Mixed messages
So I’ve been keeping Koi for a grand total of 8 months now. I’ve spent hundreds of hours researching online, read a few books and asked questions on forums and in person / telephone from a few folk. It’s been quite revealing as a hobby and has highlighted the difference in opinions depending on who you ask, for example the below:
Optimum temperature for health and growth:
I’ve been told 68f / 70f / 72f / 75f / 77f
Water changes:
Small changes daily are best as large changes stress the fish
Large changes once a week are best, as small changes don’t remove enough contaminants and you’re only removing a percentage of a percentage if you do small changes
Filtration with K1:
Will take a year to mature
Will take 3 months, if it’s not reducing ammonia, etc, you don’t have enough filtration
It’s the best
It’s the worst
Heating:
Will keep Koi healthy and keep filtration going - min 68f
Best keep to 60f
Best keep at 50f
Don’t heat at all, it’s not good for the fish
Heat until January, then bring down temp to ambient until Spring
It will make the Koi ill not having a winter
It will keep the Koi growing all winter and result in better growth / health
It’s crazy expensive and unnecessary
It’s not natural, carp in the wild survive
Koi are not natural carp, they’ve been highly bred and not as strong as wild carp and need heating
They don’t heat in Japan and it gets very cold there
They do heat in Japan, bringing them indoors
Heating is only a very recent thing and wasn’t done for centuries
Food:
Feed high protein food (45%) to younger fish, they need it
Never feed high protein food, it’s bad for them
Expensive food such as Saki Hikari is a con
Saki Hikari is the best
Automatic feeders are the best option feeding once an hour at summer temps
Only feed a max of 4 times a day
Best feed at night as they eat better then
Never feed at night
Keep feeding at low temps until they naturally stop eating
Never feed at low temps, even if they act hungry, it will kill them
Automatic feeders breakdown too easy, never buy them
I’ve figured it’s different for different ponds to an extent, but it’s still confusing for a novice. It’s been quite a learning curve and I’ve done ok I think, seeing as my Koi have all grown substantially and I haven’t lost any fish along the way.
Without belittling anyone or their views, surely there’s a way to make the process a bit easier for newcomers to Koi keeping?
Main pond 4000 US Gallon, 22 Koi. Oase Proficlear Premium + Bio Module, Bitron 120 w UVC, Bakki Shower, Dura 7+ ashp. Grow on tank 600 Gallons with Eazypod Automatic and 70 litre K1 biochamber.