Koi Goldfish

Koi Goldfish
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Will apple cider vinegar hurt goldfish & koi?

I have a livestock tank that I have goldfish & koi in to help with mosquito larvae. I am told if I dump a couple of gallons of ACV in my 500 gallon tank that it will stop the algae growth as well as help with the flies on the livestock but I don't want to put it in the tank if it will hurt my fish.

There is a chance that it will hurt your fish, but thats a very thin chance, it will for sure keep the mosqutos and algea away, and im not 100% sure that it wont hurt you fish, but most likley ( 95% lol ) it won't! so go ahead and put the ACV i the tank and it should do more good than bad, Good Luck!!!

Caring for koi is a hobby that will bring peace and beauty into your life. The word koi comes from the Japanese word Nishikigoi which means living jewels. Watching your colorful living jewels peacefully undulating along the bottom of a well-maintained garden pond can be a Zen oasis in the midst of a bustling life.

Koi care consists of maintaining the pond, regulating the numbers of your fish relative to the pond size, and ensuring they have adequate food and a healthy diet. Introducing new fish to the pond should be approached carefully.

Feeding Your Koi

Outdoor koi come in a variety of colors, and taking care with their diet will ensure their colors remain vibrant and distinctive. They will feed at the bottom of the pond and also enjoy treats from your hand if you care to interact with them. They have great personalities and you will enjoy identifying their individual characteristics. They eat proteins like worms and larvae or pupae and fruit such as pieces of melon or apple. You can also feed them small pieces of cereal by hand. Koi hibernate in the winter time so when the temperature drops below 55ºF or so you should not feed them by hand during their period of hibernation. When their metabolism slows, overfeeding can make them sick. Food that is not eaten rots into the pond and just creates more for you to filter and clean.

Koi are descendants of the common black carp, which were originally bred for food in China. The Japanese began breeding carp in the early 1800s and quickly learned to breed them for color. Today koi, like their goldfish cousins, are available in a variety of metallic colors, including the original black, and hues of red, orange and yellow. You can also get blue or white koi, and all koi come with a wide variety of color and patterning.

Koi Like Their Living Space

A basic element of koi care is providing enough space for them to grow and thrive. Koi can grow up to three feet long and need ponds that can hold 500 gallons or more of water to provide them sufficient living space. Koi lifespans can be around thirty years, give or take five years or so, which is a pretty good commitment for most of us. If you take good care of them they can often live longer, and have been known to live for over two hundred years. If you maintain a small pond, you may need to exchange your koi for smaller ones as they grow, because it is important to their care to keep the koi in the right size pond. You also need to keep your eye on the numbers of koi relative to the pond size.

Koi like to be with other fish, choosing to live in small groups, rather than large shoals. They also tolerate winter weather reasonably well. The pond should be deep if you live in a cold climate, so that the earth's heat can warm the pond from below. Three or four feet of water is probably enough unless your winters are very severe and will freeze a pond of that depth. Well oxygenated water, of somewhere between 60 and 75ºF, provides the ideal environment. Invest in a good pump and filter system for your pond to ensure the water is kept clean.

Many people like to decorate the pond and create a tranquil haven by growing different flowers or plants around it, or creating a landscape effect with a bridge and a garden ornament or two. This is especially pretty in the Springtime when the plants and flowers begin to green up and the koi slowly come back to life as the temperature rises. This is one of those special times when you reap the biggest rewards from the care you have given your koi.

Jonathon Matthews is a koi expert. For more great tips on koi care and koi ponds visit http://www.koicaringsecrets.com.

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