Koi fish are addictive

My landlady gave me her sons 4 koi fish but the tank kept getting murky. It was only a 10 gallon tank. So she went out and got a 55 gallon tank along with some other fun stuff for it. Looks great now. SHe asked if I would like to pick out some koi with her and I was hesitant but said sure. So now we have 7 koi and a sucker fish(don't ask me the real name I cant remember.) I was talking pictures when my camera died. So here are a few pictures of the Koi and the one of Leo the sucker fish.

THis is shimmer. It is a really light shade of gold.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...2003/001-3.jpg

We changed this ones name to Golianth When he was the larges fish in the tank. He is the one in back of shimmer.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...2003/002-1.jpg

This one is Peace. Easy to see why.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...2003/003-2.jpg

The main one here is Skeletor. He looks like he has a black skelton on his body.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...2003/004-1.jpg

Peace agian who is now the largest fish in the tank.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...J_2003/006.jpg

And last but not least Leo
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...J_2003/007.jpg

I love them already. The Landlady is think of building a small pond for them in the spring for the spring and summer. I think that would be fun and interesting and the kids would love it.

Tell her to reconsider the small pond if there are any raccoons in your area. Our former landlord tried having a small, man-made pond outside, and the local raccoons regarded it as a convenient snack bar. They even took down the ugly chicken-wire fencing he tried placing over it to save the fish ... those little paws are extremely dextrous.

Thanks for sharing the pictures with us, handsome fishes you have there!

THanks Karen

A post on another forum sent me looking to find out what types of Koi we have. We have two Ghost Koi(Silver Surfer and Sekeletor) one Hikari Koi(Peace) 2 Gold Ogon Koi (Sparkle and Shimmer) One Sanke Koi (fire fox) and last but not least Bekko Koi(no name has stuck with him yet.

Interesting to now know the varieties we have.

The ammonia levels in that tank are going to be out of control. Koi really aren't good for indoor situations unless you have several hundred gallons. Make sure you all are extra careful not to put your hands near the water if you have open cuts as poorly farmed koi often have a number of diseases. Never let them go in the wild if they get too big.

I love looking at the koi from Nihon Koi Farm in Japan. I'd like to get one from them one day if I ever had several thousand to spend on a fish.

I went and put the 3 smaller Koi into the extra 10 gallon tank. They are only about 4 inchs long. I hope this will reduce the cloudiness that keeps happening. The other 4 that are about 8 inchs are still in the 55 gallon tank. I am also vaccuming the rocks every day. So I hope that helps. SUggestions are welcome. I am learning as I go.

I love koi !! I didn't know you could keep them in a tank though... . We have a large pond in our garden, with lots of koi, Japanese and Israeli(ghostkoi). They are all so fantastic!!
This is a link to my website, to the page with pics of our pond.
http://users.telenet.be/bernardgabriels/thepond.htm
And here are 2 good links;
both links are in Dutch, but you can see all the pictures!!
http://www.dekoi.info/soorten.html

http://www.ottemadokkum.nl/soorten/#top

Koi get very large. If you put them in a pond for the summer, they are going to grow very quickly, too. My friend has a koi pond in her yard, and she has to keep heaters in it in the winter to keep it from freezing, because the fish are too big to possibly come in the house.

I don't think your fishies are going to be able to live in your tank for very long, and you are going to need to do very frequent water changes. You might want to start looking for an outdoor home for them now.

Maya & Inka's mommy, I just love your pond. It looks like you have a very
balanced system. You live In an Ideal place in the world for a Koi pond system, not to much Sun or heat. My father had become quite a Koi lover after spending a month in Japan. When he came home he immediately
started building his gardens. He bought Koi from all over the world and before his death in 1974 had a beautiful Garden with over 150 Koi. Because keeping the pond clean was such a chore I created a automated filter system that worked great up until the time my Mom had to sale the house for health reasons. I hope some day to build my own pond. A few years back I lived in Neighboring Netherlands. I lived in the Village of Castricum. We really loved our time over there. My wife is always bugging me to take her back for a visit. Maybe someday.:D

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I went and put the 3 smaller Koi into the extra 10 gallon tank. They are only about 4 inchs long. I hope this will reduce the cloudiness that keeps happening. The other 4 that are about 8 inchs are still in the 55 gallon tank. I am also vaccuming the rocks every day. So I hope that helps. SUggestions are welcome. I am learning as I go.

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You need to learn how to cycle a tank (not with the fake cycle stuff sold on the store shelf). Cycling grows good bacteria that keeps the ammonia levels down. Normally you do this before you get fish. You'd need a chemical testing kit. Unfortunately your tanks are so overstocked that there is always going to be too much bad stuff for the bacteria to keep up with. I suggest you vacuum the gravel daily and change a good amount of the water, but rarely clean any surfaces in the tank, especially not the filter unless its clogged. The good bacteria will live on surfaces.

Here's one of my favorite koi I'll never own http://www.majestickoi.com/buyKoi.php?id=184&page=5

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

Here's one of my favorite koi I'll never own http://www.majestickoi.com/buyKoi.php?id=184&page=5

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*Faints*

$7,200 for a fish!? Wow. :eek: If I had that much money (ha!), and if I spent it on a fish ... the fish would die in two days, just as a little slap in the face from Karma.

Grand champion koi can go much much higher in price than $7000. My absolute favorite sold for $15,000 about a year ago. And that's not even near as high as they go in Japan. These are fish that people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on. Think of it like champion horses. I'm looking for a good quality baby koi for under $100 right now and that's no easy task.

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Originally Posted by kokopup

A few years back I lived in Neighboring Netherlands. I lived in the Village of Castricum. We really loved our time over there. My wife is always bugging me to take her back for a visit. Maybe someday.:D

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If you do go to Castricum, be sure to contact me!!

The Kois are all really pretty! I wish I could get one but my 5 gallon tank isn't really for that. Your Leo, is a plecostmus, We use to have one named monster, if you don't keep them in a tank big enough for them or if they get tired of their diet, sometimes they become aggressive and can kil the other fishes. Also know to suck the slim and scales off of anglefishes and Kois when they sleep. They are nocturnal too and prefer to hide in logs. Just a warning, though they are very docile when they are well feed. Wish you good luck

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

Here's one of my favorite koi I'll never own http://www.majestickoi.com/buyKoi.php?id=184&page=5

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That is one beautiful fish.I would love to have a koi pond someday.

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Originally Posted by Maya & Inka's mommy

I love koi !! I didn't know you could keep them in a tank though...

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Thats because you can't. They are not meant to be kept in typical house tanks. They are large pond fish as they get 1-2 feet long & produce so much waste that they just poison themselves in a typical house tank.
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You cannot keep goldfish in a tank & think it'll grow to its environment. Thats plain ignorant. No animal "grows" to it environment.. Goldfish (and other large species of fish.. like Plecos) will suffer terribly until they die in their death bowls/tank :(:(:(

Goldfish should live 20+years. Not 0.5-5yrs.. Most die so young & so tiny & quite painfully :(:(:(

Same goes for turtles *sigh*