koi ponds

[Phoenixphire55]

wrong area to post this? I'm just wondering what would be a small size for a koi barrel or whatever. Do you have to get a pond if you want koi? or can you have them in a smaller thing? and if so how small? I would be fine with only like three fish. This is something I'd do in like 5+ years so I'm just curious. I miss my goldfish :-p

[Zagz]

Moved to outdoor ponds forum.

[jsoong]

Koi needs lots of room. Sure you can keep some juvies in a small tub, but they do grow. You are looking at few hundred gals at least if you want 3 full grown koi.

For koi look alike, you might want to consider Shubunkins. They look like koi, and some have really nice markings. You should be OK with a 60-100 gal barrel. But of course, bigger is better with any goldies!

[mike47517]

Originally Posted by jsoong

Koi needs lots of room. Sure you can keep some juvies in a small tub, but they do grow. You are looking at few hundred gals at least if you want 3 full grown koi.

For koi look alike, you might want to consider Shubunkins. They look like koi, and some have really nice markings. You should be OK with a 60-100 gal barrel. But of course, bigger is better with any goldies!

i agree with the first pargraph but i dont agree with the second. Koi can grow to over 3ft long and 3 of them in a barrel ain't gonna work. maybe in a barrel while he's still small but he will out grow it. a pond is best for a koi i mean unless you have a 500 gallon or bigger tub/barrel. If i were you i would go with something like fancy goldfish or feeder goldfish or even a pond comet but not a koi.

fish at max size

koi = 36+"
pond comet = 14"
feeder gold fish = 12"
fancy gold fish = 9"

[mike47517]

Oh i'm sorry. i just read jsoong's post over and noticed he said "Shubunkins" not koi for the second part of his post. I agree with everything jsoong posted, and like he posted bigger is better for goldies.