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Preventative Care for Healthy, Happy Koi

Preventative Care for Healthy, Happy Koi



Koi fish are extremely long-lived companions. With a life spanning between 40 and 60 years, your koi will grow alongside you and your family. Creating a clean, beautiful space for them is important, and will provide you with endless hours of therapeutic bliss.

Preventative healthcare for your koi can save you money and heartache by keeping your friends in good health and spirits for years to come. Nothing is more important than the water quality, and we will aid you in simple ways to keep on top of this.

Make sure you also review this downloadable infographic, koi health checklist, and symptom diagnosis guide from Kodama Koi Farm, so you will catch illness early and be able to diagnose properly. The Kodama team helped us prepare this valuable content for our readers.

Use these tips for raising healthy koi with preventative care.

Koi Fish

Healthy Water = Healthy Koi

Koi live and breathe the pond water; if it becomes unbalanced or unhealthy it will have swift, cataclysmic effects on your koi population. Ammonia and nitrites need to be as close to zero as possible! Maintaining good water quality includes regular testing with kits, even water that looks clear to the eye may be harmful to your koi. Keep these tips for improving nitrogen cycle handy to refer to, and remember your koi pond filter is your most important line of defense.

Breathe Deeply

Healthy water is water bursting with life-giving oxygen! Oxygen passes naturally along the pond surface, but surface area alone may not be enough for the pond volume and koi density.

Waterfalls and other surface aeration will help, and it is highly recommended that you also add a pump to make sure your precious friends are getting plenty of the good stuff. Waterfalls are double-duty, as the sound of running water is a well appreciated therapy throughout the world, relieving stress and aiding in meditative states.

Now both you and koi can comfortably breathe.

Diet is Key

Feeding your koi is such a fun peaceful activity for the whole family, watching your beautiful koi gather and parade in front of you. It is tempting to feed more often to enjoy this experience, especially when guests of children are around. But it is very, very important to NEVER overfeed!

Any leftover food will sink to the bottom and decompose, creating a dirtier environment, throwing your nitrogen balance out of whack and using up your koi’s oxygen supply. Overfeeding also makes it hard to discern if fish are sick or just full. Twice a day, feed them only as much as they will vigorously eat for one minute. Keep an eye out for if there is leftover food, and adjust your feeding accordingly.

Always Quarantine the New Guys

Finally, always make sure you quarantine any new arrivals. Even if you receive them from a highly trusted source, there are just too many ways for bacteria, parasites or unwanted substances to make their way into your pond. Having a small area arranged specially for this is easy to do yourself.

Following a simple quarantine setup will save you lots of stress and possible tragedy by making sure everyone is clean and healthy when they are introduced into the pond.

Have a Reliable Source of Koi Information

Kodama Koi Farm helped us with the article content and have had koi fish for sale for over 50 years! When you are ready to start your koi family, or add to an existing one, they are is an excellent source of new koi information.

Remember, just like you and I, your koi will live long, healthy lives if given the proper preventative care. To your health and success!