Wonderful Koi ColorsMy first exposure to the beauty of koi fish was many years ago in a restaurant in Santa Cruz, CA.  The restaurant had a beautiful indoor pond and I was amazed at the size and beauty of the fish. My comment “Look at the size of those goldfish.” elicited a somewhat snide “Those are Koi Fish, not gold fish.” from the server. I was impressed and it created a desire to learn more about these amazing fish.

The problem was that I knew absolutely nothing about Koi fish or how to keep them. But fortunately, lots of information is available and I started reading about koi fish.  Most of the information was absolutely free.  A lot of it was good, and some of it not so good.

I learned that the Koi fish is actually a variety of the common carp that was bred for entertainment and enjoyment by the Japanese back in the 1820s.  Today, there are many varieties of koi fish with a huge array of patterns and colors like black, red, orange, yellow, silver, green and blue. Raising koi fish is big business. These fish are sold at auction for thousands of dollars.

Koi ponds can be a wonderful addition to any backyard or patio water attraction. The problem is that keeping koi fish can be an expensive hobby. But, there are ways to significantly reduce the cost by either designing the pond as a DYI project or using a kit that comes with everything you need to build a pond.

If you have ever watched an aquarium or sat next to a creek, you already know that watching fish can be most relaxing, especially with the sound of the rippling water flowing in the pond or through the yard. They are even more exciting and interesting to watch when plants are included in the koi pond to provide shade and make a more natural pond environment for the fish.

A koi owner may be able to put larger plants on the floor of the pond, but larger koi may be able to knock the plants over and create a a messy pond and can cause real problems for the owner. But, plants make a pond look better and benefits the fish, so you should have plants in your pond.

There are several solutions to keep your plants intact.  You can make them heavier or try wrapping netting over the  to keep the fish out of them.  You put pea gravel or river rocks on top of the plants in larger pots.  The rocks will make it harder for the koi fish to knock them over and keep them rooting around in the dirt under the rocks.

Selecting plants for your pond can be a real treat in itself. Many people like lilies and these plants are a good choice to put in a koi pond. But, there are several varieties that  grow well in shallow water and others that grow better in deeper water. Lilies, unfortunately, will not put oxygen in the water , but they can provide your fish with shelter and shade.  Another advantage of having plants in the water is that they attract insects and every fish in the world likes to have insects for lunch.

Insects should not be the only food for your koi.  Koi and other pond fish enjoy many other types of food that you can buy already prepared or use as supplements.  Koi fish enjoy a several kinds of people foods like peas, lettuce and some will even eat watermelons.

As an added attraction to the beauty of these fish, it has been reported that koi will learn to recognize the person who feeds them and will approach a person during feeding time. Some koi fish owners are proud of the fact that they successfully trained their fish to eat out of their hands.

Having koi fish in an outside pond is an enjoyable and unique experience.  Ponds, like aquariums, add a great deal of pleasure and relaxation to their owners lives and the fish are rewarded by the generosity and good care of their owners.  This makes a true win-win situation.

Getting good information is the first step toward having a great Koi fish pond.  When I started researching, I couldn’t find all the information I needed in one place. It became a matter of reading, taking notes and trying to make sense of it all. I took the information I needed and put it with lots of pictures, in the “The Beginner’s Guide to Raising Healthy Koi“.

CLICK HERE and get your own copy of this unique book.