Outdoor Pond Essentials: Koi Care and Feeding Tips

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Outdoor Pond Essentials Koi Care and Feeding
Tips
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Koi Fish

• An outdoor pond wouldnt be complete without fish
  swimming in the water.
• Some pond owners treat their fish as a pet and
  would even name them. This is understandable as
  koi fish, like any other pets, are very
  personable.
• They bring great joy as they add to the relaxing
  atmosphere in your backyard.
• Koi are suited for outdoor life, can be trained
  to recognize your voice, and eventually be fed
  from your hands.

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• If youre considering to have koi fish in your
  pond as well, here are few care and feeding tips
  you can use to keep them and your pond healthy.

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Make Sure Your Pond Is Ready

• Koi fish need room so they can freely swim around
  and grow. While its tempting to take home all
  attractive kinds youd find, this will only put
  to risk your koi and your ponds water quality as
  well.
• At least 1000 gallons of water is needed to raise
  one koi. Koi fish can grow to two and half feet
  or more and therefore would need more space so
  they can swim.
• Basing it on the pond size, you can grow one koi
  for every ten square feet of your pond, and then
  one goldfish per three to four feet of the water
  surface area.

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Outdoor Pond

• Refrain from adding fish right after your outdoor
  pond is built.
• Let your pond prepare for at least 30 days before
  welcoming another life to support.
• Once your pond is ready and you have already
  determined the number of fish you can care for,
  then you can start getting your koi.

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Be Extra Careful When Purchasing

• Make sure that the koi youre purchasing is in
  good condition.
• Pay attention to the tank where the fish is kept.
  If you see dead fish along with live fish, move
  on to the next dealer. Every fish in the tank
  should be healthy otherwise take none at all.
• You can tell that a fish is healthy if theyre
  active, their fins are outstretched, and their
  body color is bright.
• Koi fish can be very expensive once theyve
  turned to adults already. You can therefore save
  by picking baby koi fish and growing them
  yourself. Koi fish come in various colors and
  more often than not, the more desirable colors
  tend to be more expensive.

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Let Your Koi Adapt To Your Pond

• Try to shorten travel time and avoid exposing the
  fish in the bag in direct sunlight.
• Practice caution when transferring your fish to
  the pond. Let the bag sit on the pond first for
  at least 30 minutes so it can adapt to the change
  in temperature.
• Afterward, open the bag to mix in water from pond
  and then slowly let the fish out.

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Feed Your Koi Sparingly

• In a naturally-balanced pond, koi fish are able
  to feed themselves. You can even take vacations
  with peace of mind that your koi will not go
  hungry.
• You can offer your koi food when theyre extra
  active. You can as well use food as a reward.
  However, during the cold winter months, your fish
  will hibernate. If your pond is deep enough, you
  need not take them inside your home because
  theyd be safe staying at the bottom of your
  pond.
• You also need not feed them at this time as they
  would be unable to digest their food. Forcing
  them food can kill them and excessive food waste
  will only harm water quality.
• In normal days, avoid feeding your fish more than
  they can consume. Its only natural for koi to
  appear as though they need and could use more
  food. Dont fall to the trap.

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Check These Out!

• Check out this article about outdoor pond
  essentials, koi care and feeding tips.
• Brought to you by CaliforniaWaterscapes.com, a
  family-owned water feature installation company
  located in La Crescenta, California.
• For more info and useful tips on installing water
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  pes.com