Getting New Koi Fish Used to Your Pond

It is important to acclimate any new fish to its new pond environment, and koi fish are no exception. This process of acclimation begins the moment you buy the fish and are handed the plastic bag containing both the water and the fish. One thing to check is that the bag is sealed with an elastic to cut down on oxygen loss. If you have some sort of blanket, this is good to cut down on light entering the plastic bag and bothering the fish.

When you get home, make sure you do not immediately dump the fish and water into the pond. It is imperative that you float the fish in the bag on top of the pond for at least twenty minutes. And it should be longer than this if the temperature differences between pond and fish water are large. Once both water temperatures are about the same, find a good sized bowl to release the store water and fish into. Then, take a handling net to scoop the koi fish out of the bowl. Never dump the store water into the pond water because by this time there is most likely ammonia in the water from fish waste. Ammonia is poisonous to fish and should be kept out of the pond water as much as possible. The store water should be dumped down a drain.

Unless you are totally positive that the fish you bought are healthy (you really never can be 100% sure), it will be necessary to have extra supplies separate for the new fish. Extra supplies should include a sufficient sized fish tank, with good aeration and filtration. The new fish will need to be kept in there for two to three weeks to observe its health and adaptability. Any equipment you use to handle and care for the new fish should not be used in your other tanks in these first few weeks. Going back and forth with equipment could contaminate your other tanks if the new fish happens to be sick. Your new fish may not eat for the first couple of days in its new home, but this is normal and nothing to worry about.

After the initial period of quarantine, you can introduce the koi to the pond where it will be living. Keep in mind that koi are cold water fish and the depth of the water should be at least one meter deep to account for warmer periods of the year when the water temperature will increase. In climates that have severe winters, it would be wise to have water that is at least one and a half meters deep so that the pond will not completely freeze. Make sure that you keep the pond water aerated and filtered at all times. Also, avoid any dramatic temperature changes in the water as this is very stressful to the fish.

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For more information about Koi, Koi Pond or koi Fish, please visit Azlan and Irda website at http://www.myownkoipond.com