Common Things To Look For When Buying Koi Fish
So you’ve finally decided to set up your own koi pond or aquarium.
You’ve made the necessary preparations, bought equipment, and made the necessary installations – now all that’s left to do is to buy the koi fishes you will put in your pond.
How do you know which koi fishes to purchase?
For most koi owners, the breed is the most important consideration when buying koi fish.
Being ornamental fishes, breeders and koi owners pay careful attention to breed and color.
While these factors are certainly important, it must be noted that there are other equally important considerations that you have to pay attention to when buying koi fish.
Health
Koi can live up to 75 years – but only when taken care of properly and kept in top shape.
While the overall health of your koi will depend, for the most part, on how you take care of them, their health as of the time of purchase will certainly affect their health in the long-run.
This is due to the fact that not only do healthy koi adapt better to environment changes (i.e. transferring the fishes into a new pond or fish tank), they also influence the health condition of the fishes in your tank.
Bear in mind that introducing unhealthy fishes to your pond can cause faster transmittal of diseases and even fish deaths.
When buying koi fish, make sure they are healthy, observe the fishes’ behavior first.
Are they scratching themselves on the sides of the tank? Are they not moving around enough?
These might be indications of a parasitic infection and other health problems.
Appearance
As previously mentioned, the importance of appearance in koi fishes cannot be discounted.
After all, not only is appearance a good indication of health, but it also points to how pure the breed of your koi is.
The following are standards to consider when judging the appearance of koi fishes:
- Different types of koi have different color patterns. Despite this variety, however, there is one simple standard in judging the color of koi: how vibrant the colors are. Look for koi fishes with rich colors and no visible faded patches.
- Body shape. Usually, koi owner prefer to take care of female koi. The reason? Body shape. Whereas male koi have a “cigar body shape”, female koi have a “blimp-like shape”, lending them a well-proportioned and more intricate look.
- The patterns of koi depend primarily on their breed. Note that koi have been carefully cultivated over the years, so it’s only fitting to pay attention to their patterns. Whatever your chosen breed is, make sure to pay careful attention to the patterns of koi fish you intend to purchase. Ideally, the color should be uniformly distributed over the fish’s body and should have defined edges.
As any koi enthusiast would attest to, taking care of these beautiful ornamental fishes can bring calm and peace to your place.
The tips above should help you in making your initial koi purchase.
