I think I've made a terrible mistake

15 years ago

I've got a pair of wide 30-gallon rain barrels I've set up to use for watering my garden, and rather than turn them into a mosquito country club, I went to the local aquarium supplier to see if I could get a stock of feeder fish to live in them and eat the larvae.

There was a discussion amongst the shopkeepers, and they suggested some 3-for-$20.00 koi, about 2" long. Not only would they be good for the mosquitos, they would be great pets. My wife has always wanted koi, so I picked up 6 - three for each tank, a 40 gallon submersible filter (I'm only setting up one tank at the moment) and a can of 'red enhancing' food. I grow worms, so I was planning on feeding them a combination of the two.

I hopped on gardenweb, thinking I could find some info here on how to take care of them, discovered the koi forum, and have been reading in horror. Apparently instead of a sextet of beautiful and hardy 2" fish that will last a few years, I've made a 60-year commitment to some delicate lovelies that will eventually grow to 2 feet and require 2000 gallons of tank space that I and the family will wind up forming an emotional bond with, so "getting rid of them" will be an impossibility.

Now, having a real carp pond has been an eventual very long term goal of mine, and I love the idea of taking care of these guys 'till now until they become monsters, but how fast is that going to happen? When will these little critters need something more than the tank they are in now? Can I plan to grow my containment along with their size, notching it up every year, or will they be flopping out of this tank by July?

Also, WTH was the fish store thinking? From what I'm reading, even my little koi won't eat 'skeeters - they're already too big. Is this a case of a communications foulup, or was I just taken advantage of?

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Comments (6)

ccoombs1
15 years ago
no...it was not a communication foul up...it was the store clerk trying to make a sale. That really bugs me when they do that. Koi do need much more space than the barrles will give. They need a minimum of 250 gallons each, with a minimum pond size of 1000 gallons. They won't live 60 years....realistically they may live 15 or 20 at the most. but they can easily grow to well over 24" in just a few years, then they slow way down on their growth rate. They will probably be OK where you have them until next summer, but keep an eye on your water quality....and start planning that pond!

Here's a great web site to help you with the pond planning process and your new hobby....koi keeping!! lol!

one additional bit of information....rain water run off is probably the worst water you can give koi. It is pretty scidic and contains all the pollutants that settle on to your roof. If you can swing it, you might want to set up a 300 gallon rubbermaid stock tank for them to live in and just drop a couple of mosquito dunks in the rain barrels.

Here is a link that might be useful: Koi Shack
queuetue
Original Author
15 years ago
The drama continues... Apparently, in addition to "are koi the best for this solution" the shopkeeper also fudged a bit over "do I need to have a covered container?"

The next morning, 4 of them were on the ground outside, jumped for whatever reason - mainly because it was just a terrible environment for them, I assume. One was still moving, so I cleaned him as best I could and put him back in, the others got a short ceremony and disposal. He bounced back a bit, but my wife and I decided that this just wasn't going to work.

We either had to return these remaining guys, dispatch them all, or ... well, I now have a 40 gallon tank sitting in a hallway, filling that weird spot that nothing seemed to work in. The remaining two (the 4th jumper, unfortunately passed the next day) and a pair of plecos are now the talk of the house, and a source of unending amusement for our cats. They are already getting used to our presence when I feed them - the bolder of the two was willing to eat a pellet right up against my open hand.

And I've started plans on the pond for next year. Just what I need - another obsession. :)

Incidentally, I did not buy the aquarium from the pet shop that sold me the fish - he's lost my business, although I shouldn't be surprised if any consumer pet shop did the same thing they're not hobbyists, they're salespeople trying to make quota, and have always been covered under "caveat emptor."
ccoombs1
15 years ago
so sorry you lost some. It is VERY common for koi to jump when moved to a new place. I always net my ponds when a new fish is added, and my QT tanks stay netted all the time. Sure is a shame that some shop dealers are SO desperate to make a sale that they will lie.
newyorkrita
15 years ago
Just go to PetCo and get some rosey red minnows for your rain barrels. About ten cents apiece or so. Sold as feeder fish. Canh't help with the Koi problem.
buyorsell888
15 years ago
Mosquito Dunks!
runningtrails
15 years ago
That is so sad! I've had koi jump out of a pond and stay out for hours. They were covered with dirt when I found them and put them back. They lived for years. You ever know!

Pet stores like that just make me so mad! Those poor fish! Koi are great pets, very intelligent and trainable. I had mine eating worms out of my hand. It got so bad I couldn't reach into the pond to move something without all the fish crowding around and bumping my hands, begging for food! I had to shoo them away to get anything done in the pond. lol!

You'll enjoy them as pets, they have personalities. I had to get rid of a big bully that wouldn't let anyone else eat, but they do need a proper pond and some care time. If the pond is set up properly and you have proper filtration, lots of plants, etc, not a lot of time is needed to keep it healthy.

Make sure your pond has an area below the frost line or the koi wont survive the winter outside. They hibernate under the ice all winter. There has to be room for them to move around slightly under the ice (I, too, live in Canada.) The frost line here is about 3.5 ft down, so a pond here has to be at least 4.5 feet deep to overwinter fish. With global warming you might get away with less some winters, but it's chancy.