Koi questions

[lollipopkiller]

ive seen some koi at a local nursery/ landscape bussiness that are for sale ranging from 5 dollars to 450 dollars. I would like to know if I could buy a cute little koi I found and put it into a 50 gallon tank for a few months by its self until I get a pond in my place (like 3-5 months)? also if someone could identify the type of koi it is. the koi is only 2" big at this moment in time and has a white body with 3 grey/black diagonal stripes going fully around its body it was marks as american breed koi. they also had koi from other parts of the world like japan and isreal and other places. idk where its ancestors could have come from but they breed them them selves

 

[Akari_32]

Koi need 300 gallons a piece, starting at no less than 1000 gallons. A 50 gallon wouldn't last long at all, much less as a pond.

 

[Adam55]

If anyone was curious, the most expensive Koi ever sold is named Alexandria. She sold for $2.2 million dollars.

 

[Akari_32]

Did anyone ever see that story about the people that stole like thousands of dollars worth of koi from a public pond, or something like that?? And then turned around and sold them! LOL You *know* they knew what they had

 

[Coradee]

Did anyone ever see that story about the people that stole like thousands of dollars worth of koi from a public pond, or something like that?? And then turned around and sold them! LOL You *know* they knew what they had

An Lfs near me had all their koi stolen recently from their outdoor holding ponds, they left the goldies so they obviously knew which were the most valuable fish

 

[Anders247]

An Lfs near me had all their koi stolen recently from their outdoor holding ponds, they left the goldies so they obviously knew which were the most valuable fish

Congrats on 400th post.

 

[Christina98]

Hi,
I was recently gifted a 2 inch koi fish, my friend had a pond and his koi had babies right when he was about to move and he surrendered most of them but gave he this little guy. He's in a 5 gallon tank which I know is a little too small but I don't have room for anything bigger. There are also 3 ghost shrimp in his tank and they all are getting along just fine.

I haven't had any major problems with him yet however he seems to be a strange fish.

He eats anything and everything. I feed him twice a day, he won't eat while I'm standing there but as soon as I go to feed my other fish he gobbles up all his food in under 30 seconds. Do I need to fee him more food? or more often?

He also is kind of a spaz. He definitely doesn't have issues swimming but if someone goes near his tank kind of abruptly he darts all over the place and will attempt to swim through the artificial plants in his tank. Is this normal for koi? could this be from being born in a pond and going to a tank?


*Edit*
I know the tank is too small for him but he is only going to be in this tank until the end of the month at the longest. My friend moved away and majority of his koi are now housed in a lovely very large koi pond the town over however they would not take this little guy so my friend showed up with him and left him with me, the only extra tank I had on hand was this 5 gallon.

I would like to make his stay with me as comfortable as possible for him but I am very unsure of how to do this

 

[BottomDweller]

Wow. You know these guys get to 2-3 feet long right? Adult koi need 2000 gallons minimum. Even baby 2" koi need a much larger tank than 5 gallons. Keeping him there any longer will stunt him if he isn't stunted already. Can you put him back in the pond he was born in?

 

[KinsKicks]

Hello!

So I won't harp on the koi being in a small tank, but you'll want to get him out ASAP if you can...you will stunt him and/or he'll get to big for the tank and have trouble swimming.

As for the other thing, I do think he is spooked. Especially if he's young and used to a pond where nobody is really in his face all the time, he's getting scared by stimulants like that. It's not uncommon really. It's also probably why he wait so until you leave to eat; it's safer for him that way. And don't overfeed, he's still a pretty small guy. Are u feeding pellets?

He should calm down eventually, if you "interact" with him enough. But it probably would be best if you could have your friend take him back...

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[Christina98]

He's being moved into a pond within the month but until then I would like to keep him happy and health but I'm not sure how to do that. Most of my friends fish went to a very nice very large koi pond the town over from us however they didnt want this little guy so I'm taking care of him until the people who are permanently housing him are done setting up their pond

 

[KinsKicks]

Ok that's good! In the meantime, you'll want to do some extra WC as they have quite the bioload and the tank is small anyhow. it'll help with his growth as well.

 

[BottomDweller]

Can you get a food safe storage box for now to put him in? A 20-30 gallon storage box would be a lot better for him for now than a 5 gallon.

 

[Christina98]

Ok that's good! In the meantime, you'll want to do some extra WC as they have quite the bioload and the tank is small anyhow. it'll help with his growth as well.

What should I do to control the bioload

 

[BottomDweller]

Large water changes daily and a powerful filter

 

[Christina98]

Can you get a food safe storage box for now to put him in? A 20-30 gallon storage box would be a lot better for him for now than a 5 gallon.

Would that be safe for him? I thought about that but I was told the plastic was bad for him cause it would leak into his water

 

[Christina98]

Large water changes daily and a powerful filter

any filter recommendations?

 

[KinsKicks]

Actaully what BottomDweller said about using a tub is a good idea. As for the bioload, you'll want really good filtration and extra water changes..probably on a daily basis or every other day at the least.

 

[KinsKicks]

Would that be safe for him? I thought about that but I was told the plastic was bad for him cause it would leak into his water

Plastic is okay... look for the recycling triangle on them. #2 is the best and a close second are #4 and #5. These are safe for fish. Make sure to rinse thoroughly in dechloro watwr.

 

[BottomDweller]

If it is food safe and strong it should be fine for fish. I have used Really Useful Boxes to temporarily hold fish before but the larger sizes start to bow after a while. You can make a wooden frame to prevent this or just make sure you get a very strong box.

 

[Christina98]

If it is food safe and strong it should be fine for fish. I have used Really Useful Boxes to temporarily hold fish before but the larger sizes start to bow after a while. You can make a wooden frame to prevent this or just make sure you get a very strong box.

Ok! thank you so much for all your help!!!

 

[Christina98]

Plastic is okay... look for the recycling triangle on them. #2 is the best and a close second are #4 and #5. These are safe for fish. Make sure to rinse thoroughly in dechloro watwr.

Ok I will definitely be getting one very soon!! Thank you so much for all your help!!!!