Koi are very hardly and beautiful fish. They can reach over 12 inches in length in an outdoor pond. Usually if you see fish in a pond, they are keeping koi. Koi eat special koi food which looks like small pellets. You can purchase the food at any pet store such as Petco. Koi will generally live to be 25 to 35 years old, with the oldest koi living to be over 200 years old. Koi will reach over 18 inches in 3 to 4 years. Koi are not to be kept in a small fish tank but rather a large pond in your yard. This is hard for people who live in the upper states because the ponds freeze in the winter. If the pond is small you can catch the fish and bring them indoors in the winter. If the pond is small you can place a heater in the pond and keep them oustide.
Koi need to be fed daily. If you have the time you can feed them twice per day. Throw the pellets into the pond and you are good to go. Koi can go up to a week without food. If you are going on vacation I would suggest having somebody come over to feed the koi on a daily basis. You will also need to look into a filter setup for the pond and an aeration device. I would suggest buying a large pond liner from a pet store in your area. Ask the worker at the pet store what size pond you will need based on your area. If you want to place a heater in the pond, the pond can only be a certain size before you need to bring the koi in for the winter or colder months.
The price of koi varies depending on their size, coloration, and availibility. Koi are different from comet goldfish because they live a lot longer. Comet goldfish are not very hardy fish to keep in a pond. If you are planning on buying koi only stick to koi. If you want to purchase larger koi or you want specific colors you can go onto www.ebay.com and look for koi under live fish. You can choose the exact size and color that you want. You can also have it shipped to your home if you live too far away from a local pet store. I would suggest going to www.petsmart.com, www.petco.com and www.petland.com to see what types of koi pellets you can purchase and the cost.
Koi are very hardy and they are not aggressive fish. Smaller koi or goldfish will be eaten by larger koi and the adult koi often eat their young. The survival rate for a baby koi is 50 percent. Do not mix aggressive fish with non aggressive fish. Koi can also be taken to fish shows. Koi come in a wide variety of looks so you may want to look up pictures to see the exact types that you want. Do not overcrowd the pond or your fish will start to die off suddenly. Make sure to ask the people at the pet store how many fish you can place in the pond that you are purchasing. You need big equipment to dig out a large hole for a big pond. Smaller ponds do not need as big of equipment. Smaller pond liners can also be taken out and brought inside.
