By Ben Wood

ONALASKA - Koi first came to the United States (Hawaii) in 1945 only half a century ago. In the last ten years, koi keeping has shown exponential growth everywhere and there are koi clubs in virtually every state of the union. So, you'll be in good company when you have a koi pond. Every evening before dark during the warmer weather, my wife and I go out to our pond and feed the koi. It is so incredibly peaceful and soothing to watch those beautiful jewels as they swam languidly by us snatching the pellets of food from the surface of the pond. We can lose ourselves in that most tranquil environment for long periods of time. It's an experience that feeds our souls.

After deciding that you are going to have a fishpond, I recommend that you read about keeping koi. Read everything you can lay your hands on concerning these beautiful fish. One of the books I recommend is the Tetra Koi Encyclopedia. For the most part, it contains plenty of information to answer most of your questions, although not all of them.

However, not any one book is going to have ill the answers. I can't stress too strongly, though, the importance of learning about keeping koi. There are so many facets to this hobby that one needs to be moderately well informed. There isn't any black magic in having a fishpond full of healthy and happy koi. The most difficult decisions you may have concerning your koi pond will be choosing a site and deciding what shape you want it to be. I would urge you to have the largest pond that your pocketbook and imagination will allow, I like to tell people there are only three things that affect you having a pond: The size of your property, the scope of your imagination, and your ability and willingness to spend the money needed to bring your project to life.

Koi are hardy and can tolerate much abuse when compared with other fish. Koi can tolerate water with such a low oxygen level that other fish would perish. However, keeping a koi in an unhealthy environment will stunt its growth and it will never develop the color that we are all so pleased to see in our fish. Koi do not tolerate stress at all well. When I receive our fish and bring them home from the airport and put them in the tanks, I make sure that they are not disturbed for at least ten days. Koi become stressed with poor living conditions, i.e., unclean water, not enough oxygen, inadequate diet, crowding, and when they're stressed, they're more prone to disease. I guess what I'm getting at here is make your pond big enough to avoid overcrowding which will certainly stress your koi.

You don't have to do everything required for a perfect koi pond all at once. The main things you need are the hole, some way to keep the water in it, a pump to move the water into your filter, (the filter to keep the water clean), and a spray for aeration to give your koi their much-needed oxygen. Those are the basics. You can get fancier as you grow with the hobby and as your reading progresses. Start out with a few koi to see how everything's working. Don't put a lot of expensive koi into your pond right away, not until you're 100% throughout testing your water quality. I've never met anyone who was sorry that they put in a koi pond — I'm certain that you would enjoy it too!

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