Do anyone know what i'm doing wrong or what I can do to improve my tancho kohaku hi.

[SoCalSun]

My koi tancho seems to be dying down. It is not as vibrant red as the first time i've bought it at 9" long; It looks more like its orange like its scale now and it has grown to about 14". I use a savio 22" lip filter, sequence pump 4200SE, pond is 2600 gallon (which I change out 10% water weekly), 10watt UV light, and color enhancing feed. Population of my koi pond is about 30, from sizes 3-21". The only water test I do is amonia which average about .50. Is there something else anyone can advise me to do? Thanks!

[An Ly]

hi SocalSun,
I think your first problem is to many koi in your ponds, overcrowding is a big problem, your koi are not thriving and growing but just trying to stay alive and survive.. I think the Savio filter uses the Springflow media, not the best out there.

my recommendation is to thin out the ponds.

An

[SoCalSun]

I only have 6 big kois that range 16-21", while about 10 are about 12-14", and 14 about 4-10". My pond size is 8' X 20' X 2'6" deep. What is your idea of a desired population for my size pond?

[kntry]

Your ammonia should read 0. .50 is too high. You need to know your pH at this point since your ammonia is high. The higher your pH, the more toxic the ammonia is.

Your pond is extremely overstocked. If the only bio you have is springflow, that is not enough.

I don't know the answer about the HI but you shouldn't have more than 5-8 fish in 2600 gallons, IF you have adequate filtration. The general rule of thumb for good growth and health is 500 gallons per koi unless you have females, then it's 1000 gallons per koi, minimum.

[SoCalSun]

If I want to have a higher population of koi using my existing pond. What filter do you recomend I should get?

[kntry]

Even with good filtration you shouldn't overstock. Koi need room and at least 3-4' of depth to exercise.

The more fish you have in a small body of water, the harder it is to maintain good water quality. They will stop growing, start getting sick and dying.

Do you do 10-15% water changes weekly?

I can't answer your question about the filter because mine are all DIY. Filtration depends on your "reasonable" stocking level, pond design, the maintenance you're willing to do weekly, etc.

[moikoi]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoCalSun I only have 6 big kois that range 16-21", while about 10 are about 12-14", and 14 about 4-10". My pond size is 8' X 20' X 2'6" deep. What is your idea of a desired population for my size pond?

just make it 8 ft deep + a nice filter system

[SoCalSun]

Actually my pond is like a big crate style pond, I tried to fill it at three feet line but the crate started sounding like it was slowly going to burst open. Thats why I actually was hoping to find a good filter system to offset my problem instead. I'm trying to sell some of my koi now as well.

[aquitori]

There's many factors to why a fish or tancho for that matter loses color.

1. Water quality
2. Poor selection in the fish itself
3. Stress

I think number #3 is the cause to your fish loosing color. Do you have pics of the fish?

[SoCalSun]

Yes, click onto my SoCalSun name and go to "public file", it'll direct you to my page, where you can see my koi pix. It's a tancho kohaku.