So I build a beautiful pond, get the rocks, plants and the ecosystem just right, add fish, all is well, right?
Wrong!
When I added the fish, then more fish I had not really known what I was doing. I just wanted life and colour in the pond. I didn't know I would become so attached to the fish, learn their idiosyncrasies, enjoy them so much. I was hooked so I got books asked questions and learned more about koi requirements. What I wasn't prepared for was that they would grow so quickly and that each fish needed room to grow.
1. On average, Koi can reach 18”- 26” in length. Butterfly Koi tend to be smaller fish.
After looking into the matter I found that the pond I had made held less water than I had originally thought (math is not my strong point!) it was about a 1000 gallon pond.
Because my pond is filtered (thus better able to handle fish waste) I can have
2. 10 inches of fish per 100 gallons - see the Koi Pond Stocking Guide
The number of fish I put in my pond is 17, this includes several butterfly koi.
Following the inches per gallon rule meant I needed a pond of at least 3000 gallons.
Even though I had just built my initial pond in in the spring, I decided to rip it apart in the fall, dig out a much bigger, deeper hole, lay down a bigger liner and make my fish safe, happy and comfortable!
See construction of the new pond next post!
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