Will my koi get color?

[davidoffbeat]

Please see pictures, I got these koi from a local dealer named Fish Pro's. I don't know if they were imported or bred here, I don't know much about koi at all! I'm keeping them in a 90 gallon tank now until they're bigger and until I get the money to finish my DIY pond.

But these Koi look a lot different than other koi I've seen. I've been to places like petsmart that have smaller/younger koi with more color than these guys...

As you'll see they're about 4-5 inches and mostly white...but seem to be getting some slight color spots.

It's just odd that smaller fish have more/brighter colors than these guys. Will the color get more vibrant? Or will they stay mostly white/silver.

[CarolinaGirl]

They will never be vibrant. Red is a color that they get very young (like when they are less than 1" long) and it almost never appears on a larger fish. Black can come later though, so you may get some black spots. Its hard to tell.

[davidoffbeat]

Thanks for the help. I feel bad, I would've much rather purchased more brightly colored fish. But I don't want to get rid of them now, I've already had them a month and a half. And I for sure don't want to try to fit more in there.

It was a little misleading, all the tanks they had for sale the babies were white, and the older fish were brightly colored...so I assumed the color would just develop later in their life...Guess I was wrong.

I'm in North Carolina by the way

[davidoffbeat]

Now that I've proved how new I am at this, any suggestions what to feed koi of this size?

The guy at Fish Pro's said regular flakes were fine...but most people seem to feed their koi vegtables/pellets...Any expert opinions for me?

[dick benbow]

Might be some red in there somewhere. Feed them food with shrimp meal high on the list of ingredients. That may encourage it...

Somewhere along in your koi kareer, you'll want to have learned something from these koi which you can use later. So don't rush ahead wishing you had
something else. Focus on helping these guys to be all they can be...because in actuality your helping yourself...

[LadySusan]

where in NC?

[davidoffbeat]

Right now I'm in Raleigh. But I just moved from Greensboro.

Thanks for the advice Dick, I've definitely noticed some changes though very slight. I read that sun light helps color too. Am I out of luck with that since most of the light they get is artificial?

And honestly I wouldn't mind them turning out similar to the one on your avatar pic

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by davidoffbeat Right now I'm in Raleigh. But I just moved from Greensboro. Thanks for the advice Dick, I've definitely noticed some changes though very slight. I read that sun light helps color too. Am I out of luck with that since most of the light they get is artificial? And honestly I wouldn't mind them turning out similar to the one on your avatar pic

Was in Raleigh a couple of months ago at the Cisco Systems site by the airport, nice place...Your fish need natural light.

[davidoffbeat]

So many helpful responses. I tried posting on a different forum that seemed active and no one ever responded.

Would it be worth it to move them closer to a window? (while they're still indoors). That tank is a beast to move but if it will help the koi, I may consider it. I may need to if i decide to get some live plants in there too.

[mstrseed]

Quote: Originally Posted by davidoffbeat Would it be worth it to move them closer to a window? (while they're still indoors). That tank is a beast to move but if it will help the koi, I may consider it. I may need to if i decide to get some live plants in there too.

How about outside in a pond...........................like 4 1/2' deep 10x10.............