keeping a koi in aquarium? thoughts and feedback?

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Slippery K

Slippery K

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 5, 2011
2,491
27
81
Ontario, Canada
Hey everyone, recently I have developed an intrest in the Japanese carp also known as the koi fish. I have recently had some bad life expirences in my personal life that are causingme great stress and countless sleepless nights waking up in cold sweats. Iv done some research and apparently the Karasu (means crow in english) brings the best of luck to its owner. Has anyone successfully added a small koi to their aquarium? I know they can reaxh 3 feet in captivty, this is not an issue as when the time comes to move it, a good friend of mine has a massive koi pond in their backyard. Does anyone have any tips/comments or concerns about this? Normally im not into the superstition of luck or karma, but at this point im willing to try anything to get a good nights sleep again, please dont sugest sleeping pills as I refuse to take them. My family doctor says its most likely a cause of stress with an over-active mind. Any and all thoughts/comments are welcome.
 
I live in an area where if the pond isn't 6 feet deep it freezes solid. My Koi were indoor half the year, the 5 of them were fine in a 55 gallon until they started to hit 12 inches, then I ran into problems with space, and filtration. Koi in an aquarium all depends on the aquariums size.
 
My current tank is 120 with a knifefish, and the possible future home of the koi will be inside for the winter. Asian family who knows their pond stuff very well. I will also be upgrading my tank to at least a 180gal hopfuly by june or july, have a seperate fish account linked to my current bank accounts.
 
I bought a 2" koi 5months ago at a pet store and put it in my "community" 210. it is now almost 9" but I am excited to see it grow. It eats like it is starving all the time and it keeps to itself. It sifts through the sand all....day....long. Really thats all it does. It is a very cool fish very non-aggressive,very interesting.
Its a standard "classic" Kohaku Koi.
 
When I was in grade school our science teacher had koi. In the summer he put them out in his pond but when school started he would put about 6 in a 55 gallon tank at the school. They did pretty well, considering what I know now, they were pretty crammed in there too since some were 8-9 inches. They do best with water about 70, so keeping a heater in the tank is still a good idea, and icing it down in summer heat might be needed. Given the right amount of room you could keep a few indoors indefinitely. There's a monster tank thread here that becomes a home to goldfish in the end after the owner couldn't decide how to heat the tank, it re-inspired me to have a goldfish tank again, so I'm working on a 125 for a few fancy goldfish. The only other thing I have noticed when I have had koi before, is that butterfly koi are a bit less aggressive usually. The koi I had were not as friendly and personable as the fancy goldfish I have had, which is why I am going back with fancy goldfish this time. Hope you feel better too.
 
Karasu = black KOI. Put him in the tank when he gets big put him/her in the pond. My QT is a 150Gal tub it has 5 koi in it for the last 6 months.

If you want him happy have 2
 
When I kept them I took out the heater. They are messy so just make sure you have good filtration. In your tank iwould just keep 2.
 
I like to keep my koi in a small tank when they are small, it's easier to train them to eat from my hand that way!
 
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