Where can I buy a good healthy new koi fish?
When it comes to buying new koi fish, many pond keepers often have lots of questions about what to look for and where to buy.
Where can I find a good healthy new koi fish?
You can find good koi almost anywhere. Any source with a good reputation is probably a good place to buy koi. Pet superstores, garden centers, and any other place that sells koi will have some good koi; you just have to know what to look for.
Please remember, HEALTHY is the word! No matter how beautiful or how inexpensive the koi are, if they are not healthy or kept in poor conditions, Do Not purchase them!!
CAUTION: Never, Never place NEW koi in your pond until you quarantine the new koi first.
What is a good koi?
There are two definitions: the purists’ and everyone else’s. Purists look for specific patterns and colors that are bright, primary, and crisp with no mixing or blending of colors.
Everyone else looks for a koi fish that makes their eye happy. You might like a koi with lots of freckles, or you might like a solid color. The bottom line is you buy the koi that is healthy and whatever you find pleasing to your eye.
Which koi do I buy?
It’s important to look at the koi’s body language. If the koi fish is moving around a lot and using its pectoral fins to swim to the surface for food, it is likely a healthy koi. Koi who are isolating themselves and not working to come up for food are likely sick. Also, if the water smells bad or like dead fish, don’t buy any of the koi there.
Where should I buy my new koi?
Anywhere with a good reputation is probably a good place to buy koi. If you buy from a vendor that you don’t know much about or that seems “sketchy,” you’re more likely to get sick koi fish.
Make sure the store does not carry the koi in a net. When they are bagged, the bagging should be done right next to the tank or in the tank with the aid of a net. Carrying koi in a net can be harmful to them; you don’t want to buy a damaged koi fish. Also, don’t buy koi out of cloudy water.
CAUTION: Never, Never place NEW koi in your pond until you quarantine the new koi first.
What do I do after I buy my new koi?
You need to quarantine your new koi fish for two weeks when you bring it home before introducing it to your other koi. Even if the store tells you they have already treated or quarantined the koi, unless they did a biopsy to ensure no parasites are present, you should quarantine them at home.
In summary, buy koi that are pleasing to your eye and that are active and eating in the store. Do not shop at vendors with a bad reputation or buy koi that have been carried in nets or kept in cloudy water.
Always quarantine your new koi for two weeks after purchase.
Note: This article contains excerpts from “The Koi Beginner” owned by Aqua Meds.
