FAQs on Koi Livestock
Stocking, Selection
Related Articles: Koi
Selection, Acclimation, Koi Varieties, Goldfish, Goldfish
Varieties, Dojo/Weatherfish Use
In Ponds, Turtles and Other Pond
Animals, Pond Snails 1, Pond Snails 2, Plants: Landscape
Plants, Water lilies, Plant Care, Koi/Pond Fish Disease, Pond Maintenance, Example Ponds/Water
Features,
Related FAQs:
A dark (brown or all black) Koi (nagoi), considered
good luck
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Aquatic Gardens
Ponds, Streams, Waterfalls &
Fountains:
Volume 1. Design & Construction
Volume 2. Maintenance, Stocking, Examples
V. 1
Print and
eBook on Amazon
V. 2
Print and
eBook on Amazon
by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
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Koi with black spots on eye 5/30/16
Greetings Bob,
I noticed some of my koi fingers have black speckling on sclera portion of
eye. Most fish look affected but show no signs of distress (flashing or
similar behavior) or deaths. This line of koi does develop a fair amount of
black pigments on skin. Hoping this isn't a fluke or similar parasite.
<I don't think so. Have seen this sort of marking on tategoi... speculative,
smaller fish... and chatted w/ koi breeders in Japan and the US in places
re... they and I don't know what the black specks are... Sometimes they
"resolve" on their own; and other cases are persistent. As you state, the
spots don't appear to mal-affect the Koi>
The tanks are well established tanks connected to aquaponic grow beds,
nitrates rarely creep over 10ppm and NO-2 and NO-3 are zero. We are on a
"hard" water supply. I do have access to a microscope... Any advice would be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks
<I'd keep these specimens if they're otherwise attractive (physically
proportional, well-colored....). Bob Fenner>
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How to Judge Koi Fish 6/21/15
Hello there,
<Em>
Just wanted to start off by commending you on all of the great work on
http://www.wetwebmedia.com
We've created a website, http://nextdaykoi.com
, that we think could offer your audience an additional resource for information
about Koi.
<Ahh!>
It offers broad range of high-quality, live koi and goldfish for sale and is
full of useful, well-researched tips and articles—like this one about judging
standards for koi: <
https://nextdaykoi.com/koi-fish-facts/judging-koi-fish/ >
With all of our great resources and products available to complement yours, we
thought that by sharing our site with your audience (or by adding it to
the resources/links section of your website,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pondsubwebindex/pdfshbreefaqs.htm ). you can
boost your site's already robust content.
Let us know if we can help you!
Warm Regards,.
Emily
<Will add on the morrow. Thank you for your efforts. Bob Fenner>
Adding 10" Koi to pond with smaller fish
9/14/14
Hi,
<Adele>
I've searched your very useful site, but can't find an answer specific enough.
We recently built a pond in the garden approx 5ft x 7ft x 3ft
deep.
<Ahh; a good depth>
We have put in 13 small fish, 2 Koi (4") 1 Shubunkin, 4 Orfe, 2 Grass Carp,
<Will get much larger>
2 Comments (all around 3") and 2 goldfish (2"). A friend is doing away with a
pond she has inherited with her new house. She wants to rehome the Koi carp. The
original owner says there are more, but she has only seen one surface. She says
it's about 10". Would it be safe to put it and poss. more of a similar size in
the pond with my fish?
<Should be fine... all the fish/species you have currently are minnow family
(Cyprinidae) members... have no "teeth" on their jaws for
fish-eating modes... Not given to eating other fishes>
I have read they eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths, but not sure how
small this is.
Thank you for your help
Adele
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>
Re: re: Adding 10" Koi to pond with smaller fish 9/15/14
Thanks for replying so quickly. You have put my mind at rest. Brilliant
service!. Adele
<Ah; welcome. BobF>
18th Singapore Koi Show 2014
4/26/14
Bob
This year's Grand Champion
<A beautiful female taisho sanke. B>
Regds
Perry
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18th Singapore Koi Show 2014
4/26/14
Bob
The Non Gosanke Champion
<Almost like the ever-popular sun-colored variety in the US. B>
Regds
Perry |
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Grand Champion- Non Gosanke
5/26/12
Bob
Its the same fish that won last year's Non Gosanke Grand Champion
Trophy. The owner of the fish Mr. Chang Cheng Ann was kind enough to
let me take photos of his prized Koi without the net over the pen. I
asked him if he was going to enter next year's show to try for a
triple crown. He said he might not want to risk it. The fish might
die due to drastic changes in water quality. Right after he finished
his sentence, someone was trying frantically to resuscitate his Koi
in the next pen
Perry
<Ahh, very nice. B>
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Re: pond in Duchess County, NY... koi
source 9/9/07 Hi, Bob, thanks for posting my pond
issues and for your comments to me. you are a sweetheart. I have
written to Diane who must live about ten miles from me and hope to hear
from her. <Neat!> as i mentioned, i have purchased Area
Inc.'s system, should have it up and running in 10 days, and I will
report back. <Appreciate this... as stated, I have used many of
their, and other co.s similar products over the years doing lake
management... IF your problem's roots are fixable by increasing DO,
mixing water... this may make a big improvement. If this issue is a
matter of suspended particulates... other means can be applied> if
you have never been to kodamakoifarm.com, i can recommend it as a
source of divine koi to be purchased at auction online. i visited their
"plant" in Hawaii two weeks ago and was impressed by
kodama's operation. <Thank you for this. Doomo. I grew up in
Japan... and have a great affinity for Nishikigoi...> if you love
koi and have an addictive personality :) be careful when you go out to
the auction site, i speak from experience. the koi i have received so
far were more beautiful and healthier than i had any reason to expect,
i purchased these quality koi at excellent prices. if you're
skeptical, i sure understand: http://www.kodamakoifarm.com see for
yourself! thanks again, bob. i really appreciate your time and
expertise. I'll let you know how the aeration system works out. all
best wishes, max Paetro <Doh tashi mashiite. Bob Fenner>
Kohaku... judging standards of Nishikigoi --
08/02/07 Hi Robert, I have a Japanese Kohaku with great markings,
no red on any fins, skin very white, but has no red on head. Is this a
bad thing? Thanks. Glenn Lambert <Mmm, well... according to some
old/er Japanese judging standards, yes... In some shows, there is a
desire (more points) for some red on the head (but not the eyes) but if
this fish pleases you... who really cares? <Some further input here:
http://www.simikoi.com/article5.html Bob Fenner>
White? Luminescent? Spots on new Comet Goldfish
(koi?) -- 06/17/07 Hi! We just had a new 900 gal pond built.
Soon after we added 3 25-cent Comets from a local chain pet store
and added 3 more about a week later. The water was so cloudy at
first (from planting; our dirt has little organic matter but lots
of fine silt, which stayed suspended for a few days till we figured
it out - a dose of clarifier <Not advised> and it's
clear), that we didn't see them very clearly for a few days,
and they were hiding in the rock crevices more until we got enough
plant cover (yay water hyacinths!) for them. Anyway, we ended up
with 5 fish and never did see what happened to the 6th. Our pH is
about 7.5, the nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia are low. The fish
have all doubled in size in two weeks or so, and one has more than
tripled. All are active, eating well, etc. <Ah, good> We just
added 2 more. <You really should isolate/quarantine all new
incoming livestock for a couple of weeks... you'll soon learn
why if not> My son swears that he saw whiskers on them, and
they're too small (about an inch) for me to tell if there were
small koi accidentally mixed in with the Comets. Anyway, the yellow
one looked fine (I know nothing about fish, so this isn't
saying much), and had sort of a set of jeweled spots on his head
evenly spaced behind the eyes that looked pretty cool. The other
one immediately went and hid, but the yellow one immediately joined
the group of existing 5 fish and seems to be feeding and swimming
actively. Today is one day later, he/she already seems to be
getting a little bigger, but the "jeweled" spots seem to
be a bit bigger and I'm now thinking they may be white spots,
and looking up white spots on goldfish realize they could be tons
of things, from growth spots to some nasty parasites. <Yes>
He/she does not seem to be itchy or feeling poorly. In fact, it was
impossible to get a good still picture, but I'm sending the
best I have to ask what you think. I certainly don't want to
introduce any disease to the other fish or into the pond. We do
have a small aquarium we had for raising tadpoles when my son was
young, but I hate to stress the yellow one by catching it and
putting it in such a small space if it's not sick at all but
has growth spots. So here are the best pictures I could get. Could
you tell me what you think? <Oh! Is a little Ohgon,
"sun-colored" koi (Nishikigoi), and these spots are
"just" coloring... It is a different species, so may take
time to never associate with the "lowly" goldfish
(Heeee!). Bob Fenner> |
Re: White? Luminescent? Spots on new Comet
Goldfish (koi?) -- 6/17/07 Thank you, Bob! And thanks for
responding so fast. <Welcome!> So my son's eagle eye
did see very tiny "whiskers" (I don't know the
right term), <"Barbels"... just in case you're
ever on Jeopardy or such> and I just bought a pretty little
koi from the Comet tank for 25 cents! And the koi's first
instinct was to go hang out with the Comets and is following
along with them much of the time. So much for high-class
snobbery! I've read lots about koi and goldfish being fine
together, especially when, like mine, the koi is the smaller one
introduced later rather than bigger and the first in. Yes, I read
about quarantining, but I figured since they all came from the
same tank at the same store within a couple of weeks of each
other (and no new fish in the tank at the store), I'd be OK.
<Mmm, careful here> I'll take it much more seriously
now that I have an established group of fish. <Ah, good>
BTW you might notice in the very large Comet in the pictures.
He/she started out silver with a little brown on top and now
he's all brown (with maybe a hint of orange) <Yes, I saw
this> except for his underbelly, and we call him Stealth
because he's so hard to see against the brown rocks and in
the hyacinth roots. The other fish we introduced with the koi was
an almost totally silver Comet. I saw him last night (essentially
a day later) and he's gone an even darker brown, again with a
light underbelly -- an almost immediate camouflage adjustment!
Even though I know goldfish change color through their lives, I
suspect that these two may always be our "stealth"
fish. Thanks for your quick help! <And you for sharing.
Cheers, Bob Fenner>
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Koi importation restrictions 9/2/06 Bob, Have
you heard about this yet? People, This just in from the USDA -APHIS
WEBSITE. <Mmm, just rumors of this pending... Thank you for sending
this along. Bob Fenner> USDA TO PLACE IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON LIVE
FISH, FERTILIZED EGGS AND GAMETES SUSCEPTIBLE TO SPRING VIREMIA OF CARP
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2006--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to establish
regulations restricting the importation of live fish, fertilized eggs
and gametes of fish from certain species that are susceptible to spring
Viremia of carp (SVC). The following species are considered susceptible
to SVC: common carp (including koi), grass carp, silver carp, bighead
carp, Crucian carp, goldfish, tench and sheatfish. SVC is an extremely
contagious viral disease of carp. Outbreaks of SVC confirmed in the
United States in 2002 and 2004, and since eradicated, have been linked
to unregulated importation of SVC-infected fish. This action is
necessary to prevent further introductions of the virus into the United
States. This action is scheduled for publication in the Aug. 30 Federal
Register and becomes effective Sept. 29. Consideration will be given to
comments received on or before Oct. 30. Send an original and three
copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No.
APHIS 2006-0107, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
If you wish to submit a comment using the Internet, go to the Federal
eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov and, in the
'Search Regulations and Federal Actions' box, select
'Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service' from the agency
drop-down menu; then click on 'Submit.' In the Docket ID
column, select APHIS-2006-0107 to submit or view public comments and to
view supporting and related materials available electronically. Mitch
Gibbs
Friendliest koi What is considered the friendliest variety
of koi? I bought a brown koi that led my other koi to become
hand-fed. Is one variety of koi thought of as being more
easily trainable than other varieties or are all varieties of koi
generally quite trainable? Thank you for your help. <All
koi/Nishikigoi are the same species (Cyprinus carpio), but the solid
metallic varieties (Hikarimuji) often called "Ohgons" or Ogon
(mainly all gold or silver, but sometimes all red or orangish) are
definitely the most outgoing, seem to imprint on humans more strongly.
Though not that popular in Japan, many folks have at least one of this
variety in their ponds in the west. Bob Fenner>
Japan I am (looking for Nishikigoi, self understanding)
Hello, I am an exchange student from Los Angeles in the study of
Landscape Architecture. I am currently at the Kyushu Institute of
Design in Fukuoka. <I have visited there> I am very interested in
seeing koi farms and shows. Can you make some recommendations for me as
how I can see the real Koi. <Definitely... I would contact (or have
Japanese speakers help) the ZNA (Zen Nippon Airankai, Japanese Koi
Association...) in Japan re their show schedule, and for sure travel to
Chiba, Niigata to see some farms, visit with breeders, attend
auctions... while you're in Japan> I will be here for 10 more
months. It is quite expensive for me to go to far from Kyushu to see
koi. <Taksan okani... much money, for sure, Honto des> So I was
hoping to see some near Kyushu? <Yes, there are breeders,
shows on the southernmost of the country's principal islands> I
can make one special trip next year if you could recommend the best
show to got to? Thank you for your time. <Again, do have your
friends contact the ZNA, look through their directories, make
introductions for and travel with you. Bob Fenner> Matt-Dell
RE: Employment opportunity for an experienced koi breeder
Thanks Bob, I do appreciate any help you can offer. Norman
<You're welcome... do have many industry contacts, an old but
large experience in the field overall... And perhaps very
importantly... have "seen" the future (after writing that
"ponds are going to be big in the U.S." for eighteen years in
the trade press...) and there will definitely be a market for good
quality koi. The water quality (I know the temperature will be fine,
but the hardness, pH...) you have will hopefully retain/enhance Hi and
Sumi markings? You will hopefully avoid the pyxocephalic (square head)
problems of so-many domestic breeders... Have you been to visit places
in the industry in Japan? Much to discuss. Bob Fenner>
RE: Employment opportunity for an experienced koi breeder
Bob, I have been to Japan and to the U.K, and also some farms here in
the U.S. <Ah, excellent> If you can refer someone, I will
pay a referral fee if we hire the individual. <Appreciate the offer.
Will look about. Will only refer people I know to be proficient,
honest, truly desirous of doing the job. Bob Fenner> Thanks
Employment opportunity for an experienced koi breeder (posted
9/19/01) Bob, I am seeking an experienced koi breeder/Manager for a
Koi Farm located in Jamaica, WI. Please respond if you're
interested or if you may be able to recommend someone or avenues for
advertisements. <Thank you for your offer. Am too busy to take on
"a real job" unfortunately. But will post your request/offer
of work on our site (WetWebMedia), circulate it around, and gladly help
you (gratis) distantly with input, content if I may be of service in
your Nishikigoi endeavors. Bob Fenner> Thanks Norman Thompson
(Koi) Restocking Question Presently in our pond, I have 9
adults, ranging from 12-16" in length. After last weekend's
visit to the Menifee Koi Auction, we are going to make the jump and
invest in some quality koi. <Ah, there comes a time> Of the
9 I have now, I would like to give away 5 of these adults to a local
ponder. These can be seen at
http://pages.prodigy.net/rwfarris/_uimages/pages.prodigy.net/rwfarris/.wi_ko
i.jpg. <Hmm, "page not found"> They are the top
four on the left, not the Platinum Ogon or the Tancho Sanke. There is
also a black butterfly female. Do you know anyone who might be
interested or recommend a method of finding someone. <Would try the
local Koi Club, classified ads if selling> These are breeders and
have been spawning for two years now. Rick Farris See our pond at:
http://www.koireef.cjb.net <Be chatting my friend. Bob
Fenner>
RE: Restocking Question Oh yes. The Platinum Ogon and the
Tancho Sanke are staying, along with two Kohaku. <Ah so deska.
Wakarimas. Thank you. Bob Fenner> Rick Farris See our pond at:
http://www.koireef.cjb.net
All is well (Got Nishikigoi? Koi) Both the aquarium and pond
are doing well, but I wanted to tell you about a new business up in
Menifee. The old Sunset Koi is now Koi Auction Online. I had the
winning bid last week and went there to pick them up rather than having
them delivered. The quality of the koi Naro has is no less than
incredible. Should you ever find yourself in the area, I highly
recommend a stop by there. <Interesting concept, and great to hear
about good quality> They also have a web site, hence their name, at
www.koiauction.com. Take a look at the brightness of the colors and the
patterns. AWESOME!!! <Will post on new FAQs, move to archives later,
place link. Thanks for this, Bob Fenner> Rick Farris See our pond
at: http://www.koireef.cjb.net
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Aquatic Gardens
Ponds, Streams, Waterfalls &
Fountains:
Volume 1. Design & Construction
Volume 2. Maintenance, Stocking, Examples
V. 1
Print and
eBook on Amazon
V. 2
Print and
eBook on Amazon
by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
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