I am in my high school aquaculture program and my teacher is going to give me a Koi fish. I know they should be raised in ponds but i cannot do that where i live. i love the koi fish and they are really beautiful. i just don’t know what i need to keep it happy. the space i have is limited though i know they can grow to be quite big. is there a way to slow down their growth without harming them? what size tank should keep the 1 koi fish happy and at the moment, it is about 2.5 inches long. thank you for the help.
Cool program! What you said is true, that koi (and goldies) can grow very large and up to 12+ inches. There is no way to slow down their growth, as the growth of a fish IS NOT stunted by a small environment to live in.
I suggest you buy a 30+ gallon tank. This will save you upgrading problems and will house one koi fish around 8 or 9 inches comfortably for now.
If you look around Yahoo!Answers, you will see the word "cycle" or "cycling" a lot. A new tank must go through the cycling process to be able to house fish.
When there is fish waste and uneaten food, it becomes ammonia. Slowly over time, good bacteria will convert the ammonia into nitrite. Then, another type of bacteria will convert the nitrite in nitrate, with an A. Nitrates are less harmful to the fish (and friends) but over 25 ppm levels are not good. This can be lowered by partial water changes. Usually, the cycle for a new tank with one or two fish will be about a 4~8 weeks. I know it seems like a long time, but it’s for the future of your fish for them to live a long and happy life.
To see how much ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates you have, you can bring a sample of water to your LFS (local fish store) and they will test it for you at a fee (sometimes it’s free). OR you can buy a water testing kit, which may be more convenient for you.
After a month or so, until ammonia and nitrite levels are 0, and nitrate levels are under 20ppm, you can start to buy new fish, around 1~3 new ones every week. Please don’t overstock your tank. It can create crowding, unwanted fin nipping, and a bacterial unbalance in your filter. Do not go by the myth of one inch of fish per gallon. Consider the adult size of the fish you want to buy and how much swimming space it may need.
If you need anymore information, you can email me at the link on my profile.
No, I’m sorry; to slow their growth you would be stunting their growth an that’s definitely not healthy. They need at the very least 500 gallons (some people say 100 but that’s not big enough. Some people also say 1000).
What I would do is sell it to someone around your area who has a pond and that can take good care of the fishie.
Because Koi fish can grow to be a huge fish, they crave and advance in ponds that are about 5 hundred gallons or more. If you decide to keep smaller Koi in a small pond, watch closely how big they get.
The digestive systems of these cold water fish slows down during the winter months. It is not essential to feed them. They may nibble on algae at the bed of the pond but, as soon as the temperature deceases below fifty degrees Fahrenheit, any food left in their stomachs can become stale and cause illness to the Koi.