Koi can be kept in aquarium?

[robotcholi]

Hi guys, can a pair of Koi be kept in, let's say, 75 gal aquarium? I've always wanted to do this but don't know if it is feasible since all i've seen is Koi in pond. How many can it holds? Oh yeah, can they co-exist with goldfishes? Thx a lot guys. I'm a total newbie in this hobby.

 

[ferret]

Short answer: No.

Koi grow on average to 20+ inches. I don't know any reason off hand they couldn't co-exist with goldfish, except that they'll be twice if not three times as large.

Koi are for ponds

 

[Tigerlily]

I agree with Ferret!

Here's a little info on koi... these guys recommend ponds for koi too.

http://aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/goldfish_and_koi/koi.htm#top2

Generally, koi shouldn't be kept with fancy goldfish because the faster swimming koi will get all the food, and nip at the fancy's tails. They should be OK with comets and common goldfish though.

 

[robotcholi]

ahhh... dang!
how about 180 gallons? isn't 180 gallons the equivalent of a tiny pond? hehe...

 

[madasafish]

Hehe. I'd say no.... You know these guys grow up to 3 feet long?? You'd need a 1000+ gallon aquarium for them.

Shubinkins are quite similar, and grow to only a little over 1 foot. They're more reasonable. Still, I'd put them in a 300+ gallon aquarium.

 

[robotcholi]

dang crazeeee.....

sigh i guess my dream of Koi as pet will have to wait until i make ton of $ to construct a KOI pond hehehehheehehe

 

[pondmom]

I kept my 6 5-7" koi in my aquarium last winter and to be totally honest, I'd NEVER do it again.
Reason~ My aquarium is viewable from 3 of the 4 sides and everytime someone walked up to the tank or even walked by, the koi would spaz and "jump" causing one of them to hit it's head on the hood panel. It took a chunk of skin off it's head.
Koi are pond fish and bottom feeders and don't belong in an aquarium.
I also had them in a "small" 100gal pond with fancy g/f and they ended up sucking the eyes out of these poor fish.
So~ if your looking to keep koi in an aquarium, reconsider...maybe goldfish is a better choice.
JMHO and experience

 

[Tigerlily]

I had heard of koi nipping fins of fancies - but their eyes 8O Oh my!

 

[tkos]

If you are willing to have a big 180 gallon aquarium then I say go for the goldfish. Just remember not to over stock. Comets look just as good as Koi IMO and still get to be very large. Just remember that except for fancies, goldfish (and koi of course) are coldwater fish and do best in water temps below 70F. They are also big time plant eaters and need a diet low in protein to thrive. And get three times as much filtration as you think you will need.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I agree with putting pond fish into aquariums. I moved some rosies from the pond into the aquarium for the winter and they go nuts any time they can see movement in the room they are in.

 

[saaebn]

Hello-

I have 2 plain goldfish in my tank and 1 shun bunkin? They are all about 5 inches by now. They were out in my pond but we did bring them in when my hubby wanted to change the pond and drain it first. There were 5 total but they started fighting and so I gave one away to a neighbor with a pond and put 1 in my sons 10 gal tank by himself until I can make other arrangements which hopefully will be soon. The three that are in my 75 gal tank now get along well and seem to do ok. I dont have a heater on the tank so it stays about 75 which is actually colder than my pond was this summer. They have learned to beg in the corner for food when anyone comes in the room, and they are really big and colorful. I think if they get any bigger though I will put them back out in the pond next spring. Some of the koi at our LFS were very small- about 3 inches- so maybe you could start off with something small and then once they got bigger move them into a pond outdoors? My neighbor with a pond has koi goldfiish and shun bunkin? all in the same pond with an upper pond and a larger lower pond. The fish in the larger pond have gotten much bigger that the ones in the upper pond so maybe in a tank they will stay smaller longer?? I will say that that mine like to have room to swim around and so if I put too many plants and decorations in the tank, they spend the night moving it all around to one side of the tank. And they have an area that in the evening they will all cluster round and " go to bed" so I put some taller plants around so it feels almost nest like which they seem like.

Good luck.

Stacie

 

[tkos]

Yes, the smaller the tank the smaller the goldfish family will stay. But this is actually stunting their growth and shortening their life span, which can be upwards of 25 years or more if kept healthy.

 

[Sati]

Can those of you experienced with goldfish recommend a site or two for me to read up on them? Thanks :]

 

[jsoong]

One of my fav goldie forum : http://www.goldfishparadise.com/forum/phpBB2/index.php

(Not that this isn't a great place ... but more goldie info there!)

A good site for solid info - although can be a bit disorganized:
http://users.megapathdsl.net/~solo/puregold/home.html

for sick fish try koivet.com or goldfishvet.com.

BTW - neat info on how to give a koi an anesthetic in koivet.com.



One other thought, if you are really keen on keeping koi indoors, how about an indoor pond? If you have the space, you can have a preformed 200+ gal pond in your basement or sun room or something. I've seen in the "NorthWest Koi society" (or somthing like that, society out of seattle, but can't remember the exact address) site some awesome indoor ponds for koi, anything from a few hundred gals. to a monster 10,000 gal!

 

[madasafish]

saaebn:

The fish is called a Shubunkin (a type of single-tailed goldfish from China). Species name is: Carassius auratus.

 

[jsoong]

One other useful goldie site :

http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/index.htm

The Bristol Aquarist Society has extensive info on different types of fancy goldies, show fish info, & some care & breeding info.

 

[Sati]

Thanks so much, Jsoong! I'm interested in a doing a goldie tank, and my BF has a special fish he'd really like so I'm thinking of setting him up with a tank for Christmas :]

 

[saaebn]

Thanks Madasafish for clearing that up. The bigger fish we have all came from a quick trip my hubby made with the kids to walmart. The goldfish were actually feeder fish that my daughter just had to have and they just keep plugging along. The Shubunkin were just given to my boys free at our local feed store/ pet store and so I was never quite sure how to pronounce their name or really what they were.

I also agree with Tkos. Keeping them in a tank will stunt their growth. All 4 of mine I still have were originally kept in our backyard pond, but unfortunaly our pond started mysteriously draining so my hubby drained it and is planning a new renovation for a larger pond in the spring..... so hopefully they will remain happy in our tank at least for the winter

I do think that if you want KOI there are many options and an indoor pond is one of them. I have also seen do it yourself pond for outdoors that look great and are not that much money to build. There are many pond magazines that my hubby buys to give him ideas that have many options.

Good luck!!

Stacie

 

[Squeesan]

I have a small (150 gal) pond in the yard, and purchased "feeders" from Walmart last spring. I put them into the pond, and they started growing like crazy....so guess what? 2 of the "feeders" are actually Koi.

I never planned on having these monster fish, so my pond is really inadequate. Long story short, all 3 of the fish are inside, in a 55gal till spring. I'll be digging them a permanent home ASAP!

I do lots of water changes, over filter, etc...the 2 koi (7-9") are both fine w/ the common GF (5")

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Sorry, but it seems impossible to buy feeders and have them end up being koi and not goldfish. Do you have any pics?