5 Points when Buying Koi from Quality Koi Company
Not every fish is for every koi hobbyist, but we have the koi right for you!
When we are helping a hobbyist select a koi to buy that is right for them, we take many factors into consideration:
- The Budget
- The expectation of the koi
- The number of koi that are currently in the pond
- The size of the pond
- The type of filtration
Why are these questions important?
When it comes to buying a koi, here on our farm, we have hundreds of koi available to our customers. Knowing what your expectations are for the koi you are buying and your budget will help in the selections.
The final growing size of the koi the hobbyist is looking for will determine the body shape of the koi or even the sex of the koi. A male koi will look his best at a smaller size, whereas a female koi can be desired to a hobbyist that grows large koi, since she will typically look their best at a larger size.
A hobbyist looking to show the koi, especially a champion koi, has to take many elements in to consideration, such as body shape, quality of the skin, and pattern. However, for a hobbyist who does not show koi, they have the ability to forgo the show pattern or perfect body conformation for a koi with longevity in terms of lasting color and lust.
Often we suggest to our customers to use their budget to buy a smaller, higher quality koi, rather it's a better body shape, pattern, longevity or all three. This koi will give them more satisfaction over the years as it develops.
The size and volume of the pond will not only determine the number of fish but the potential growth rate of the koi. A 2000 gallon pond that has a large surface area but shallow depth, will give different results for your koi then a pond that has a smaller surface area but its depth is deep.
The filtration plays a critical role in the success of the pond and the koi. Most filtration unites on the market and homemade filtration systems will work on a pond. The difference between the systems is the maintenance required to keep the pond healthy. If a pond has a filter system that requires frequent manual cleaning, the hobbyist has to consider how much time they have to clean the filter. If they choose to clean the filter less often, it would be recommended to use the budget for fewer higher grade koi.
Knowing the size, volume and filter system for the pond helps us determine the number of koi the pond can support. When a pond is overloaded the filter cannot keep up with the waste the koi are producing, causing their environment to become poisonous to them. It's important to remember that as the koi grow, they put off more waste which puts a heavier load on to the filter. When this happens, the hobbyist can increase the maintenance of the filtration, add more filtration on to the pond to handle the new waste load or remove some of the koi to lessen the waste load on the filter.
This may seem like a long process to buy your koi, but having the right koi in your pond will make your pond enjoyable for years to come.