What Is The Proper Way To Receive New Koi Fishes?

New fish are always an exciting addition to a pond, especially koi fish with their beautiful colors and high value. But you have to be cautious too and not get overexcited to add your koi to the pond immediately. Koi require special handling while transporting them from one environment to another. Learn more about how you can receive new koi fishes with care.

Give Them Time To Adjust

Koi take time to adjust to new environments, so give them the time they need. Once the koi have reached your property, let them sit for 20 minutes without immediately disturbing them. If your koi came in a bag, ensure the bag is only half full of water – drain out some if you need to. Slowly incorporate water from your pond or aquarium into the bag, giving the koi time to adjust to this new water. Keep adding water until eventually there is a ratio of 50-50 of old and new water. You may then place the fish into your pond. If your aquarium water is a different temperature from the water the koi came in, add more water until the koi’s water temperature is the same as your aquarium temperature – transfer the koi to a tub first if necessary to achieve this. Once the water temperature is the same, gently place the koi into the aquarium. However, if your pond or aquarium already contains other fish…

You Need A Quarantine Tank

There is no escaping this step of the process: a quarantine tank. Some may find it troublesome, but rest assured it is absolutely necessary to quarantine your koi before introducing them to the pond, if you have existing fish in your pond already. The reason why this is so important is because newly purchased koi may potentially be carrying parasites, bacteria, fungus and other illnesses, in spite of the previous breeder’s best efforts to keep them healthy and clean. Furthermore, Japanese koi tend to become extremely stressed and exhausted in the process of transporting them from farm or breeder to their new owner. To allow your koi to rest and recover from their journey, you must set up a quarantine tank and keep them there for at least 21 days. This reduces risk of diseases and allows koi to adjust to a new environment.

Monitor Them Constantly

Especially when they are newly introduced, monitor your koi daily to make sure they are adjusting well. A group of healthy koi would swim freely all over the pond or aquarium. They enjoy the sound of waterfalls and water being aerated, and this also stimulates their appetite. However, if they gather in one area, or hardly move, this may be indicative that there is a disease they are suffering from. If they gather at the water filter or tend to open and close their mouths at the surface of the water, it also indicates a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water, and you need an aqua aeration system. Take note also if they swim extremely fast, seem to be wobbly, or tend to stay motionless near the surface of the water, as these are all indications of illness. The Microbe-Lift Stress Relief supplement is useful in this situation as it helps the fish heal more quickly, and in fact, it can be used right after transporting the fish to help them adjust better to their new environment.