new koi

[swordfish]

hi, this is my 1st time on the forum. i had read the forum b4 joining
& find lots of experts & pros around which the reason i'm here.
i just set up a 1000gallon koi pond more than 2 months ago but
no koi yet except for a few goldfish to start the bio-filter kicking.
the water parameter have been stable for a month now though i
think that the biological process is yet to be matured. so i feel its
time to introduce koi to the pond.
i bought 2 koi from a local koi farm after visiting a few of them just
to check them out. the koi will be in my quarantine tank for a week
so that i can observe them for any parasites though my dealer had
already quarantine them for 3 weeks since arrival from Japan.
i might be a bit too cautious but i just want to get the basic right so
that my koi torments will be minimal in my inexperience hands.

i have attached a picture of Dainichi showa 30cm for you guys to comments on what mistake i've made so that i could improve on
selecting & buying my next koi. :wink:
my own opinion in selecting this fellow is because it have a kohaku
pattern,good white thick skin,hi & sumi seem thick enough for future
grow to my inexperience eyes. big head & tail gives me an impression
that there is a high possibility of this koi becoming a jumbo. i recalled
an article stating that if a showa has some black around the mouth,
generally develop a better black color tones with time.so this koi have
it there in the picture. there is a bit of not so black scales near the
dorsal fin. not sure if sumi changing or coming out. body shape &
volume looks find to me.
o.k. correct me guys. [/img]

[swordfish]

uh,can't load picture. :?
i've click on browse & add attachment. is it wrong? need advise.

Dean

[shiromujigirl]

Was the picture file too big? Please send it to me and I I will post it for you. Mdnitecrow@aol.com

[l113892]

You have a 1000 gallon pond. Don't worry about jumbo potential as you will never see it in 1000 gallons of water. Choose a male and one that appeals to your eye and you can't go wrong. Best of luck.

Mike Pfeffer

[swordfish]

Hi Mike,
thanks for the advise. i'm very new to this koi keeping so did
not build a big pond. there are still ground for me to extend my
pond in future when i gain more knowledge & experience.
maybe i could convert/demolish my swimming pool. what you think?
how big should a pond be for koi to develop into jumbo? if possible
kindly give me a rough dimension so that i could plan ahead.

[dick benbow]

Hi Dean,
Welcome to our board! I think all of us started at a point and progressed
to where we are now so why not a thousand gallons. It's a beginning. Mike's advice is sage and while your getting your "feet wet" you can save a few bucks with males.
If your true intent is to eventually have a pond to support koi with growth potential, I'd say put aside about 1000 gallons per female.
Personally, I'm a proponent of this formula for pond construction.
establish the depth ( say 6 feet) double it to create the width (12) and double that to create the length (24) this will put you close to 14,000
gals (u.s) with filter. hence you could stock 14 koi. for reference I have 6,000 with 6 koi.
For someone just starting out I don't see any need to rush. enjoy your
pond. keep your numbers down. work like cracy to understand water quality and get a few years under your belt. I do commend you for taking responsibility for a q tank and dispite what anyone says running your new
koi thru a proper program. Always remember that no matter what happens you are responsible for your koi's ultimate health and well being.
I hope you will support Koi-bito with your subscription. if not for the good this board does, for the wonderful and educational articles available
within it's pages.

[shiromujigirl]

The showa IS a male I think.

[shiromujigirl]

The picture you sent me is the wrong kind of file and much too large. I couldn't convert it so I took a picture of it on my computer, that is, a photo of it on my screen. It is not a great copy but if you click on it you can get a bigger copy. Bqack on the tail tube just before the tail is another red step, like a tail light but it is hard to see this. Could you take another picture of the fish in a JPEG or some other picture file this board takes?

[dick benbow]

Hi Dean...

Thanks to SMG for getting us an image to look at!

I like your koi very much. very pretty. I have an old style showa from daiinichi as well and they just keep getting better as they age.

Well you got the selection part down pretty good, let's see if your up to the challenge of keeping!

[swordfish]

hi guys here the picture finally.