Preparing for Your Koi’s Homecoming

 In This Chapter

• Location, location, location: Your koi’s new home
• Safety first: Quarantine those newbies
• Stock up: Readying the nest
• Point A to point B: Transporting koi from near or far
• The first month: Handling your koi with care

Getting ready for your first koi is like waiting for the holidays. You can’t wait for the date, but you have so much to do first! This chapter is a step-by-step guide that helps you prepare your koi’s first home, lists the supplies you need on Day One, explains how to get little Gill from point A to point B, and then swims you through the release of your new fish into its new digs. Later in the chapter we explain the differences between buying koi from Japan and buying them locally (trust us, you’re going to need this info someday) and the details of setting up a quarantine tub (trust us again, you’re going to want one of these).

Deciding Where Your Koi Will Live (Temporarily or For Always)

You have a number of options for housing your koi, each with advantages and disadvantages. Following is a brief overview of the most common types of dwelling places; details of establishing the habitats come later in the chapter.

- Aquarium: An aquarium gives you good visibility of small koi, particularly if the tank is on a waist-high stand. One reason some koi-keepers like to keep their young butterfly koi in a tank is because these koi are such graceful swimmers.

If you go the aquarium route, look for a breeding tank rather than a show tank. Breeding tanks are lower and longer and give your koi a greater swim range. Show tanks are more vertically oriented.

Koi can jump (even the little ones) especially when they enter unfamiliar surroundings, so add a cover for the tank. The limited size of an aquarium means it can’t be a long-term choice.

- Inside pond: Indoor ponds offer a better home for your koi than an aquarium tank by providing enough room for your koi to swim. Usually located near a home’s entryway or den area, these ponds are attractive accessories in their own right.

Most of these ponds are less than 2 feet deep and include bottom drains, a concealed water spigot, stone seating around the edge (for you, not the fish!), and a small fountain or waterfall for sound.

Warning!

Even though your indoor pond is shallow, be sure yours is inaccessible to unsupervised children.

- Outside pond: This pond is the ultimate koi home, offering design options not available to aquariums or most indoor ponds. When properly designed, an outside pond allows you to watch your koi grow to their full size.

Taking Necessary Precautions: Preparing the Quarantine Tub

When you buy koi from another koi-keeper or at a local auction, you’re tempting fate if you don’t quarantine them first. Plan to quarantine the koi before they enter their permanent home (no matter what type of aquarium or pond you have) for these important reasons:

- The new koi’s immune system can be affected by

• The stress of bagging and transporting.
• Exposure to higher or lower water temperatures.
• Exposure to different pH levels.

- Pathogens that normally wouldn’t affect your new fish suddenly proliferate.

Quarantining involves isolating your new fish in their own tub for up to 21 days. During this time you observe them, feed them lightly, and provide a little preventive treatment, even when disease is not apparent. If you live in the north and buy koi in the dead of winter, your new koi spend at least a month in the quarantine pond until your outdoor pond warms up.

Later in this chapter we give you all the details of the process, but in this section we first show you how to prepare the quarantine tub.

Tip

You can avoid quarantining if you get your fish from a local dealer who routinely quarantines his fish before he offers them for sale. Just ask the dealer before you buy. You still need to adjust the fish gradually to your pond to avoid temperature and pH shock, but at least you can be reasonably sure that they’re healthy.

What you need for the job

The quarantine tub has to be separate from your pond — no shared air hoses, pumps, filters, or nets. The basic tub can be

- A show tank (a self-standing vinyl tank with a PVC framework about 6 feet wide and 30 inches deep)

- A small, above-ground, vinyl swimming pool

- A big polyethylene stock tank

Deciding what size of tub to use is a juggling act. A large tub is good for large koi and for maintaining relatively stable water chemistry and temperatures. A smaller tub, however, is better for closely observing your koi and medicating an entire tub. Your koi dealer or members of a local koi club can advise you on where to purchase various types of tubs.

Your tub needs the following equipment and materials, most of which you can get from your local pet or pond store:

- Air system consisting of

• Air pump
• Airline tubing
• Airstone (a big one, 12 inches long)

- A bottom drain

- Blue insulation foam (the kind you buy in 4-x-8-foot sheets from home improvement stores)

You need one piece large enough to fit directly under the tub and enough other sheets to form an insulating jacket around the sides of the tub.

- Dechlorinator/dechloraminator (at least one gallon)

- Filter

- Heater

- Netting (the kind you use to keep birds away from fruit trees) The netting keeps the koi from hopping out of the tub.

- Salt (a couple of pounds non-iodized)

Kosher salt (available at most supermarkets) makes the best tonic for your koi, helping them deal with minor skin issues and external parasites.

- Support equipment such as nets, siphons, and buckets

- Tape (masking and packing or duct tape)

- Tub thermometer

- Water pump with a capacity of 240 to 400 gallons per hour

- Water test kit for ammonia, nitrates, and salt

Tip

Along with the necessary equipment, consider spending extra money for the following items to make the maintenance easier for you and the quarantine period easier on your fish:

- Add-on bottom drains: These drains install with a 2-inch PVC pipe over the tub edge. No need to empty the tub one bucket at a time or siphon the good old-fashioned way.

- Bead filter: This filter provides mechanical and biofiltration in one small footprint; cleaning and back flushing are fast and easy.

- Salt meter: This meter eliminates the guesswork in keeping the water at 3 percent salt.

- Shop lights: If the tub is indoors in a windowless area, install shop lights with paired full-spectrum UVA and UVB fluorescent bulbs over the tub. The lights help you see what you’re doing, and they help minimize the fading of your koi’s colors.

Your usual supplier of pond products has (or can order) the bead filter and salt meter and possibly the other items. If necessary, you can purchase the lights and PVC pipes at most home improvement stores.

Rub-a-dub-dub, setting up the tub

Plan to set up your quarantine tub a few weeks before your new fish arrive. You need this time to install the mechanical parts (air pump, heater [particularly if the pond is outside], water pump, and filter). The new filtration media also need a week or so to acquire the beneficial nitrifying bacteria.

But — before you can do anything — you have to decide where to put the darn tub. If you can protect it from the elements, you may want it beside your house, or you can place it in a basement. Remember to consider these factors:

- You want to be able to work easily with the tub and your fish.

- The tub needs to be near a source of fresh water because you’ll be changing out 20 to 30 percent of the water each day.

Warning!

- The discarded water needs to go into your sewer or septic system (It’s 3 percent salt, which isn’t good for lawns or streams.)

After you’ve chosen your tub’s location, follow these steps:

1. Put a layer of the blue insulation foam directly on the ground or flooring.

2. Put the tub on top of the blue foam and add more sections of the foam to form a jacket around the tub. Trim the excess with a serrated knife and use masking tape to temporarily hold the jacket together; use packing tape or duct tape to permanently hold the sections together.

The base and jacket help control the tub’s water temperature.

3. Add the bottom drain over the edge and hook the filter up to the drain pipes.

4. Add the water pump inline after the filter and place its outflow pipe over the edge of the tub (opposite the drain pipe if possible).

5. Fill the tub with water to 6 inches from the upper edge.

Use water from your pond for at least part of this fill in order to populate the filter with friendly bacteria (this takes a week or so). Dechlorinate any water that comes from your municipal water supply.

6. Turn on the pump and make sure all joints are tight.

7. Add salt if you’re using it.

8. Check to make sure the shop light is the right height.

The light needs to be low enough to give good light but high enough so you don’t crown yourself every time you lean over to look at your koi.

9. If you’re using a heater, turn it on a day or so before you add your koi. Check water temps after three hours of operation and make certain they’re within acceptable levels (75–80 degrees).

Shopping for Initial Supplies

Before you bring your new love(s) to their watery home, be sure you have all the necessary supplies. The following is a quick list to get you started:

- Koi food: Because feeding your fish is so important, we devote a whole chapter (Chapter Koi Nutrition 101) to navigating the nutrition aisle at your local pet store. Needless to say, you need the chow before your fish makes it out of the bag.

- Non-iodized salt: Keep a couple of pounds of this stuff on hand in addition to the amount for setting up the quarantine tub. (Kosher salt is best.) It’s your koi’s best tonic in dealing with minor skin issues and external parasites.

- A water-testing kit: You need a kit separate from the one for your quarantine tub so you can check the pond’s water levels regularly for nitrites, nitrates, salt, pH, and chlorine. (Yes, you can tote your pond kit back and forth, but we suggest you avoid the hassle.)

- Floating koi bowl: In case you need to examine a koi closely without taking it out of the water, a floating koi bowl allows you to scoop up the fish and confine it within the pond or tank for a short time.

- Round koi net: This net helps you guide koi into the floating bowl.

- Sock net: This narrow net has mesh at each end and a solid portion in the middle. The end of the net is open.

Helpful for transporting koi when the trip from the bag to the pond is more than a lift and a swing, the net supports the fish’s weight during transfers and can immobilize the fish in the water while you examine its face, gill plates, and tail through the mesh. To release the fish, just lower the net, take your hand off the open end, and let your fish swim through.

- A gallon of dechlorinator/dechloraminator: Keep a gallon on hand in addition to the amount for the tub and pond setup.

Just as people prepare for their own emergencies, you want to be prepared for your koi’s most common illnesses and mishaps. Grab a box of your choosing, label it Koi’s First-Aid Kit, and fill it with the following:

- Ammonia remover to reduce high levels of this toxic waste product

- Cotton swabs to dab medicine onto cuts or fungus

- Dechlorinator to render tap water safe for the koi

- Dimilin or Program (yes, the same product you use on your dog for fleas) for fish lice and anchor worms

- Eugenol to use as a fish anesthetic

- Fluke Tabs or potassium permanganate to get rid of flukes on the koi’s gills or body

Fluke Tabs cost more but they’re easier to use.

- Hydrogen peroxide to clean wounds and disable potassium permanganate (see previous reference) in the pond if you accidentally use too much

It’s also useful as a temporary aerator if your pond’s power goes out.

- Microscope with slides and slide covers to inspect the cells of a sick fish

Very serviceable microscopes cost less than $250. Look for one with 40x, 100x, and 400x magnification, a built-in light source, and a mechanical stage adaptor that scans the entire smear.

- Kosher salt to treat minor skin injuries

- Tweezers to remove large external parasites

- Water test kits for pH, salinity, ammonia, alkalinity, nitrites, and dissolved oxygen levels You can find most of these items at your local pet or pond supply store. The fish-related items are also readily available online. Buy microscopes through biological supply houses or online (sometimes you can find a used microscope that’ll do the job).

Tip

You may already have some of these items from setting up your pond (the salt, dechlorinator, and water test kit, for example). If so, consider yourself ahead of the game. (Pass Go! Collect $200.)

Getting Your Koi Home

Of course you’ll be anxious to get your first koi home in a hurry. However, the process is quite important and requires some forethought on your part to help your fish arrive safely.

Bringing home local koi

When you buy from your local garden shop or breeder, you get instant gratification — simply pick out the koi you like and take them home.

No matter where you buy the fish, the process is the same:

1. Small koi (less than 6 inches long) are netted out directly and bagged. Larger koi are urged into a show bowl with a koi net; the bowl and contents are then poured into a large plastic bag at the surface of the pond or bin.

The dealer adds enough water to fully cover the body of the fish.

2. Usually the dealer tops off the bag with compressed oxygen and closes it with a rubber band.

3. He places the plastic bag(s) in paper bags to provide at least partial darkness.

This darkness helps reduce the stress that the koi experience during transport. The dealer may provide a box to prevent the bags from rolling about during transport, but bring your own just to be safe (a Styrofoam cooler works well). You can also pack newspaper around the bags to cushion the fish and help prevent excess movement.

Warning!

Keep the bags cool on your way home because the small amount of water in the bags can heat up quickly. The best way to keep the bags cool is to pack them in a Styrofoam or plastic cooler. Ice isn’t necessary, but do include a container of cold water if you’re using public transportation during particularly hot weather.

Shipping your koi

If you purchase koi from a source that’s not local (whether it’s Japan — lucky you! — or another state), you may need to have the fish shipped.

Booking the flight

Warning!

Be forewarned: Expect to pay at least $100 in air freight/cargo charges (domestic flights). These charges are based on volume or weight (which ever is greater), and koi-plus-water can be heavy. Also keep the following warnings in mind when booking your fish’s flight home:

- Oversea fish must enter the United States at a port of entry. These are in major transport hubs such as Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago.

- Be mindful of the flight time. When you or another person books the flight, make sure the fish are on the shortest, most direct flight possible.

The on-ground time is actually the most stressful. As the cargo bin doors open, the outside temperature rushes in. Shipments with a connecting flight must spend transfer time on the tarmac, where they’re exposed to local temperatures.

- Avoid dangerous weather scenarios. Check the weather forecast at the originating site, at the final destination, and at any intermediate sites for the flight.

Don’t plan to ship when snow storms are expected or when temperatures may be over 90 degrees. Even if the airline accepts your shipment, you’re still subjecting your koi to temperature extremes that are beyond unhealthy. Do your own weather research.

Transporting the fish

The good news is that breeders and koi sellers know how to ship koi by air, so you don’t have to worry about them goofing up. They also know how to keep track of orders; you don’t get a Tancho when you ordered a Bekko.

1. The seller takes digital photos of each fish before she readies the fish for shipping.

The high-end nature of the nishikigoi business generally assures extreme care in shipping details, but mistakes in identification of specific fish do occur (some Kohaku tend to look very much alike). In that case, the breeder has the responsibility of getting the correct fish to the correct buyer (hence the digital photos as a sort of verifying measure). If a mistake is made, the breeder must make arrangements for selling the koi to a dealer or individual in the United States.

2. The seller isolates the fish in large show tanks and then places them in large plastic bags. These bags are like the ones for tropical fish except they’re 3 millimeters rather than 1⁄4 millimeter thick.

3. The seller places the koi-in-a-bag in a cardboard box lined with pieces of Styrofoam and then closes the box flaps.

4. At the airport, the breeder or the representative takes care of the paperwork and the koi are loaded into the cargo bin of the jet.

5. When the koi arrive at a port of entry in the United States, they’re inspected by United States Customs and Fish and Wildlife Service to make certain the shipment and the paperwork match.

Imported fish also incur the expense of a customshouse broker who makes certain all the paperwork is in order. Check with the local United States Fish and Wildlife Service (800-344-9453) ahead of time about arranging for a broker; practices vary from place to place.

6. The new owner compares the fish to the digital photos sent by the agent to make sure they’re the same fish.

After You Get Home-Sweet-Home

The process of transporting your fish to your home is one of the most stressful events in a koi’s life. But settling into a new home with different water quality and surroundings is another hurdle that the fish faces. Proceed slowly and carefully at this point so you don’t add to your koi’s stress.

Easing your fish from bag to quarantine tub

When your fish arrive at your nearby airport, either you pick them up from the cargo area or a delivery service (like Delta DASH) brings them to your door. Now that your koi are finally inside your home, you can start to enjoy the rest of the process.

Open the box carefully and lift the bags out. Follow these steps to help your new pal adjust to his temporary abode:

1. Float the plastic bag(s) on the quarantine tub’s surface for 15 minutes while you wait for temperatures to equalize.

This time period is reasonably safe, but if you’re unsure, do a quick check with a thermometer.

Warning!

If the fish are gasping at the top of the bag when you first open the box, open the bags and hold the bags open as they float in the quarantine tub. If the fish stop gasping, you can re-tie the bags. If the water in the bag is very warm, however, you may need to hold the bags open until the temperatures equalize.

The only reasons for the gasping behavior under these conditions are a pre-existing illness, a lack of oxygen, or overheating during transport.

Warning!

If the fish are lethargic and floating on their sides in the bag, open the bags at once and add some tub water to the plastic bag. Hold the opened plastic bag upright in the quarantine tub for five minutes for temperature adjustment. Then lift your fish out and release them into the tub.

2. After 15 minutes, open the bags and check the pH of both containers with your water test kit.

If the difference between the two waters is greater than 0.2 (6.9 and 7.3, for instance), add some of the water from the quarantine tub to the plastic bags and retest. (You may want to enlist someone to help out in this process because you need more than two hands to hold the bags open at the water’s surface as you test and make the necessary adjustments.)

3. At the end of 20 minutes, reach down into the bag, place your hands under the fish, gently lift it from the bag, and release it into the tub.

Your hands must be wet and close to the side of the tub so the koi perceive the bulk of the tub as part of the blockade. Keep the lift low so the fish lands in the water if it wiggles free. Figure 5-1 shows how to correctly hold koi during the move.

Warning!

A fish’s slimey coat protects it from infection and attack by micro-organisms. Never pick up a fish with a towel or use anything rough on its skin.

Figure 5-1: How to hold koi.

Warning!

Don’t empty the water from the bag into your quarantine tub. A bit of incidental spillage probably won’t cause any problems, but the tub has clean water, and the bag doesn’t.

4. Cover the tub with netting, turn out the lights, and give the fish a couple of hours to adjust.

Let the quarantine begin!

The majority of koi-keepers who use quarantine feel it’s a time for the fish to get used to the new home, a new diet, a new owner, and slightly different but well-controlled water chemistry. To help fish acclimate to the new surroundings, follow this quarantining process:

1. For the next three weeks, observe the koi.

Be sure each fish is feeding (this may take a day or two because the fish are undoubtedly nervous in their new surroundings) and swimming about normally. Be particularly alert for signs of stress, disease, or parasitic infestation (gasping at the surface or rubbing along the sides of the tub). See Chapter Spotting and Treating Common Koi Ailments for a more complete discussion of koi ailments and treatments.

2. Make the daily water changes (20 to 30 percent) while keeping the water temperature about 72 degrees; add dechlor after every water change.

Koi immune systems are at their peak at a water temperature of 72 degrees, but some pathogens can’t function outside of 40 to 60 degrees. Because your new koi’s immune system will be stressed by the adjustment to its new home, keep the quarantine temperature at approximately 72 degrees so these pathogens don’t take hold.

If disease symptoms appear, you need to do some diagnostics (see Chapter Spotting and Treating Common Koi Ailments) and call on your koi friends or your veterinarian. Note: We mention veterinarians second because only a few veterinarians are trained and experienced in koi medicine. When you’re feeling your way through a new process, it’s reassuring to have someone with experience peer over the edge of your tub and say with delight, “Ah, anchor worms!” At least then you know where to begin your research for treatment.

Remember

Having top-notch water conditions in the quarantine tub is crucial for reducing the stress on the fish and providing optimal healing conditions.

Don’t switch between your koi pond and your quarantine tub without washing your hands or using Roccal (an inexpensive, noncorrosive, colorless antiseptic for aquaria worldwide). Fish that are already in your pond may carry micro-organisms that, although harmless to healthy, well-adjusted koi, can wreak havoc on stressed koi. Even if you don’t have fish in your pond yet, you do have a host of bacteria and other pathogens there, and they can cause illness in koi with compromised immune systems.

Technical Stuff

Some koi-keepers deliberately stress fish under quarantine by

1. Gradually decreasing the water temperature to 60 degrees for three days.

2. Gradually increasing the water temperature to 75 to 80 degrees.

3. Holding the water at that temperature for three days.

If pathogens are present, they almost certainly become active during one of the temperature fluctuations, and the koi-keeper can then treat the disease. Salting is usually enough of a treatment.

Other koi-keepers routinely add MelaFix to the tub per the manufacturer’s recommended dosage and skip any temperature manipulation. (MelaFix is an antibacterial extract that you can purchase at most pet or pond supply stores.)

Transferring koi into the aquarium or pond

Your pond is in. You’ve manicured the setting and prepared the water. (We’re assuming you skipped ahead to read Chapters Planning Your Koi Pond through Building Your Pond before bringing home your koi!) You’ve also spent considerable time sitting on the deck overlooking your koi-palace-tobe. You’re ready.

When you’re confident that your new koi are healthy at the end of their three-week quarantine, you can finally introduce your royal swimmers to their aquatic castle.

Koi can go directly from quarantine tub to pond if the pH values and temperatures are close (0.2 range for pH, 5 degrees for temperature).

Warning!

If you’re using an outside pond, keep in mind that the water must be 70 degrees or higher. Adding a new fish to a too-cold pond shuts down the fish’s immune system exactly when he needs it the most. If the water isn’t warm enough, leave your koi in its quarantine tub until warmer weather arrives.

The pond temperature is likely to be different from your quarantine tub’s temperature. Take a few precautions to avoid stressing your fish:

1. Turn off the heater in the quarantine tub and let the tub reach room temperature overnight.

You want less than a 10-degree difference between pond and tub temperatures so your fish aren’t shocked.

2. The next morning, if the tub and pond temperatures are more than 5 degrees apart, you need to bag and float your koi in the pond.

• Use your koi net to bowl your koi (take the handle extension off your net if you’re inside).
• Pour the bowl into a waiting and partially submerged poly bag or lift your koi into the bag. You want just enough water in the bag to cover the fish so the bag isn’t too heavy. Rubber-band the bag closed and lift the bag out of the tub.

3. Carry the bag to your aquarium or pond, ease it into the water, and let it float for 20 minutes to equalize the temperatures.

Keep an eye on the bag(s). Don’t let them heat up in the sun.

4. Open the bag, lift out your koi, and release it.

Oh, happy day!

by R.D.Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett