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A preview of 'How to Keep Koi', a step-by-step guide to starting your own koi keeping hobby.
Citation preview
HOW TO KEEP KOI
Compiled and edited by
Christopher Andrews
Copyright © All Rights Reserved
This report may be reproduced
and distributed PROVIDED no part
of it is changed in any way.
ABOUT THIS REPORT
Welcome to ‘How To Keep Koi’, your no-nonsense, content-packed guide to start you off in
your koi keeping hobby the RIGHT way. This report will save you lots of time and money in
starting your hobby of keeping koi. You see, there is a RIGHT way and a WRONG way of
keeping koi. Unfortunately, many people do not know much about koi aquaculture and so end
up doing things the wrong way. By doing so, they actually waste more money and time and
never get to enjoy this spectacular fish called koi to the max.
Let me give you a sneak peak on what’s inside this report:
• What is the ‘bug eye’ syndrome for koi and how you can overcome it. Many people
(including pet shop owners) are not even aware of this dangerous condition that
severely affects koi.
• My 6 ‘S’ method in choosing the best koi. Knowing how to spot a winner means you can
potentially sell your koi for a heap of profit, should you choose to, thus making your
hobby a money-spinner for you.
• The two filtrations systems that are a MUST for happy, healthy and contented koi.
Have you seen koi in a pond with nothing but a small waterfall or fountain? Those koi
are headed for an early death. I will show you how to make your koi live for decades.
• How to avoid overcrowding your koi pond. Too many koi in one pond distresses your
koi and affects their health. Many fall sick easily and some die. I will show you how to
avoid that.
• How to breed koi effectively. I show you how to help koi spawn and just as
importantly, how to know which baby koi to cull and which to raise. If you make a
mistake in this, you might end up killing your most prized koi.
• The simple way to make your own koi fry food NATURALLY. Buying artificial koi fry food
from the pet shop is a no-no (at the beginning of the fry’s life). I will show you why.
and lots more.
Are you ready? Let’s dive in…
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Topic Details Page
1 Koi – An Introduction An Introduction to the Koi Keeping Hobby 4
2 Koi – Buying and Selling How to Look for the Best Koi to Buy and Sell 10
3 Koi Pond How to Set Up Your Koi Pond 12
4 Koi Filter Setting Up your Filter Systems 15
5 Koi Care How to Care for Your Koi 19
6 Koi Breeding How to Breed Your Koi and Look After Koi Fry 21
7 Koi Club Benefits of Joining a Koi Club 25
8 Koi Symbolism What Koi Symbolizes 26
9 Koi – Conclusion Closing Comments about Your Koi 27
KOI – AN INTRODUCTION
This report is a helpful resource on basic koi aquaculture for you to start your own hobby of
keeping koi. Here you will find information about this beautiful fish and a simple system that I
use to keep my koi healthy, happy and strong. In fact, my system is so simple you can put it to
good use straight away even if you have never kept fishes before in your life.
Koi is the colorful ornamental fishes you find in homes of koi enthusiasts (like me) and in certain
classy establishments like hotels and holiday resorts. This is simply because the koi fish
epitomizes beauty and grace like no other fish. In fact, koi have been bred for over a hundred
years for their color, pattern, size and personality. Did you know you can easily get koi fish to
eat food from your palm?
The name 'koi' means 'domesticated carp'. This name was given because the koi is a
freshwater fish descended from the wild carp of the Caspian Sea region. Over the centuries,
humans have transported the koi to other parts of the world for food. As these wild carps were
kept captive, spontaneous breeding occured. Their human owners also conducted selective
breeding among specially chosen koi to produce certain desired colors. Over time, koi began to
display unique color patterns on their bodies. They became so beautiful that eventually people
started breeding them as pets rather than for food.
Today, koi comes in many varieties depending on their color and patterns. The most beautiful
and purebred ones are found in Japan, where they are known as nishikigoi (a term that means
'colored or brocaded carp'). This is why the names of the different varieties of koi (such as
Kohaku, Bekko, Asagi etc) are Japanese words. Turn the page to see what they look like.
Here are the beautiful koi in all their varieties:
Benigoi Chagoi Gin Matsuba
Goshiki Hariwake Karasugoi
Kigoi Kikusui Kin Ki Utsuri
Kin Showa Kohaku Koromo
Kujaku Kumonryu Ochiba Shigure
Ogon Platinum Shiro Utsuri
http://www.mystickoi.com/K
oi_Varieties.php
Showa Sanshoku Shusui Taisho Sanshoku
Tancho Yamato Nashiki
In the next chapter, I will show you
This is also the type of koi that will fetch the highest prices if you choose to
In the next chapter, I will show you my 6 ‘S’ method of selecting the best koi to buy.
This is also the type of koi that will fetch the highest prices if you choose to sell your koi.
the best koi to buy.
sell your koi.
KOI – BUYING AND SELLING
The growth period for koi is between 15 to 20 years. People usually buy koi when they are
about 4 inches long. Once they grow to about 6 inches or more, you can sell them to either
wholesalers or retailers. Small koi is relatively cheap, costing only a few dollars. But the larger
the koi, the more expensive it gets especially if they are purebreds. A koi is considered large if
it is longer than 32 inches. Some can even grow to 50 inches if conditions are right. So buy
them when they are young and sell some of your koi to finance the buying of new ones.
Now when it comes to buying koi, size is not the most important consideration. The important
thing is to know what the characteristics of beautiful koi are. Here is my 6 'S' system for
choosing the ideal koi:
1. Symmetry - Its body should be symmetrical
2. Size - The size of the head and fins should be in proportion to the body - not too large or too
small in comparison with the body.
3. Shape - The body should be plump but not fat - if it's too fat, the fish would not swim
gracefully. If it's too thin, it is not considered beautiful. Seen from the top, it should look
somewhat like a pear from tail to head.
4. Shine - The colors should be pure (especially any white) and intense (when it comes to the
other colors on the body). Look also at the edges of the colors. They should be distinct and
clear not blurred or diffused. Needless to say, there should be no injuries on any part of the
fish.
5. Steadiness - When at rest the tail should be perfectly vertical, not tilted to one side.
6. Swim - Good koi swim smoothly and gracefully. They will not jerk or have clumsy
movements while swimming.
These are the basic essential factors to consider when buying koi. Needless to say, it is
imperative to choose correctly so that you won’t regret making a bad buy later on. If you want
more detailed information about how to buy koi, get my latest ebook entitled, “WHAT YOUR
PET SHOP OWNER WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT KEEPING KOI” and read especially chapter 3. It’s
available from my website http://www.keepkoi.com. My ebook is jam-packed with more
information and content you need about keeping koi.
When you find a suitable koi that you wish to buy, it is called Tategoi which means keepkoi, or
a koi worth keeping.
Now that you know how to select good koi, I will show you how to set up your koi pond.
KOI POND
How big a pond you need depends on how many koi you have and vice versa. The smallest koi
pond is usually 6 X 9 feet (i.e. 54 square feet) while the largest it should be is 9 X 14 feet so as to
be reasonably manageable.
The rule of thumb for how large your pond should be is to take the square feet and multiply by
1.5. This gives you the number of inches of koi that the pond can take. So for a 6 X 9 foot or 54
square foot pond, the number of inches of koi that it can hold is 54 X 1.5 or 81 inches. That
would amount to eight 10-inch koi fish, to avoid overcrowding.
The depth of koi ponds should be at least 3 feet deep. Generally the pool should be deep
enough for the koi to swim down to escape the attacks of other animals (like the family cat).
Besides the actual dimensions of the pond, you need to give an extra 3 to 5 feet of space
around the pond for accessibility, placement and maintenance of the filter and water pump and
doing other things like catching a sick fish.
Koi ponds are usually constructed in one of three ways. Here are the three types of koi ponds
and their pros and cons:
1. A cement pond
Pros - durable and largely maintenance-free
Cons - Expensive
2. A preformed rigid plastic or fiberglass pond
Pros - They come in interesting shapes and some even have different levels
Cons - You have to find one deep enough (usually they are not), most are the wrong color (too
light), it may be hard to get just the right sized hole since this type of pond is rigid.
3. A pond using a flexible pond liner
Pros - cheapest in terms of purchase and maintenance, easy to maintain
Cons - They eventually leak and can get punctured easily so you have to buy a liner patch or
repair kit. They are also not a good idea in areas where the land is prone to subsidence because
the liner will adjust to the change in contour of the land as it slips. In some cases the liner will
tear.
No matter which type of pond you opt for, you will have to apply for the permit and adhere to
all the regulations set by your local municipality for setting up a koi pond. For example, koi
pond protectors (such as fencing) are mandatory safety precautions for having a koi pond
outdoors. Other considerations for your koi pond such as location, shape, aeration, water
quality and maintenance are beyond the scope of this report. You can learn about all these
important factors from my ebook, “WHAT YOUR PET SHOP OWNER WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT
KEEPING KOI”. Grab it now at my website http://www.keepkoi.com.
Having your koi in an indoor pond or an aquarium is only feasible for small koi or if you do not
intend to have more than only a few koi fishes. The reason is that koi can grow and multiply
quickly and if carefully kept, they can live for decades. For this reason, koi ponds should largely
be outdoors.
Your koi pond cannot do without the proper filtrations systems. That is the next part of this
report.