Fish, much like humans, exhibit discernible behaviors, allowing you to understand their well-being. Learning to distinguish between positive and negative fish behaviors empowers you to act promptly, addressing any adverse condition before it escalates.

Let’s first explore the positive behaviors indicating your pond fish are thriving:

• Exploring the pond’s surface, signaling hunger.
• Frequent pectoral fin movements, especially when analyzing the water’s surface.
• Strong appetite.
• Consistent exploration.
• Socializing with other fish and avoiding solitude.
• Body flexing for better visibility.
• Foraging in the pond’s gravel.

When your fish display these behaviors, it’s a sign they are content and in good health. But how about behaviors that deviate from the norm?

Negative fish behavior indicative of distress include:

• Refusal to eat.
• Folding fins tightly.
• Lying at the pond’s base.
• Remaining immobile at the pond’s surface.
• Exhibiting reduced activity or floating idly.
• Exhibiting scratching or flashing.

Witnessing these behaviors warrants immediate attention. Here’s how to interpret and address these signs:

Loss of Appetite

When fish are indifferent to food or outright refuse to eat, consider evaluating water quality, particularly during peak summer months. Poor oxygenation in warm water or imbalanced nitrogen levels are common culprits. Introduce an aerator to enhance oxygen levels and conduct water tests to detect nitrate imbalance. Consider parasite infestations when water quality is optimal.

Fish Behavior: Clamped Fins

Fins held closely to the body symbolize discomfort, often attributed to water quality or parasitic infections. Start with a thorough water quality check, and if it’s satisfactory, seek parasite treatment solutions.

Lying at the Bottom

Fish resting at the pond’s bottom often signals high water temperature, elevated nitrate levels, or diminished oxygen levels. Initiate water tests and consider parasites if water conditions are stable.

Stiff Swimming with Folded Fins

This fish behavior typically denotes an advanced stage of discomfort, potentially a progressing parasitic infestation or bacterial infection. Start with water quality assessments and consider parasitic evaluations if water conditions are not problematic.

Piping at the Pond Surface

Gasping fish at the pond’s surface is a strong indicator of low oxygen levels or gill damage. Introduce an aerator and, if the behavior persists, assess for parasitic infections.

Fish Behavior: Reduced Activity or Idle Floating

While this is not an outright sign of illness, monitor oxygen levels, especially in warmer water with minimal water movement. Installing an aerator typically resolves this issue within hours.

Frequent Flashing

Occasional flashing or scratching is not alarming, but when it becomes a frequent sight, inspect the pond’s pH level or look for parasites.

By understanding and recognizing the various behaviors of your pond fish, you can swiftly address and rectify any issue, ensuring a harmonious, healthy habitat for your aquatic friends. Contact us for more information.

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Maintain a Healthy Population

One of the best ways to keeping your pond healthy and balanced?  Don’t have to many fish!  We get it—it’s tempting to add colorful koi and goldfish to your water garden, but too much is not a good thing.  Too many fish creates excess waste in the pond water, which in turn can cause water quality issues. As a general rule of thumb, pond fish need 10 gallons of water for every inch of their length. So a 10-inch long fish needs 100 gallons. If you have five 10-inch long fish, your water garden should have at least 500 gallons of water. Keep in mind that your fish are going to grow so be sure to under-stock your pond in the beginning.

 Fish Need Clean Water

Your pond water should always be clean-smelling and have good clarity.  On occasion, the water might be green due to suspended algae, or slightly brown due to tannins. Algae is expected in the spring when the plants haven’t yet reached maturity for the season. Once the plants grow, they consume more nutrients from the water thereby starving algae of food to survive. Ponds in sunny locations experience higher algae growth, but this can be alleviated by shading the pond surface with waterlilies or floating plants like water lettuce and water hyacinth.

Keep in mind, algae isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Your pond fish will eat algae off the rocks in your pond so it’s good to have a little of the green stuff. Too much algae can become unsightly but can be controlled with various water treatments.

If you’re going to keep fish, it’s imperative that your pond have proper filtration. A mechanical skimmer is your first line of defense for removing unwanted debris such as leaves and twigs from the surface of the water. If left to decay in the pond, organic material can cause a host of water issues that could make your fish sick. The skimmer also houses the pump which circulates the water and helps to aerate the pond. A biological filter is positioned opposite the skimmer to create the beginning of a waterfall. This filter uses bacteria to break down pond wastes, converting them into less harmful compounds that can act as aquatic plant fertilizers.

Don’t Overfeed your Fish

Koi benefit from premium prepared fish food, but remember—they also feed on things like algae and insects—it’s part of what created an ecosystem pond.  When buying fish food, look for food that contains a high-quality protein along with stabilized multivitamins and probiotics. And most importantly, only feed your fish what they can consume in about three to five minutes. In the summer you can feed them twice per day, but in spring and fall you should only feed them once per day.

Following these three basic rules for keeping koi and pond fish will help ensure that your finned friends have a solid foundation to grow and thrive. You’ll enjoy hours of watching your colorful koi and goldfish swim around the pond, gliding here and there beneath the waterlily pads. It’s a great stress reliever and a perfect activity to enjoy a bit of nature in your own backyard with the family.

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Among inexperienced Koi Fish seekers, one question looms early in the process of finding that perfect pond addition, pet or show quality? This is an inquiry often asked by breeders, but you may find yourself wondering, “how should I know?” or “why does it matter?”.

Well, when it comes to purchasing Koi, there are usually two categories of shoppers –those looking for pets and those looking for a prized collection. Just like in dogs or horses – bloodlines, markings, and size can determine the price associated with your Koi.

Understanding the difference between show quality and pet quality Koi – and how breeders arrive at those assessments – can significantly demystify the selection process for many new owners.

So, let’s take a look at the various groups of Koi to help better understand what is important to you and what you’re paying for when selecting Koi for your water garden.

Koi Fish: The Domestic Group:

The Domestic group is exactly what the name implies.  Attractive and healthy, this fish has been spared a long trip from overseas.  The bloodlines of most domestic fish are short, and the classic ancestral stock is not long ago. So, the fish are tough and of good quality. But with a lack of refinement comes a less refined look. Domestic, durable koi of average to good quality make wonderful, sturdy pets and are an enjoyable addition for your pond.

The Import Group:

Typically imported from Asia, these koi are more expensive than their domestic counterparts, but in general, they are more attractive. So, just like most things, fancier equals more expensive. Why are they more expensive?  Their prettier appearance is more desirable and the cost of shipping is high.

The Handcrafted Exotic Group:

The definition of handcrafted is to “make skillfully by hand” and as you can imagine there is a much higher price associated with anything “handcrafted”.  However, it is safe to assume that the type of koi owner looking for a handcrafted koi, is also the type of koi owner who doesn’t care about price, they simply need to have the best.

The grand champion koi is much like a vintage Italian race car, no one cares about the skills of the driver, just the beautiful car.  It’s a profoundly expensive fish that is bred, raised, and shown by a Japanese craftsman, then sold to a trophy hunter in America. No skills are called upon to buy a fish that already comes with a trophy- just a fat wallet.

Koi Fish: The Handcrafted Domestic Group:

Just like the Domestic Group above, these Koi are handcrafted right here in America. They are fast and beautiful. The comparison in koi is the hand-selected small import or domestic koi that goes on to take a trophy in a local show.

In this case, the owner of the fish chose it based on its assessed future quality and they raised it to sub-adult or adult status and put it in a koi show. There is a lot to be said about a triumph in a koi show with a fish you chose and raised by hand. A true testament to your skillset to judge fish, to identify quality, and to provide the kind of husbandry needed to produce a champion from a small fish you hoped was a prized jewel.

The “Ordinary” Group:

The ordinary, unadorned and unembellished Koi is the last group of Koi on the market. There’s nothing wrong with an “ordinary” koi, but exceptional colors or patterns don’t generally occur in this group. These fish are certainly pleasant to own – just recognize that they aren’t going to win any shows.

Novice koi collectors often mistakenly assume that a koi with orange pigment is adequate to be a proper koi, but that isn’t the case. The all-yellow koi, called the Lemon Ogon, is wildly popular and easy to produce. It could be considered one of the finest koi of this ordinary group because it is abundant and not unlikable to own.

Often times breeders will sell the poorest of their culled baby koi into the fish bait market, and as feeder fish for consumption by larger fish in pet shops. The common alternative is to either bury the fish, or sell them as pond grade koi.

What Do These Different Groups Mean?

What this ultimately means is that there are different pedigrees of koi to choose from when purchasing your next finned friend. But more importantly, acknowledging there are very different types of koi owners as well. But you want to know the amazing part?

While the owners of economy koi are unlikely to expect all koi to be low cost and lower quality – the converse is not true of some of the folks who keep and show the finest koi. It’s important to remember at the end of the day, there’s a vast difference in the way koi need to be kept, and the way they are kept by the koi aficionados.

Want more information or some koi of your own? Contact us here!

The post Koi Fish Quality: The Difference in Koi Fish appeared first on FNC PONDS.

Pond owners love their colorful koi and they equally love their pond plants. But for many, the struggle is real.  They cannot keep their koi from eating their favorite water lettuce.  After all, it sounds healthy, doesn’t it? Can koi and aquatic plants live together in together harmony?

Koi and pond plants:  Step one—Is there room for your koi?

The fish may be eating the plants because there are too many of them and not enough food!   When too many koi are in a pond, they will compete for everything—including food. So your pond plants are gone?  First check your koi density!

A good general way to think about koi stocking is to have no more than one inch of fish per 10 gallons of water. For example, you can have 300 inches of fish in 3000 gallons of water, which is about ten koi.

Remember, when buying small fish, they’re going to get bigger. Choose fish based on how large they’re going to grow, not how big they are now.   If you don’t provide koi with enough room, you risk plant health, water clarity, and the fish will suffer from stressful living conditions.

Understanding and feeding koi (so they don’t eat your pond plants)

Koi fish are curious fish and like to explore their surroundings with their mouths.  If you see that they have been nibbling around the base of the waterlilies, try using larger rocks around the base. Ones large enough to keep the fish from nudging them aside and feasting.

If you’re koi have full bellies, they will be less likely to eat your pond plants.  Although water lettuce is tasty, they prefer koi food more than anything else.  Fish prefer the taste and energy boost given to them by the food pellets.  So if you feed your fish once or twice a day (for only a minute or so) they will be full and less likely to eat plants. We recommend Aquscape fish food.

Peace and harmony—achieved!

Aquatic plants and fish complement one another very well and lead to a healthier, cleaner pond that easier to maintain.  Pond plants are so important in a pond—they oxygenate the water, reduce nitrates and offer coverage from predators. They also help remove toxins.

Simply make it a point to not overstock the pond and to feed your koi a quality fish food on a regular basis. You’ll find that koi and aquatic plants will then have a much more agreeable relationship.  Contact us with any questions or concerns, or to help you build you dream pond.

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