Both TBTB and Kendragon have mahseers in their ponds which would work great in your climate, grow to a large size and are compatible with appropriately sized Koi. Another option may be smaller gar (they have to be so small that they can not only not eat the koi but also would never try).
Coldwater Monster Fish Compatible With Koi?
- Thread starter Polypterus_36
- Start date
-
- Tags
- koi
Hello and welcome to the MFK!
Naples is in southern FL, almost as far south as one can get on the west FL coast, same latitude as Miami on the east coast, 2 h away.
We use greenhouse-like curtains and a little bit of aquarium heaters to keep our 25K water at a minimum of 68-70 F in the winters (for the sake of the tropical fish). We use high speed fans and a small water chiller to keep the same exhibit at a maximum of 82 F with vigorous aeration in the warm season (for the sake of the sturgeon, wels, golden orf, Aral barbel).
You can see what we keep in the 25K in our videos on the channel.
As for the koi + mahseer, I've been learning the hard way that not all mahseer are compatible with koi in our 25K. More aggressive mahseer, such as douronensis / soro / Thai rose, Neolissochilus hexagonolepis and other similar ones, perhaps even the stratcheyi, are not compatible long term with timid fish like koi, GSC, sturgeon, etc. as they will bite their tails, fins, body. Among our mahseer, progenious, khudree, malabaricus, and putitora have not bothered our koi and GSC so far in 3 years together.
Black sharks, small scale mud carp, and yellowfin tinfoil barb bothered sturgeon, so had to be transferred to other tanks.
Do not keep aggressive and opportunistic, fin nipping, indiscriminately biting fish, such as purple Labeo, any Distichodus, pacu, and gar with koi. Big no-no.
High fin banded Chinese shark / loach is a cool idea. Beware it cannot handle high temps, over 80-85 F, cannot be precise, but we lost ours in that range.
Naples is in southern FL, almost as far south as one can get on the west FL coast, same latitude as Miami on the east coast, 2 h away.
We use greenhouse-like curtains and a little bit of aquarium heaters to keep our 25K water at a minimum of 68-70 F in the winters (for the sake of the tropical fish). We use high speed fans and a small water chiller to keep the same exhibit at a maximum of 82 F with vigorous aeration in the warm season (for the sake of the sturgeon, wels, golden orf, Aral barbel).
You can see what we keep in the 25K in our videos on the channel.
As for the koi + mahseer, I've been learning the hard way that not all mahseer are compatible with koi in our 25K. More aggressive mahseer, such as douronensis / soro / Thai rose, Neolissochilus hexagonolepis and other similar ones, perhaps even the stratcheyi, are not compatible long term with timid fish like koi, GSC, sturgeon, etc. as they will bite their tails, fins, body. Among our mahseer, progenious, khudree, malabaricus, and putitora have not bothered our koi and GSC so far in 3 years together.
Black sharks, small scale mud carp, and yellowfin tinfoil barb bothered sturgeon, so had to be transferred to other tanks.
Do not keep aggressive and opportunistic, fin nipping, indiscriminately biting fish, such as purple Labeo, any Distichodus, pacu, and gar with koi. Big no-no.
High fin banded Chinese shark / loach is a cool idea. Beware it cannot handle high temps, over 80-85 F, cannot be precise, but we lost ours in that range.
Thank you! I already watched most of your YouTube videos on your 25K pond while doing research to see the filtration, stocking, and so on. I might just stick with koi, as they are beautiful just by themselves. Thanks for the advice.
Channel Catfish and Brown Bullhead are excellent choices to pair with Koi. I used to keep them with Koi and never had a problem. Their growth rate and eventual size is similar to a Koi and you can feed them the same food (pellets). They would even school together. They are pretty hardy fish too——I’m in Washington and all of my mine have survived our winters no problem. Bullheads get to 16” or so while channel cats can 2-3 feet relatively easy.
Ide are also cool. Also, sturgeon and Sterlet need to be fed more than 2 times a day. Maybe native fish like Bass, Pumpkinseeds, Bluegill, etc. Or Mayan Cichlids and Koi. Bala Sharks would be cool as well.
As for rarer fish, maybe American Eel.
Catfish: Common Pleco, Channel Cats, Black Bullheads (with caution, I am pretty sure they can cause Ammonia spikes. They are also messy), Red Tail Catfish (they get large), and perhaps Corydoras (they can get upwards of 6 inches).
Consider having Mosquitofish for Mosquito control.
As for rarer fish, maybe American Eel.
Catfish: Common Pleco, Channel Cats, Black Bullheads (with caution, I am pretty sure they can cause Ammonia spikes. They are also messy), Red Tail Catfish (they get large), and perhaps Corydoras (they can get upwards of 6 inches).
Consider having Mosquitofish for Mosquito control.
With the catfish, if a tank mate fits in their mouth, especially as defenseless as a koi, they will swallow it sooner or later.
What about my American Eel Suggestion. I don't think anyone has kept one on here.
Not going to lie, American eels kinda gross me out. I'll pass ?
