History

Varieties

There are more than 80 varieties, but the following are the most common.

Kohaku - a white Koi with red markings and one of the most common high quality Koi.

Sanke - a white Koi with red and black patterns.

Showa - a black Koi with red and white pattern.The dominant color is black and if there is any black on the head, it is a Showa as apposed to a Sanke.

Bekko - same as Utsuri but with black on white.

Asagi - the Asagi are characterized by scales which have a net-like appearance. An intense red normally covers the belly, the extended pectoral fins and the sides of the face.

Ogon - they are one solid colour and they have a distinct metallic shine to their scales. The usual colors are platinum, white or gold.

Gold Ogon

Platinum Ogon

Shusui - cross between a Doitsugoi and an Asagi. They have a bold line of navy scale on the back with a bright orange or red belly like the Asagi. Shusui that have red color up to the dorsal line ( Hi Shusui )

Shiro Utsuri - a black Koi with white pattern.

Hi Utsuri - a black Koi with red pattern

Ki Utsuri - a black Koi with yellow pattern

Tancho - red rising sun like the Japanese flag against a white background on the head. Any variety of Koi can have a red Tancho mark on its head.

Aigoromo - a white Koi with red pattern and the edge of each red scale black (Three colour cross between Asagi and Kohaku.)

Sumigoromo - a white Koi with a blackish pattern with red on the edge of the scale.

Budogoromo - a white Koi with Sumigoromo appearance.

Ginrin - pearl silver reflective scales and metallic, or diamond, scales.

Kinrin - pearl gold reflective scales.

Kin Ginrin - a group of variety with diamond reflective scales.

Kawarimono - collective name for non-metallic Koi, which do not fall into any of the other varieties

Hikari Utsuri - all metallic Showa varieties.

Hikarimoyo - all other metallic varieties of more than one color.

Butterfly Fin Koi- beautiful pectoral, ventral, dorsal, and caudal fins that are longer than other Koi.

Doitsu - no scales at all and they have a line of large scales along their lateral and dorsal lines. There is a Doitsu version of almost every variety.

Goshiki - This means five colours and is composed of black, white, red, blue, and metallic gray.

Other:

Matsuba

Hariwaki

This one is pearl gold reflective and therefore a Kin Kikokurya

CHOOSING KOI 

Good Koi are judged mainly based on shape, pattern and elegancy. 

They should be symmetric in shape and clear of any deformaties.

Their pattern should have no blemishes and the edges must be crisp and sharp. If they have stains on their face, head or fins, they are less valuable.

The colours must be deep and pure. 

If the Koi swims gracefull and with elegance, it is more valuable.

The Pond

Position

The fish needs some protection against constant direct sunlight;

If the pond has no shading, the water will probably be too warm for the fish in typical South African conditions.

No shading causes excessive algae growth;

If you are going to have water plants, remember that the plants require at least five hours of direct sunlight;

If you do have water plants, the plants provide shade and no alternative shade is required.

Nearby trees provide excellent protection, but can also cause too many leaves in the pond which, if not cleared on a regular basis, cause bad bacteria growth and ultimately bad water conditions;

Care should be taken not to place a pond near any possible poisonous trees or scrubs. (Refer to the list of plants in annexure)

Depth and size:

The golden rule is, the bigger the better. It is easier to maintain good water conditions in a big pond, temperature fluctuations are reduced and the fish will in general be healthier, happier and grow faster.

The pond must be in proportion to your property;

In respect of depth, the deeper the pond, the better the fish can escape from extreme weather conditions. If it is extremely cold or extremely warm, the fish will go to the deep end;

You can see the Koi so much better in shallow ponds.

In my experience, a deep end of at least 1 metre and a shallow end of at least 600 cm works well for a typical home pond, however, the ideal depth for Koi is 1.5 metres.

With a smaller, deeper pond, you limit evaporation of water because you limit high temperature and surface area.

To calculate the water volume, you multiply the width, length and depth to get the total volume. A 4 m length x 2 m width x 1 m depth will contain 8000 litres if you fill at right to the top.

A pond always appears to be at least 20% smaller when it is filled, therefore, always go 20% bigger than what you planned for.

Water plants

Water plants look lovely and create a tranquil environment and compliment your pond.

They are expensive. The current price of a normal fairly small water Lilly is currently R 50.00.

They preclude you from using too much salt in the water. With plants, you are limited to 0.1% (1,35 kg / 1000 l) salt concentration although the ideal concentration for Koi is 0.2% (2.7 kg / 1000 l)

Because you are limited with your salt concentration, you will have more algae growth.

They preclude you from treating the pond properly with certain chemicals like Potassium Permanganate or salt.

They give hiding space for the fish which gives them better protection against sunlight, birds and other elements;

The big Koi tends to eat the plants. It is therefore sometimes needed to protect the plants from access by the fish.

Proper care has to be taken to ensure that the plant is not poisonous to the fish;

If there are too many plants, you might not see the fish.

They can easily overgrow the pond and require constant attention if not controlled properly.

They help to eliminate Ammonia;

At night time they use oxygen and therefore compete with the fish if there is limited oxygen in the water.

They compete with and therefore control excessive algae growth because they use the Nitrates in the water also required by algae.

During day time they create oxygen which is beneficial to the fish.

They can introduce fatal bacteria or parasites if proper treatment has not been taken. They should always be placed in quarantine before introduced to the pond.

They provide spawning material in the spawning season. After spawning, the plants can be removed easily and placed in a spawning tank, thereby preventing the fish from eating the eggs.

Filtration

Mecahnical Filters

The typical way to filter your pond mechanically is to use a sand filter. Quite a lot of pond keepers will tell you that a sand filter is an absolute no no and should only be used in swimming pools combined with chemicals. We believe that this attitude derives from many websites written by dealers who are trying to sell their high tech biofilters and then break down the use of sand filters.

Cons

If filter sand is used, you will definitely have numerous problems with clogging of the filter.

If you bypass your filter for longer than a day (due to lack of oxygen) or do not backwash regularly, you might have problems with nasty bacteria.

There is a fairly big initial capital outlay because you need a stronger pump ( R 1100.00) (to backwash the filter effectively and push the water through the gravel bed) and your filter will cost you approximately R 1000.00 and your gravel will cost you approximately R 300.00 ( R 100 per bag)

Pro’s

It is an extremely convenient way to keep your pond crystal clean by a simple backwash once a week. This you can do with you suit on and takes only a few minutes. At the end of the day, you want to enjoy your pond and do not want to clean huge dirty filters by hand, which is sometimes a mission.

The average sand filter provides approximately 150 square metres of surface area for bacterial growth which in itself is normally sufficient for a 10 000 l pond. Combined with a small biofilter filled with for example alfagrog or lava rock, you will have sufficient mechanical filtration and enough biofiltration for even a 20 000 litre pond.

Damage to the biomass is minimal with backwash.

It looks neat and can be buried or placed far away from the pond.

Compared to the latest biofilters, the capital layout is not that big and it is very durable.

It is easy to bypass with a simple valve. (If required for medication purposes) Before you resume, do a proper backwash to avoid problems with nasties.

Although it clogs up from time to time, it can be opened easily to enable you to stir any crust developed at the surface before you backwash.

Biological filters(Bio Filters)

• The main function of a biological filter is to create bacteria which break down the hazardous ammonia in the water deriving from fish faeces into Nitrites which in turn breaks down to Nitrates. The name is thus misleading because it does not really act as a filter, but traditionally the biological filter had a dual function as it also acted to filter debris. However, in our modern society, most people use mechanical filters like sand filters to clean the water from debris before it reach the bio filter and the amount of debris caught by it is minimal.
• The more fish in the pond, the more ammonia is being created and the bigger the bio filter required.
• The bio filter is the most important filter of all and is often neglected. If it does not work properly, there will be no bacteria to break down the ammonia, and the fish will die.
• A bio filter is any system that creates the right type of bacterium required to break down ammonia. It normally contains a container with bio media inside, and the water flows over the media into the pond. Waterfalls also act as bio filters but are normally not sufficient.
• Bio media is the media placed inside a bio filter to create an ideal environment for the bacteria to grow. The best on the market is Alfagrog which contains a lot of air pocket which is ideal for them to grow in, or lava rocks, which does the same. Plastic sponges or plastic bioballs or even plastic hair curlers are quite popular, but they need at least ten times more media than lava or alfagrog.
• The bacteria required needs a surface to cling on and with ammonia and oxygen they thrive. However, it takes at least one month for them to grow, and therefore, a biological filter is not effective within the first month, and it takes at least three months for it to function properly. Only after about 12 months, it is fully mature and runs at full strength. Therefore, it is always advisable to refrain from placing to many fish in a pond with an immature bio filter. Rather start of with a few fish and gradually add more fish in accordance with the growth of the bacteria and the maturity of your pond.
• It is possible to boost the growth of bacteria by placing some mature bio media from a different pond into your new filter. This will stimulate growth and mature your filter in a much shorter period. There is also products for sale to "seed" your filter. Ask your local pet shop.
• The bacteria also grow inside your mechanical filter like for instance a sand filter, against anything it can cling to in the pond, and even on the liner of the pond. However, this is normally not enough, except if you only have a few fish.
• Because the bio filter gets dirty from time to time due to debris escaping your pre filter, it should be cleaned to prevent the growth of unwanted bacteria. This should be done by ONLY using pond water because any Chlorine in normal tap water will instantly kill the sought after bacteria, and rather stay away from Chemicals as far as possible. Cleaning should be done every three months depending on your system and the effectiveness of the pre filtering system of your pond.
• Size: The larger, the less often you have to clean it, and remember, you can have it too small, but never too big, and leave room for extensions.

UV Light

• Unless you are going to have only a few Koi, a UV light is essential in South African conditions;
• In very simple terms, a UV light is a waterproof Ultra Violet light, normally in the form of a flourescent tube. The water from the pump flows over the tube towards the outlet of the pond and gradually kills most of the algae in the water.

Quarantine

DO WE OR DON’T WE QUARANTINE....?

This has always been a controversial topic among Koi keepers as to how important quarantining is.

Here are some DO’S and DONT’S , you make up your own mind....!

1) Do have a quarantine facility ready for your new arrivals, the bigger the better.

2) Do regular water changes.

3) Do test for ammonia and nitrites regularly.

4) Do take scrapes if possible to ensure proper treatments for parasites and bacteria.

5) Do have appropriate aeration

6) Do monitor your new Koi’s behavior.

7) Don’t use chemicals on new arrivals until they have settled in correctly.

8) Don’t quarantine fish alone, they are social creatures and need company.

9) Don’t subject your new Koi to fluctuating temperatures.

Koi is affected by stress, much like us human beings, which can result in all kinds of diseases and viruses. By netting, placing them into bags and transporting them are all stressful situations for them.

When we buy our new Koi from reputable Koi dealers, our Koi should be parasite free and healthy, but due to the stress, the fish are affected and so are their immune systems, making them susceptible to all kinds of "nasties".

Even if your new fish are bought parasite free and declared "clean" a week or so later, your fish could appear sick and full of parasites due to the stress or low immunity.

WHY DO SOME HOBBYISTS NOT QUARANTINE?

1) They loose fish during quarantine or;

2) They don’t have a quarantine facility or otherwise don’t have the space for one.

We believe in QUARANTINE all the way.

It is just not worth losing all your Koi that you have had for years, due to two new fish you have just added to your pond that is riddled with parasites. 

Especially in view of the KHV (herpes) virus which can kill all your fish overnight, you can not take chances. There were quite a few recent KHV outbreaks in South Africa and it is a reality also in our country, contrary to popular belief. There is no treatment available, and you can not diagnose KHV with a microscope as with parasites. It can only be diagnosed in Germany, although there is a facility in Durban who can test your fish and diagnose KHV with adequate certainty. It requires at least 18 degrees celcius to show its colours, and therefore your quarantine facility must have at least a temperature of 19 degrees celcius.

WHAT IS REQUIRED FROM A GOOD QUARANTINE FACILITY?

One must ensure that the environment for quarantining is good. The following are some guidelines:

1) have an adequate sized quarantine pond, which is covered with a net to prevent the fish from jumping out(they tend to jump out in the first few days)

2) filtration, although some hobbyists feel that the turbulence of the water might stress them further;

3) a well-aerated pond;

4) correct temperature, a bit higher than your main pond to almost force possible outbreaks; (at least 19 degrees celsius)

We feel that a kids size porta pool that hold approximately 1000 litres of water is suffiecient.

Some hobbyists quarantine their new Koi for four weeks. However, you should look at various factors when deciding how long. Factors to be taken into account are the temperature, the season, whether you bought from a reputable dealer, do you have the peace of mind that the fish are parasite free, etc.

One must also always remember that during the quarantine period......

Do not over medicate;

Always monitor the behavior of your Koi carefully;

Check that your filtration system is working correctly;

Test your water regularly;

Do not unnecessarily handle or disturb your fish in quarantine, they are there to adjust, relax and recuperate;

It is advisable not to feed your fish for at least two days in quarantine, to allow them to settle in;

Watch for the fish rubbing against the sides, this could be an indication of the fluke parasite, also for any sores that appear or red markings.

If all goes well, you can safely move your Koi to the main pond within four weeks.

You should always have a quarantine pond available, not only for new fish, but also for existing fish. A quarantine pond is quite valuable for treating individual fish that have injured themselves or that have become ill. It is better to remove these fish and treat them individually than to treat the whole pond.

We believe that it is a good idea to keep "feeder fish or tester fish" in a quarantine pond, as Koi does not like to be alone. This also serves to keep the new fish calm and secure in their new environment as well as keeping the biological filter active.

If you don’t have a quarantine tank, it does not mean that you cannot buy Koi.  It’s just that the risk of infecting your other fish is greater, and really, can you take that chance?

A word of advice,,,,, try to invest in a microscope, whereby you can take a scraping should you suspect your fish is carrying parasites. 

HOW TO QUARANTINE A NEW FISH

1) Once the fish has arrived to its new home, float the bag in the quarantine pond for about 10 minutes for the fish to adjust to the new water temperature. Most people say 30 minutes, but we believe it is not advisable to put the fish through another 20 minutes of stress inside a bag full of Ammonia. After all, the fish must get used to various other water conditions conditions for example Chlonine, PH, etc. 

2) Open the bag and gently with your hands or a net release the fish into the water, do not allow the water from the bag to flow into the quarantine pond, as this may be infected.

3) Float something large on the pond or net the top, this is to prevent the fish jumping out. After a week or so, it should be safe enough to take it off.

4) Try not to feed your fish for two days to allow them to adjust to their new surroundings.

5) On the 2^nd day you can treat the pond with salt (3 kg per 1000 liters) and potassium permanganate.

6) Do a 10% water changes every two days and add salt accordingly.

7) Test the water regularly for salt content, ammonia, nitrite and ph levels.

8) Make sure you have enough aeration, adding an extra air stone will do no damage.

QUARANTINING PLANTS

Not only can new fish carry bacteria and parasites on them, but so can new water plants you introduce to your pond. We therefore encourage you to always quarantine your new water plants. By using potassium permanganate you can ensure that most bacteria will be killed.

Dip your new plants into a bucket with p/p and leave it for at least 4hrs in the water before adding them to your pond.

Do not quarantine the plants in water with a high salt content. (No more than 1% concentration/100g per 100 litres)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR QUARANTINING

1) water from your pond

2) small filter and pump

3) small air stone

4) net to cover the pond

5) salt for your pond

6) a test kit to test for salt content, ammonia, nitrate and ph.

7) most of all..... a pond, which can be a kiddies porta pool.

HOW MUCH SALT DO I ADD TO MY QUARANTINE TANK?

After about a day you can add salt. For about 1000 liters of water you should add 3kg of salt (non iodised). You can divide the total amount by three, meaning 1/3 the first day, 1/3 the second day and so on. This is to ensure that the fish adjust more gradually to the salt content.

PLEASE REMEMBER.....

When buying Koi, learn to know whom you are buying from. Do not be afraid to ask questions, are the fish clear of parasites and why do they say so? Were the fish in their possession for at least four weeks?, have they been tested?, were there any recent problems in their pond/s? Does the fish in their ponds look healthy, do their water smell, is their medication in their water and why? etc.

We hope that we have covered most of the information you require on quarantining.

If you have any more questions regarding this very important topic, feel free to E Mail us with your queries and we will gladly post it on our site for response by other Koi keepers including ourselves.

Breeding

Love is in the air,,,,,,,,,,,,, you smell the strange odour coming off your pond, the surface is covered in foam,,,,,,,,,, the fish are acting strangely,

almost aggressively.....!

NO..... RELAX,,,, DON’T PANIC.......They’re in love and getting up to naughty things, YES,,, fish do those things too;

BUT WHAT DO YOU DO? They’re bashing each other around, you want to interfere,,,,, STOPPPPPP!!!!!!!!

OBSERVE....! This is very common and a natural occurrence,,,, There is nothing wrong with your fish,,,,, Cupids arrow has been shot, Koi have 'active' sex lives.

The male chases the female quite aggressively, this is done to help the female release her eggs so he can fertilize them. This is normally quite stressful on the female and can cause injury to her, so much so that she may tend to jump right out of the pond.

You will find that this kind of behaviour normally occurs during the early summer when the temperature heats up, and it is normal for you to come across this in the morning around about 2am. If nothing happened, nothing will probably happen that day.

You may come across your pond filled with a white foam, this is only the by-product of what they have been up too.

YOUR FISH HAVE SPAWNED..... CONGRATULATIONS, you will shortly be the proud parents of you’re very own Koi, provided you remove the eggs immediately from the pond, otherwise your fish will be treated to a great menu of caviar, they will eat the eggs and the fry,,,, remove these if you want to have your very own fry,,'babies'.

THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE:

KOI SEXING

1 It is not easy telling the sex of young koi, but as they grow older it becomes easier to see.

2 The females tend to have rounder bodies and rounder pectoral fins and their fins are a little smaller and more 'petite'

3 Males are more slender or 'sleeker', with larger fins

4 For me, the easiest way to determine male from female, is to observe them during mating. The male is always more aggressive and he does the chasing of the female,,,,,' maybe we can equate that with us humans'.

Another way, one can check, is to gently rub along the lower abdomen wall with your thumb and forefinger. Males will secrete semen from the opening. Obviously, if you see that the Koi becomes bulky, it is a female full of eggs.

This procedure should be performed with the utmost care so as not to injure the fish.

I personally prefer just observing the fish, males will always so the chasing, while the females will lay the eggs.

PAIRING

Should you wish to breed a certain type of fish eg: Kohaku, then I would suggest to use a Kohaku male and female.

Keep in mind that the male genes are always the more dominant and strongest.

Please make sure the fish you want to pair are both adults, to have a successful spawning.

SPAWNING

Spontaneous spawning may occur and does occur, unobserved under normal pond conditions, which can result in the eggs been eaten by the other fish, especially if the pond is free of vegetation or spawning brushes.

When... however spawning is planned, the following should be taken into consideration:

AGE; As mentioned before, make sure that both male and female fish are adult, as young Koi may be fertile, but not produce a strong hatch.

RATIO; The amount of males to females, this does of course depend on what breed you are trying to achieve, If this is not an important factor to you, make sure you do not exceed the 2;1 ratio, as too many males can seriously harm the female.

SEASON; In South Africa, the best spawning takes place at the end of October until December when the water temperature is approximately 20 degrees. Although it is known to take place in January / February as well, depending again on the temperature and climate.

Interestingly, the Japanese believe the best spawning time is during the full moon phase.

SPAWNING MATERIAL

Koi will basically spawn on anything in the pond, but if you are planning the spawning, place spawning brushes or even shadecloth in your pond.

Spawning brushes can be removed easily and without any damage to the eggs. A spawning brush is made up of synthetic brush like hair, similar to a 'baby,s bottle brush' only larger and can be purchased at any Koi dealer.

PREPARATION; Normally the female Koi is bloated with eggs and visually she looks 'fat', the female is heavy and bloated almost giving the impression of being buoyed up by the water. At times like this she should never be mishandled or taken out of the water.

POND; At this time, both male and female should be housed in a separate pond, about the size of a porta pool taking 1000 litres of water covered with a net to prevent the female from jumping out of the pond. This pond can be filled with water from the main pond.

Make sure there is enough aeration, an air stone is good enough, too much movement in the water is not good. Make sure that your water temperature is stable and not exceeding 24 degrees centigrade.

SPAWNING; Spawning usually occurs in the late evening or early morning, I have observed spawning at 7am in the morning, if nothing has happened by 9am, then usually nothing will,

More than likely when the female is ready, you will notice that she displays 'nesting movements' , although Koi doesn’t normally make nests. You will notice that the male will follow her, forcing her against the sides of the wall, in a bumping fashion, or head butt with his nose, to expel the eggs. Should there be two males, they will tend to sandwich her forcing her eggs out, while simultaneously fertilizing them.

During all this aggressive action the female will get injured and can sometimes cause split fin and tail, the male will continue battering her, at this time, they should be observed and when you feel that she has secreted all her eggs which can take up to 4-6hrs, she should be removed to a more quieter environment preferably with younger Koi, where she can recuperate. At this time you can remove the males and place them back into the main pond, to prevent them eating the eggs.

Keep an eye on the female, she is still prone to jumping.

Also you will notice that the pond will take on a cloudy appearance and have a very distinct odour.

When removing the eggs, please be careful not to allow the eggs to dry out or be out of the water for too long, place the eggs in a separate holding tank with air stones. Filtration is at this stage not necessary.

DEVELOPMENT; It takes up to seven days for hatching to occur, by the 3rd day, the fertile eggs should be clear. Infertile eggs will take of a cloudy, opaque appearance with a hairiness. After the 3rd day you will notice two black dots, this is the eyes.

By the 5th day you will notice movement, which will tell you the fry is alive, by the 6th and 7th day the eggs would hatch.

At this stage, pay special attention as they are prey to insects.

FEEDING; The 1st 24hrs, the egg sacs will supply the needed nutrition, thereafter feeding of fry food will be necessary, this can be obtained from the dealer and administered for the first three months.

REMEMBER The fact that you do not have filtration a water change should be given regularly during the first two months.

Normally after 6 weeks one should start the culling process, getting rid of any fish with deformities, such as, no fins, two heads, deformed mouths, etc.

If you cannot bring yourself to cull, you should not attempt to breed, as this is a must, the Japanese cull regularly to ensure good stock.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

1 Fries need ample supply of oxygen and natural food, if they are to grow fast;

2 No dry or artificial food should be given for at least 6-8 weeks

3 Do not overfeed

4 Check water quality regularly and do regular water changes.

Transportation

• Catching and transporting a Koi is not difficult, it simply takes a little planning and practice. Even if you never plan to take your Koi anywhere you should be ready to. 
• Have a plan, the necessary equipment and practice catching and moving your Koi. The more you practice, the more experience you gain, and the less stressed you will get.
• The ideal way is to guide the Koi into a  tub and not to lift the Koi out of the water if possible. 
• Turn the net sideways so it cuts  through the water. 
• Try to keep the net in front of the fish's face.  There are no scales on the head that can be damaged by a net. 
• Place the Koi in a plastic bag with just enough water to cover the fish then fill the bag with oxygene. (just cover the dorsal fin.)
• Add 5-10 times the amount of oxygen as water
• Only one large fish per large bag.
• Check your bags for leaks. It is not fun to get all ready to go and find water running out of a bag. 
• For safety, use double bags and put rubber bands on both.
• The oxygene will keep the fish alive for at least 3 hours.
• Fish are remarkably well adapted for extracting oxygen from the very low concentrations found in water.
• Water with an oxygen concentration of less than 3 mg/l will generally not support fish.
• If oxygene is not available, use a bigger bag with more water, and if possible, pump air into the bag with a normal airstone pump. This will be suffiecient for at least a 90 minute trip.
• If a transport tank is being used for moving fish, an air stone or a tyre compressor can be used, connected to your ligher power supply. 
• Leave enough surface area in the bag to allow for gas air exchange.
• Cover the bagged fish to eliminate light and keep bagged fish out of direct sunlight and as cool as possible. Use an ice pack for longer trips. The cooler the water, the longer the oxygene will stay in the water. Koi are cold blooded, that is, their body temperature is essentially that of their environment.
• The metabolism and activity increase with temperature which increases their oxygen demand.
• It is important to remember that as fish respirate they create carbonic acid. The  alkalinity of the water will  try to neutralize the acids produced by the feaces of the fish. As a result you will find the pH drop.  As a result, the ammonia the fish are producing will be converted to ammonium which is a far less toxic substance. 
• Place the head of a large fish directing towards the back of the vehicle. You do not want to convert the fish into a bull dog.
• Before you release the fish at your destination, never add water to the bag. The ph will shoot up and convert the ammonium to toxic ammonia.
• When reaching the destination, release the fish as soon as possible. Why float the bag for another 30 minutes with low oxygene and high ammonia levels in the bag, unless there is is a big difference in water temperature?
• Do not release the water in the bag into the pond. It might contain parasites and will contain ammonia.
• Gently remove the fish from the bag and place it in the pond/quarantine facility, either with your hands or with a soft net. 

Growth in value

This is only an estimate

Water Conditions

Water conditions are the most important aspect of Koi keeping and should be mastered before introducing expensive Koi or too many Koi.

If your water conditions are not good, your Koi will not grow as fast, they will get sick regularly or they will die.

In short, the waste from the fish creates ammonia which is deadly to the fish. However, nature provided a nitrification cycle to solve this problem. Bacteria called Nitrosomonas grow and break down the ammonia into Nitrites. Nitrites are also deadly to fish, but Nitrites are being broken down by another bacterium called Nitrobacter into Nitrates which is beneficial to fish and plant life(but should also not exceed 50ppm).

Everything must be in balance like with everything in life.

To little Nitrosomonas causes too much ammonia, To little Nitrobacter causes too much Nitrites. Therefore, the amount of fish, water volume and size of your biofilter must be in balance.

The biggest problem, a new pond and new biofilter need time to create these bacterium. (at least two months) Introduce to many fish before the pond and filter becomes mature, will cause an imbalance.

Another problem, these two very important bacterium does not really grow in the winter. When the water temperature heats up in summer, the fish eat more, produces more ammonia, but the beneficial bacterium has not grown yet to sort out the ammonia and Nitrites. This explains that most major outbreak of infections and poisoning in ponds happens in spring.

Hobbyists also tend to clean their ponds less frequently during winter. Leaves, sludge  and other debris builds up, creating "bad" bacteria. As soon as the temperature increase, outbreaks follow.

The chemical balance should be tested on a weekly basis, and every time any changes in the pond takes place.

At the beginning of summer, more regular testing should be done.

Therefore, a proper pond test kit is a must and is available at most Pet Shops.

Minimum allowed :

 

Ammonia	less than 0.1 ppm(depending on temperature)
Nitrites	less than 0.2 ppm
Nitrates	less than 50 ppm
pH	6.7 -8.5
Alkalinity	60 - 170 ppm
Hardness	75 - 150 ppm
Chlorine	less than .04 ppm
Oxygen	more than 5 ppm

Diseases

Koi are no different to humans, when it comes to illnesses and diseases, they are also susceptible to all the nasties out there, just like us, Koi are extremely tough and hardy creatures, but they too develop illnesses if the following criteria are not upheld:

AERATION; Fish breathe oxygen in the water through their gills. If the water does not have sufficient aeration the fish will suffocate.

WATER CONDITION; Checking your ph and ammonia, nitrate levels, making sure that you have a good filtration system.

WATER CHANGES; Do regular water changes on a weekly basis.

CROWDING; Do not overcrowd your pond, as this places a great deal of stress on your fish as well as on your biological filter.

FEEDING; Do not overfeed and make sure that your fish are getting the right nutrition.

INJURIES; This is quite common, treat it immediately if you notice injuries.

CIRCULATION; Make sure that there is good movement in the pond, stagnant water is not good as bad bacteria grows well in stagnant water.

It is advisable to follow the above guidelines to prevent future health problems. The good old saying "prevention is better than cure" applies here.

If you take the right approach in maintaining your pond, your fish should be okay - although minor ailments do pop there ugly head even under the best conditions.

Here I will be showing you the most common ailments and how to treat them.

REMEMBER..... As soon as you notice a problem, remove the fish immediately to a seperate tank and treat accordingly.

FIN ROT; This is a bacterial infection resulting in split or ragged fins, can be treated with antibiotics fin rot can be caused by stress, or that the fish can be carrying parasites, poor water conditions, or low oxygen levels.

FLASHING; If you notice your fish scraping themselves on the bottom or sides of the pond, this could mean that the fish is carrying parasites. A good treatment of salt or pottasium permanganate should solve the problem.

HEAD HANGING; This could be caused by flukes, also a kind of parasite, treatment as above.

MOUTH ROT; Whiteish growths around the mouth.

WHITE SPOT; The body and fins will be covered in small white spots.

SLIME; This is a greyish film on the body.

ULCERS; This comes across as open sores on the body.

GILL PARASITES; Mucus forms on the gills, and the gills become inflamed.

These are just a few of the common problems you may encounter during your years with your fish, but do not despair, with the treatments that are available, these problems can be rectified.

A very serious disease I would however like to warn you about, is KHV - This means KOI HERPES VIRUS. This disease is at this point INCURABLE and can wipe out your entire pond in a matter of 2 weeks and affected a few ponds from breeders in the Western Cape recently.

This virus only attacks the common carp and koi.

WATCH for these symptoms and act immediately by removing the infected koi from your pond.

- GASPING FOR AIR,

- SUNKEN EYES - This is the most advanced stage of the disease.

- MUCUS - This is secreted by the skin, followed by dry patches.

-HEAD HANGING - Down for long periods of time.

- SEVERE GELL NECROSIS - that gill tissue breakdown.

- ULCERS - sores appearing on the body.

- HAEMMORAGING

- DEATH - within 2 weeks.

PLEASE REMEMBER: That some of the symptoms can be related to parasitic/bacterial infections, caused by poor water conditions. PLEASE don't assume that this is the KHV virus, until you have an accurate diagnosis.

Take a scraping of your fish to the nearest vet or dealer specialising in fish, to have the sample tested. Unfortunately the test facility for KHV is not available in SA, so your sample will have to be sent to the USA or UK for testing. Up until now, no treatment has been found for KHV, but there are treatments available to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

PREVENTION

Only buy fish from reputable dealers, breeders and koi keepers who know of the KHV, and that quarantine their fish against this and all other infections and bacteria. I cannot stress enough about QUARANTINING, please quarantine all new arrivals that you purchased, using a potassium permanganate (1g per 1000 litres of water) over a period of five days, should be sufficient and kills most bacteria. Whenever you are not sure how to treat a fish, first treat with salt, salt is the simplest, and one of the most effective, cleaning treatments for koi.

Here is a short summary of signs to identify possible diseases.

- fins closed - Ick

- breathing difficulties - Flukes

- Stress/off colour - Cloudy eye

- flashing - Flukes, ph

- gasping at the air - not enough oxygen

- rapid gill movement - Ick

- sitting on the bottom - Flukes or swimbladder disease

- restlessness - Lice

- wild swimming - check ammonia levels

- jumping - parasites

Please take note that late or incorrect diagnosis and or treatments are a common cause of death, so do not hesitate to get professional opinions when you are in doubt. Knowing your koi’s actions will assist you in diagnosing and recognising a problem early and you may actually save your koi’s life.

Get to know your local koi clubs and societies, they are more than willing to help out with friendly advice for your fish are their concern as well, in order to keep our koi societies alive and healthy.

Go to the koi vet for more information on the health and treatment of your own very special pets.