Pond Fish

Keeping Koi or goldfish is a satisfying and pleasing occupation. This brings an element of nature to the backyard garden. Pond fish becomes the focus of the feature. You create the environment in which they live. And so everything else shall complement and support their survival. Raising pond fish almost always require the use of a filtering system. A good system helps the pond maintains its cleanliness and keeps the Koi healthy. It will be quite a view to follow their graceful movements and observe their activities.

When you raise pond fish you must understand that the care and well being of the garden pond fish depends on you. Garden pond fish may live a long life and you get to enjoy the caring a little bit longer too. Just a precaution: do not overcrowd the pond. Koi ponds must be designed to accommodate the number of Koi you desire to care. As a general rule, allow about 1 yd2 of pond surface for every Koi. Ponds shall not be less than 300 gallons of water. The smaller the volume the more quickly the water will foul.

Fish may not be essential in maintaining the ecological balance of your garden pond but they sure are the ones that make the water feature and other features come alive. Make sure that your fish is healthy before introducing them to the pond. Some easy signs for a healthy fish are erect dorsal fins, bright eyes, no missing scales, and good energy. Although missing scales is hard to observe at least a sluggish fish is easier to note. In buying pond fish, never ever purchase fish with white spots that look like salt grains. This is the symptom of an itch, the most common pond fish disease.

It is wise not to release the newly bought fish immediately to the pond. The technique is to set the bag into the pond for about 30 minutes to make the water in the bag reach the same temperature as of that water in the pond. This will lessen the shock of a new environment for the fish. Gently open the bag and release the fish. The fish in pond must be extremely hardy and tolerant of wide temperature fluctuations.

The easiest way to keep your Koi fish healthy is by preventing diseases rather than curing them. Diseases organism successfully attack fish when they are exposed to weak or stressful conditions. White spot organisms often lie dormant or inactive until environmental conditions become right for them to multiply. Environmental stress includes foul water, crowding, poor diet etc. Environmental stress can be eliminated with good garden pond management program. Another cause is equipment failures like the automatic heater. When it fails to sense any temperature drop it will result to overheating the water. Koi will get weakened and becomes susceptible to any disease organisms. Make sure that you give the proper care management program your fish needs.