6 replies to this topic

[Oldhead]

Is there any difference with the koi you buy at petsmart and the koi you buy at a garden center? I was thinking of purchacing a few and keeping them in a fish tank until spring. Only thing i can see is the color selection is very limited at petsmart.

[koiguy1969]

buying koi at the end of the season is probably going to leave you with a small selection at just about any store.. a breeder would be the way to go.. the pond supplies here have already closed the outdoor sales tanks. whats left is up in tubs by the front doors...but the prices are like 50% off and more...at least thats the case here.

[DrCase]

If they don't have some that you like..
You would be better off to wait till spring and get good looking koi.

[Oldhead]

Our koi are 50% off too. They only had 3 butterfly koi left. The color was a real nice orange and black but there is just something that i don't like about the butterfly. I'm not gonna buy one just to buy one, if they have some real nice ones I thought itwould give them a head start to grow through the winter to kinda catch up in size to the others.

[nc0gnet0]

It all comes down to if you like the fish or not. Sometimes the prices are hard to pass up, but for each marginal fish you buy, it will later limit your ability to purchase a sensational one for lack of room. Then again, on the smaller ones, often they haven't developed there colors fully, and you never know, you just may purchase an ugly duckling, and later have a beautiful swan.

I actually purchased a $4.99 koi at Wally world of all places earlier this year. He was a plain white, dull looking fish. I got him to help cycle my QT tank. Since then he has developed into a beautiful Gin Matsuba (I think)..... so you never know.

I have actually had some good success purchasing koi off of ebay of all places if you got the itch. Myself, I get a kick out of buying the young ones under 3" and watching them develop.

[DrDave]

Juvinille Koi are hard to figure. Some of mine amaze me as they mature. If you get one you don't like, there is usually someone that will love it. You just have to be patient and find that someone.

[nc0gnet0]

You kow what would be really cool Dr. Dave......if you could seperate a small group of juvenile Koi (say 6-12) and do a photo journal of their developement over a length of time taking a picture every month. It wold be alot of work but the end result could be quite interesting..........