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Hello Koi Enthusiasts!
This blog is here to provide a spot for various things that do or might pertain to Koi. This stuff is intended for your entertainment, and is not meant to meet the stricter standards of our ebooks and courses, so use this info carefully and at your own risk. The short articles here may be descriptions of techniques that have proved effective, an introduction to new fish research, facts, graphs or just something FUN about fish! This information can be a springboard for your imagination and an entertaining place to learn something new. Information that was first published in Question of the Week can be found here.
The more we learn about Koi, the more FUN this hobby is - and we always say - if you're not havin' FUN, you're not doin' it right!
Most bacteria are less than 1mm in length. Therefore hundreds of thousands of bacteria can fit into a space the size of the full stop at the end of a sentence.
Chloramine-T (n-chloro-para-toluene sulfonamide sodium salt) like most other Koi medication that we use in bulk, is also used extensively for many other purposes.
For the inexperienced
One word: Don’t.
Pollution of the aquatic environment by sodium fluoride from some industrial processes has been linked to delayed hatching of fish eggs and reduced growth, which is why, when I clean my teeth, I rinse my mouth into the sink, not my Koi pond.
Manufacturers of products such as these do not like to divulge their trade secrets, so it is difficult to determine the exact make-up without expensive laboratory analysis.
An interesting question has been asked: “If an air pump is turned off for an hour in the evening, does the dissolved oxygen in the pond water disappear immediately the air pump stops?” (The pond has an aerated bottom drain and I assume the air is being turned off so that the Koi can be seen more clearly).
Many pond keepers come to koi keeping by accident.
The absolute minimum depth for a koi pond is generally accepted to be at least four feet deep over most of it’s floor area.
There are many different types of ready-made systems on sale, which are designed to simply and easily connect to your pond.
Conventional wisdom says that the turnover rate of a Koi pond should be at least once every hour.
I found this study while researching for an article on nutrition. This work was done in 2015, and specifies the number of times to feed per day, the amount and the protein levels for various stages of development in carp (they also cover catfish and prawns). In many parts of the world, carp is an extremely important protein source and they are thus raised commercially. As hobbyists, we can certainly learn a lot from these types of studies where the researchers want to understand how to maximize growth in an environment where there is little natural food in the pond.
This is an excellent study that evaluated changing out fish meal for plant proteins on carp (Cyprinus carpio) of various ages. The researchers evaluated growth rates using various proteins and various amounts of protein. Reading this will help you understand how to better evaluate the labels on Koi food bags.
Below is the text of a recent study that evaluated the use of Vitamin C to de-chlorinate water. They found it much cheaper and more effective than many other chemical solutions. This study was done for municipal water systems, but has direct benefits for Koi ponds as well! Full methodology, as well as recommended dosages are given. There are additional benefits to using Vitamin C as well.
Medicated food has been banned for sale to Koi hobbyists, but it turns out - it's easy to make your own! Here is an excellent article on how to do it.
I was doing some re-decorating recently, and found these novelty pull knobs...
Herpes virus carp kill in River Murray may sap essential oxygen, research shows.
Parasites are discovered in carp in the mid-Murrumbidgee region of Australia, as testing was being done prior to the proposed release of KHV to control carp in the Murry-Darling basin.
Carp are a freshwater fish native to Asia. Now the most abundant large fresh water fish in some areas — Australia considers them a pest.
Herpes-based carp control plan may stop some Australian fish exports, and causes alarm overseas.
Updated April 2018
For 25 years a Japanese diver has been friends with a particular fish – and this is for real and not a fairytale.
This is an excellent, albeit long, article about how to mimic the features of mud ponds, and explains why a more controlled pond may actually be better!
New research explains the metallic shine of Gin Rin.
This article looks at some benefits that plants can provide to a Koi pond.
NOTE: Some Koi eat plants! Some Koi do not eat plants - your Koi may or may not 'bother' plants (by 'bother', I have observed that the usual Koi response to water lilies is to pull them out of the pots, eat the roots, and shred the rest). Most Koi will eat the roots of water hyacinths - but not all Koi do. So - if you want to add plants to your pond, test using one smaller, less expensive version of each variety, and see which ones the Koi eat, and which ones they don't (if any).
This is an article on how an introduced species became wild and the efforts that are being taken to reduce wild carp numbers in New Zealand.
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!If you're not havin' FUN, you're not doin' it right
