get the new koi used to the environment by replacing the tank water with some pond water as well as fresh so that it’s easier for the new fish to adapt to the new environment.

It gives great peace of mind, too, to know that you’re putting only healthy fish into your pond and the close monitoring of the new koi will supply you with plenty of enjoyment as you watch them playing with their new koi friends at feeding time.