keeping koi in fiberglass tank

[kusuma]

hi koi lover..

i am new in koi keeping , now i keep my koi in a fiberglas tank with dimension of 1.5m(wide) x 2m(long) x 1m(depth)...i only fill the water untill 80 cm deep...and now i have about 10 koi, the smallest is 12cm and the bigest is aout 30cm...and i already check the ph, amonia, gh, nitrate and everything is fine....my question is :
- how big can the koi grow in fiber glass tank ??
- can it grow as big as the koi in the pond ??
- do any of you guys ever keep a koi in a fiberglass tank ??..if yes can you give my some pointer

[adreamer2]

Hey, welcome to the board....

May I ask how long you've had them in there?....


adreamer2

[kusuma]

i've had them around 5 months, here i att my tank...this is when i'am just starting, so the water is very green, now is already clear...and i also att one of my koi...maybe you guys can give some comment...

thank you

[marco]

Hi Kasuma, welcome on board, your Girin Oshiba Shigure looks really nice, not
very conventional with the patern of the soragoï, and nice body shape.

Your tank and filtration looks really too small for so many fish, if they grow, you'll probably have some trouble with the water quality and then they 'll be hill and some will die.
Normally you should have only a couple of koï in such space.
But al lot of us starts like that, so the first question is : Could it be possible to find some more place for them ?
Marco

[mitten]

Kasuma- When I was learning how to keep fish in tanks all of the most relevant information came from the Malaysian Koi web board at koi.com.my. Three years ago I spent a winter (Dec. Jan. Feb. for me) reading the whole thing and found that I ended up with a pretty complete basic knowledge. It was helpful to me that frequently new posters would come with situations just like yours, small tank, small filters, too many fish, but fortunate climate and water coupled with love and desire.

Back then all new posts were answered by Dr. Tan and helpfulness flooded to all of the new posters. Many were using fibe tanks like yours, in living rooms, courtyards, balconies wherever they could. Some were very succesful adapting intense filtration to their setups, maintaining them meticulously and growing fish well and large, despite the entire concept being more difficult than the luxury of a big pond.

Don't be deterred. Study and improve. At koi.com.my the trickle tower thread alone may take a couple days to read. The green water did your Ochiba good.

Mickey the windowman

[kusuma]

hi mitten...

actually i already read a discussion about rearing koi in fiberglass tank in koi.com.my...and they seems doing pretty well with the fiberglass tank...and i already ask them how big can the koi grow in the tank but nobody give me any reply...anyway, thank you for your info, and i will keep on learning about koi...

hi marco...
i really want to have a bigger pond for my koi, but now i don't have a budget to build it...hopefully next year i can have a suitable pond for my koi...and thanks for your comment about my ginrin ...i will post my other koi picture as soon as i take a pict of them...

thank you

[mitten]

I recall posts showing 20-24" fish in these fiberglass tanks. All readers/viewers were impressed.

Mike T's recent post here stated (I've got a foggy old guy memory and I'm too lazy to do my own search of the last 2-3 days) 6 fish of up to 24" in a 900 US gallon pond, tropical conditions.

You can grow fish big if you want even though the conditions are not ideal and the results will likely not be "show fish." The endeavor is uphill. Ready? Go.

Mickey the windowman

[kusuma]

i att pic of my tank and couple of my fish
1. ginrin ochiba and ginrin chagoi (around 28cm)
2. kohaku (15cm)
3. platinum ogon (22cm)
4. bekko (17cm)
5. gin matsuba (30cm) and aka bekko (30cm)
6. my tank

i am not sure about the aka bekko, pls correct me if i'am wrong...

thank you

[kingkong]

Nirvana! your almost there. Enjoyable collection, just make a screen cover and your off to the races. Don't go to any koi shows or hang any koi calenders and you will stay content with these beauties. LOL That was the Buddhist nirvana by the way meaning harmony. The Sanskrit 'Nirvanam' means 'it blows'.

[mitten]

1m x 2m stretched oval at 80cm deep is ~ 350 usg. I count 18 fish visible in the picture. Isn't lack of restraint an American trait, Kusuma? What you are attempting to do is a challenge, is not recommended and may result in heartbreaking loss.

If you want to grow them larger here are some options...
- just keep feeding them and see what happens, they'll grow,
- select favorites, give away the others, feed the same amount to fewer koi, when they've grown a year or two, 50, 60 cm?, trade them in for new small ones, start again,
- make modifications to tank and filtration to try to handle the growing fish, progressively add a bottom drain, vortex settlement, fluid beds, japmat, and tower/shower, and still end up with too much fish load in too small a tank, but have fun, have a couple big fish, and your visitors will drop their jaw in amazement. (some will think you are crazy.)

Hmm, I just remembered that when I kept too many fish in too small a tank I always ran a carbon filtration loop, hoping to suck out some of the hormones/enzymes that would relay the message among the fish that they were too crowded and that there was some natural selection to be made. Activated carbon must be changed frequently and there is debate about its use, not that it won't work, but that keeping it working well is difficult in a koi pond's water.

Mickey the windowman