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What You Need To Know Before Making Koi Ponds
Koi have been called dragon-fish by some who admire and are enslaved by them. Koi definitely hold spells on people. Bred originally in Japan, koi are bred and kept by hobbyists and professional fish farmers all over the world. Koi are usually kept in natural or man-made koi ponds. In order to have the koi thrive in koi ponds, the pond must be well looked after. Well looked-after koi ponds have a subtle beauty to it that is a perfect compliment to the noble and enigmatic dragon-fish. Koi are royal fish and demand to be kept in an aquatic palace.
That Was No Boating Accident!
When you start keeping your first few koi ponds, you will inevitably mess up. Koi get diseases, organic matter falls into the pond and messes up the chemical balance, the filter might break, you might get visited by fish-loving cats or eagles. Dont waste time berating yourself just try and see what went wrong and fix it. This is how we learn. Koi are rather forgiving, but they can be pricey. For your first fish in a pond, get much cheaper goldfish. Even the feeder goldfish will do. These fish will test out your koi ponds. And goldfish get along with koi (unless they are teeny-tiny and then they look like snacks to the koi).
Ive youve never, ever kept fish before, for Petes sake, dont start keeping them in koi ponds! Koi ponds are a great goal to keep in mind, but you need to learn the behavior and how to spot sick fish. Get a small aquarium, even a ten gallon, with a thermometer, filter and at least five fish books. If you have online access, you can access a lot of fishy info online written by hobbyists and professionals alike.
You can even purchase baby koi from most pet stores, breeders or fish shows (yes, they exist. Dont wear good clothes). Since koi can live for 30 years on average (the oldest was over 200, but that is considered a fluke), you can really develop a relationship with the koi.
Learn, Learn, Learn
You can choose from having your koi ponds professionally dug and constructed, but you also can choose pre-formed koi ponds available from aquarium or gardening shops and online stores. You can sink these pre-formed koi ponds into the ground or stick them on top. You would then need to build up a strong base around the pond, such as with rocks or bricks. The edges of ponds get quite squishy. |