How To Not Kill Your Koi

Your koi are quite delicate creatures, not like the ancient fish from which they descend. For a new koi keeper, it can be quite unnerving if your fish keep dying. So we’ve put together a short guide to keeping your koi alive. 

Poor Water Quality

Most of the time, death in koi carp is caused by poor water quality. Making sure you have proper filtration, regular testing and maintenance will all contribute to the quality of your pond water, and therefore the health of your fish.

Parasites

The likelihood is that your koi will get a parasitic infection at some point. However, they are very hard to spot. You will only usually notice that your fish has an infection when they start getting symptoms, which indicates quite a severe infection. It can be combated with anti-parasitic medication.

If your fish seems listless, doesn’t eat or has lost colour vibrancy, then you should check for parasites.

Jumping Out

Koi fish regularly jump out of their environment, whether they are chasing another fish or they just have suicidal intentions. It’s near impossible to prevent death from fish jumping out, unless you want to install a bird net.

Predators

Koi are a tasty fish, so more often than not, you might find that your fish’s death has been caused by a predator. Whether it’s the neighbour’s cat with eyes bigger than its belly, or you have a Blue Heron on your hands, a bird net or a decorative fence should keep animals away.

Overfeeding

As we said at the beginning of the article, koi are very delicate creatures. It’s very easy to overfeed your koi, because it’s often the most interaction you’ll have with them. If you do, they’ll start looking a little bit tadpoles, with big bodies and whispy tail. Never feed them more than three times a day, and then for only five minutes. In cooler waters, you should only feed only once a day.