Bio Load

[Psybuster]

I have a 30 gallon tank and i currently have 4 Koi (3-4"). I was wondering if it would be ok to add 2 more Koi and maybe an Oto or 2, and some shrimp (cause I know shrimp have a bio load). I know there's a 1" fish per gallon, but it's just too generic of a rule.

I'm running a HOB filter and Filstar XP2 at about 5x rate.

 

[LittlePuff]

Your tank is already too small for 3 koi.

Kim

 

[Psybuster]

i'm aware that they grow up to 2 feet, that's why i'm going to transport them into our backyard pond when they grow to 6 inches.

 

[Hrafnkel]

Koi are coldwater fish, it's not a good idea to mix them with tropical fish.

 

[Psybuster]

true but they can live in a wide range of temperature readings, i have my tank at around 78 degrees (that's hot cause it's scorching here in California) but plan to have it in the 70-75 range. Would maybe mixing with ghost shrimp be ok then?

 

[rubysoho]

yeh, that would be okay, but I bet those shrimp might get eaten as the koi grow. Actually, since you are keeping the temperature at a tropical level, you could keep other fish, but only if you are ready to do some cleaning. IMO, 30 gallons is fine for koi only (and only because they will be moved as they grow), but if you add other fish, you risk their health since the koi produce high amounts of ammonia. I'm not saying you can't, but I'd think you'd need to do 2 water changes a week and gravel vacume once a week to keep things clean. Just be aware.

 

[Psybuster]

i was afraid of that, i might have to consider a different plan, right now i got some hiding areas that moss provides that the koi can't get into and would be a great place for the shrimp to hide in, ehh i guess it's worth experimenting, since the shrimp is like 25 cents a piece.

 

[rubysoho]

Try adding caves made by rocks or slate which are too small for the koi once they reach a size when they'd be able to eat the shrimp I've heard of shrimp being able to live with goldfish (the fancy kind which only reach 12 inches, but that is bigger than what the koi will be since they are being moved) so it might be possible. However, most fish will eat anything big enough to fit in their mouth.

 

[krap101]

lol for a moment there i thought you said something like a ghost shrimp can live inside a goldfish for 12 bla bla bla 8O

 

[rubysoho]

you make me smile kudos to you

 

[Psybuster]

right now the kois mouth are arounf 1/4 of an inch, ghost shrimp get up to a max of what 3/4" i expect to pick them up at around 1/2" so they should be ok for the time being. i think the shrimp will be safe under the driftwood since there's enough room for the shrimp to roam, but to where the koi can't get into. I have pics of the tank setup now, and i do plan on getting more plants in there, so there should be more densely populated plants in there.

 

[rubysoho]

I think that looks really good. Just as a suggestion to help with the toxins as the fish grow, duckweed, fast growing plants or other floating plants would be a great help.

 

[Psybuster]

yeah i'm still trying to plan things out, so hopefully nothing terribly goes wrong, this tank is just entering it's 3rd week, so it's still very new.

 

[rubysoho]

oh, with the floating plants it would also save you from replanting everything because koi are known to dig up plants. However, I've seen some beautiful planted tanks with fancy goldfish who also have a bad rep with planted tanks. Here is a link that could possibly inspire you

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/society/totm.php

 

[Psybuster]

hehe yeah i found that out hte hard way, i got larger rocks surrounding my plants cause every 2-3 days i would have to replant some. So far since I've added the larger rocks, they haven't been able to dig the plants up

 

[rubysoho]

haha, ok. well good luck with the rest of the planting. Maybe get a bag of river stones to help in the future.