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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

5 Steps To a Perfect Koi Pond


Step 1- Setting Up The Perfect Environment

You perfect Koi pond starts with the actual pond itself. You have to create a pond that will not only be pleasing to the eye, but will also adequately sustain Koi. Proper placement, size, and pond type is essential when building your pond.

Filtering your pond is one of the most importand elements. The Pondmaster 1350 Garden Pond Filter System creates an exotic atmosphere while providing ease of use and reliablity for ponds up to 800 gallons. This system comes complete with the Pondmaster 1000 Filter, particle and carbon fitler pads, a fish safe Model 3 Mag-Drive Pump with a 350 gph flow rate, 18 foot power cord, and two 3/4" hose fittings and hose to connect the units. Two free fountain heads, which can be directly connected the pump, are also included with the kit and provide an exciting water display to your pond.
Pondmaster Submersible Pond Filters 1350 Pump & Filter Kit

When it comes to pond size, the bigger is always better. Koi have a habit of growing rather fast, so you have to consider pond size at the same time you are considering how many Koi you are going to put it in. 

Unless you have a large amount of knowledge in outdoor landscaping, fish keeping, and construction, it may be a good idea to leave the pond building to a professional. While some people think that building the pond yourself with save you money, this could not be further from the case. If your pond is not build properly the first time, you will end up spending a large amount of money on fixing the problems that come up. Not only that, if your pond is not properly setup, you may not even be able to keep fish alive.

Remember when you hire a professional it is their job to give you what you want. They can give their knowledge when it comes to decision making, but ultimately, they will do whatever you want them too. Because of this, you cannot blame them if your pond fails do to location, size, or other factors. However, beware of extremely cheap quotes as they may cut corners that could potentially cause you problems later. While quotes will come in different, there should not be a very dramatic difference between them.

Step 2- Learning about Koi Keeping

Knowledge is power when it comes to Koi keeping. It is important to learn as much as you possibly can about the hobby before jumping in with both feet.

It is important to learn the information yourself rather then relying on other sources. People such as your product dealer and pond builder will have limited knowledge, but should not be trusted for a reliable source, as they are selling products and may be bias. Plus, once you are at home with your Koi, your product dealer or pond builder may not be available to help you in the event of a problem.

Step 3- Picking Out Koi

Once you have created the perfect environment, you will need to start looking into buying your fish. It is important to remember never to purchase to many Koi because they will grow rather large, and they breed almost yearly. Overpopulating your Koi pond will cause serious problems in the future.

Step 4- Preventing Common Koi Pond Problems

You can prevent certain types of Koi pond problems by following simple prevention steps.

Always quarantine new fish before introducing them to your current Koi population. Koi can have certain illnesses and viruses, such as KHV or Koi Herpes Virus, with little or no showing symptoms. By quarantining, you will greatly reduce the risk of exposing your population to potentially deadly situations.

Do water tests at least on a weekly basis. This will allow you to notice discrepancies in the test results long before your pond starts showing symptoms of stress. This will potentially save not only your pond, but your fish as well. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes pond test kits to help keed your pond and pond fish healthy.
Pond Care Master Liquid Test Kit

Step 5- Feeding You Koi

Finally, feeding you Koi can be one of the most pleasing parts of having a perfect Koi pond.

You should check with your local pet store or Koi dealer when it comes to the amount and types of food that you should be feeding your fish. Feeding patterns change with season and temperature.

Tetra Pond makes a floating spring and fall diet for Koi fish. These floating sticks should be used during the cold season. It is a balanced diet for all pond fish, promotes health, vitality and fertility. Use during late fall, early spring in water temperatures as low as 41 degrees. It is extremely easy to digest, enriched with spirulina, natural color enhancers, vitamin E and stabilized vitamin C, also has a high fiber content.
Pond Fish Food Spring and Fall Diet

Koi can literally be trained to eat directly from your hand. This takes time and patience, but will ultimately provide entertainment to you and your visitors.

The Pet Guy

Aqua Terras
ePet Products

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