Cheap Pet Insurance

June 27th, 2009 by mohd kamil aliff abdul razak

Making sure your Koi pond is in the absolute cleanest condition possible should be at the very top of your list of priorities. The reason for this is rather simple as not only does a clean pond help keep your fish healthy, but it also saves a considerable amount of time and effort, not to mention money, since it’s much easier to prevent problems from happening than it is to correct them once they’ve occurred.

Your Pond’s Water and Filtration System

You filtration system is extremely important. There are 2 types of filtration, mechanical and biological. Mechanical filtration relieves the pond of solids such as dead algae, insects, and Koi wastes. It is important to have enough filtration to sustain the size of the pond, and the amount and size of your Koi. Biological filtration causes a nitrogen cycle, which is what removes dissolved wastes from your pond. Without biological filtration, built up waste will turn into ammonia and kill your Koi within just a few days.

Koi fare best in water that’s clean as it keeps them at their happiest and healthiest. A dirty pond often means the difference between sick, suffering fish and a school of thriving Koi. Remember that the pond water is your Koi’s entire existence, it’s where they sleep, socialize with each other, explore, and eat their meals. But, it’s also serving as their “toilet” and not keeping the pond clean is akin to forcing the fish to constantly live in their bathroom.

The water in your pond should almost be completely clear. Your pond should contain no floating or suspended debris, and the Koi should appear to be floating in air. If you are unable to see the bottom of your pond, then chances are your pond is not clean enough.

Keeping Supplies Handy

There are certain items that you need to have on hand at all times. Because you pond is outdoors, emergency situations do occur. Nature is simply unpredictable at times, and you do not want to be caught in a situation where an item is needed, but they is no way to obtain it.

Properly Feeding Your Koi

Overfeeding can ultimately cause water quality issues.. In nature, Koi would not nearly the amount of food that they do in controlled ponds. It is not unheard of for pond owners to feed many pounds of food to their Koi per week. This produces a larger amount of waste, whether it comes from the digestion process on the Koi’s part, or the amount of uneaten food that has settled to the bottom and spoiled. It is important to vacuum the bottom out as much as possible, and make sure all types of drainage systems are clear and in working order.

When quarantining any new fish it’s important to keep them totally isolated from your existing Koi. Also, supplies, including food and all of the items you’ll need to care for your fish properly should be kept separate as well. You’ll also want to make a habit of washing your hands thoroughly before and after handling both groups of Koi as well as your supplies.

It should be noted that keeping your Koi completely quarantined is no real guarantee that they still won’t become ill, but it will nonetheless greatly reduce the chances of something unfortunate like that happening to your fish.