JP is a Koi enthusiast and author. He lives in New Brunswick Canada and spends his time teaching others the joys and secrets of Koi care. His latest book is "The Secrets of Koi Care", and is available at Fresh Water Ponds
Koi fish, are also known as 'dragon fish' by some enthusiasts. Personally they remind me of the catfish and carp I have seen over the years. I used to catch catfish and put them in the cow's watering trough. That was the extent of my koi pond but then again that was 40 years ago and I was only about 10 at the time.
Koi fish were originally bred in Japan. Today koi are bred and kept by hobbyists and professional fish farmers all over the world. The number of Koi lovers would blow your mind.
Koi are most often kept in natural or man-made koi ponds.
NOTE: It is most important to know how to keep your Koi fish so they remain healthy but once you know how you can keep them thriving for many years to come. Well maintained koi ponds have a subtle beauty that is a perfect compliment to the noble and enigmatic "dragon-fish".
Learn How To Manage Your Koi Ponds...
Like most things in life Koi Ponds take a bit of care and has a learning curve. So don't give up if you find you mess a few things up at the beginning. You can however learn a lot from the available books so be sure to read up before you take on this great hobby.
Koi, like all other living things can become diseased. Because your koi ponds are outdoors it normal for organic matter to fall into your koi pond and change the chemical balance. Another thing that might happen may involve your filter getting blocked or breaking.
But that's not all, you also have predator because you pond is outdoors. Look out for cats who love fish and big birds. Note: I said 'big birds' not 'Bigbird'.
It's a learning curves so instead of getting depressed when something goes wrong just fix it and learn from the experience, you will be an expert at koi ponds in no time at all.
Because Koi fish can be pricey it's best to start with plain ole goldfish to test your koi pond so that if you don't have things right you won't go broke getting things right.
A word of warning to those who decide to go the koi ponds way before they have ever taken care of fish. Using my son as an example, it would be a disaster. Start with an aquarium first and learn how to spot problems with the tank and of course your fish. You need to know how to detect if a fish is ill and that can be harder to do in a pond.
Check out your local pet shops and local breeders and learn what you can there. Also pickup a good koi ponds starter book and learn all you can. Doing this first will make for less problems later.
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