Posted by Janet Christian on July 01, 2006 at 16:19:28:
In Reply to: KOI! posted byJessica Hall on June 29, 2006 at 23:45:37:
Please be sure your pond is large enough. Koi need 250 gallons per fish and they really need 3' depth. They also need good circulation and filtration (they're a MESSY fish) -- your pond should circulate once per hour and have a filter that is appropriately sized. (To circulate once per hour the pump should be around 30% larger than the size of the pond -- in other words a 4000 gallon pond should have a 5600 or so gph pump.)
I've rescued many koi from preformed ponds that are smaller than homeowners realize and only 12-18" deep.
If you aren't sure of the size of your pond, take the h x w x d number and multiply by 7.49. Then round DOWN by several hundred gallons, since ponds are rectangles -- each curved side or sloped wall reduces gallons by much more than most folks realize.
I'm mentioning this for the health and well-being of these long-lived fish.