JR stocking recommendations

[dizzyfish]

This is from Jan/Feb 2007 KOI USA p.23 in a column called Ramblings.

[HEADACHE6]

Hi Mitch , How are you ?

I have heard 500 Gal. per Koi , even 1000 gal. per koi . I think we should be looking at fish load (Pounds) per gal. . All large koi are not created equal .
Remember some of those girls we saw in Jersey ?

[saratogatan]

I remember JR advocating low stocking level at one time. I just can't remember the g/koi. I am at 250g/koi, and it is not looking good. I ended up cleaning the settling tank twice a week.

JR, we can use some teaching from you.

stan

[schildkoi]

JR clearly stated "minimal conditions." Is 250 gallons "optimal" for otimum growth and "thriving"? Of course not. JR also didn't address the other environmental concerns associated with the 250 gallons such as turn over and filtration. He was simply stating ...once again....minimal stocking denisty. Sometimes people overlokk the context of what is being said.

Steve

[aquitori]

I guess it is what you want to do with your pond....but the equation is spot on, more gallons per fish the better I say...

[dizzyfish]

"Koi are beautiful and often referred to as living art. But the key word is "living." They need a certain minimal environment to do well. Along with proper size quarters, proper depth, bottom drains, and substaintial filtration, koi also need certain basic living conditions; do not overcrowd your koi. One koi per 250 gal is ideal. When koi are young, one fish per 75-100 gal is fine but as they grow, some will have to be removed."

That's what he said if I typed it right and if it was edited right in the magazine.
Mitch

[JasPR]

Hi Mitch, the often quoted number is 250 gallons US per fish. Depending on the audience ( size/age of fish and pond design) the number varies and can be lower for tosai or male pet tosai. Among the hard core, you often hear a recommendation of one adult female per 750- 1500 gallons, or more.
As koi grow they may only double in length but they can expand six times in mass at the same time. So it is impossible to compare male fish of the same length with females of the same length for instance. You will often hear dealers and advanced hobbyists suggesting male fish be kept by a beginner because they are smaller ( and a lot less heavier and therefore are much less in the way of body/ biomass.)

So please, take these recommendation as guidelines only. They are very helpful for a beginner who has not gotten a sense of stocking limits and keeps filling a pond until it crashes! For the advanced hobbyist, 250 gallons per adult koi should be the base number and then you can reduce stocking ( remove pond fish in favor or higher quality fish- often two or three pond fish give way to ONE show type fish for example)) from that point until you get to very high water quality and start to experience diminishing returns for the effort.

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by dizzyfish "Koi are beautiful and often referred to as living art. But the key word is "living." They need a certain minimal environment to do well. Along with proper size quarters, proper depth, bottom drains, and substaintial filtration, koi also need certain basic living conditions; do not overcrowd your koi. One koi per 250 gal is ideal. When koi are young, one fish per 75-100 gal is fine but as they grow, some will have to be removed." That's what he said if I typed it right and if it was edited right in the magazine. Mitch

It may be what JR said but Antonio has a good point. You should stoack at levels that are ideal for your system and what you want to get out of your Koi.

If growth and Quality is what you want to maintain the very low stocking rates are very important. If you are a dealer you could have 5 gallons per Koi as long as your system can keep them healthy.

[dizzyfish]

Ok I gotta be honest with you guys. I posted that for Troy to see. He was expressing outrage that I had 100 koi in a 27,000 gal pond. I'm a dealer like Russ and yeah for us it is an extremely light load. Most of the fish average around 15"-16" and for me the trade off to overcrowding is usually slow growth. I plan to lighten the load and try and grow some jumbos.
Mitch

[mitten]

At 100 fish per 27,000g you could still grow big, healthy fish. It would be easier though to run a system, deliver healthy water to the fish, and grow dem babies at 20 fish per 27,000g. Don't think that you can't do it the hard way, it's just the hard way. You draw to inside straights?