Raising Koi from Fry
Raising Koi from Fry
As a breeder we are often asked how to raise the fry that comes from a spawning in a hobbyist pond.
If you are looking to learn from raising these fry we have these suggestions to offer.
1. After the spawning, move the fertilized eggs into a separate pond or quarantine tank. The older koi will eat the eggs if they are left in the pond. Although some eggs will be missed by the koi, the number off possible fry will be significantly lower.
2. The eggs should be in an environment with spawning material and a consistent temperature. A temperature swing, high or low can cause fungus to grow on the eggs and kill the eggs.
3. Excellent water quality is a must. Poor water quality again can cause fungus to grow on the eggs.
4. Once the eggs are hatched the fry need to be offered very small food source such as daphnia. If they do not have a food source to feed off of they will begin to consume each other.
5. Assuming the hatching went well, you may be surprised with the number of fry you have. Again, keeping the water quality in excellent condition is vital.
6. As the koi grow, you will need to reduce the number of fry in the system. This process is call culling. Remove all deformed koi.
7. The next step in culling becomes a personal adventure. You need to decide what characteristics you are looking for. This can be challenging in a hobbyist pond spawn, as you may not know the parent linage. But, for example if you are looking for pattern koi, you will want to removal all the solid color koi from the system.
Culling may seem difficult to do, we to as breeders wish we could keep more koi and watch the development, but for the sake of the success of your “keepers” the numbers must be lowered.
8. Once you have your little koi to a strong, 5-6 inches, they can be placed into the main pond.
Key Note - Growing Koi
When trying to grow koi it is best to keep koi of the same size ( +or - 1 inch). This lowers the competition for food between the koi
