Butterfly vs standard fin regarding hardiness

[gloria]

Hello!
After moving and being without a koi pond for 1 1/2 years, I am finally ready to stock my new pond! It's 1500 gallons and 3+ feet deep with an Atlantic Oasis series skimmer and filterfall setup. I live in southern Connecticut and do need to keep a bubbler or heater going to keep the pond from freezing over. In the past I started with butterfly koi and added a few standard koi a couple years later. I'm trying to decide which kind of koi to buy this time. I like the look of both, I'm really looking for the most hardy and disease resistant type to deal with a southern New England winter. What are people's opinion on this?
Thanks for any input!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Carp of any variety are very forgiving fish. They will adapt to a very wide range of temperatures. All are equally disease resistant if kept in a healthy environment (acceptable water quality).
It is really a matter of preference. Why not have both?

 

[sissy]

they get big so may outgrow the pond fast .I knew I was going to build bigger so it was not a problem and also have people who want the babies .I don't feed them growth food and only feed 3 or 4 times a week

 

[Lisak1]

I love both types of koi - they each have their own beauty.

With a 1500 gallon pond you'll want to choose carefully as you don't want to overstock. Koi get big fast, as I'm sure you already know!

 

[gloria]

Thanks for your responses. I had read that the butterfly koi were hardier and wondered if that's what others had experienced. I really want to stock one time from the same breeder and then not introduce anything new. How many koi do you think I can put in at once?

 

[sissy]

1500 gallons is not much for any kind of koi .My butterfly koi are now a foot long and my regular koi are over 2 feet long in 5000 gallons with aeration and lots of filtering .They produce a lot of waste .I have 14 fish

 

[gloria]

I was going to do 5.

 

[sissy]

They have babies .But they don't breed as nuch as goldfish .Fat fantails are nice and come in lots of colors .Mine have never had babies

 

[Lisak1]

It's really a loaded question - my stock answer is always "figure out how many you can have and then have less". Understocked is always better than over. Total gallons is important, but there are other factors involved - for example, total surface area of the pond and the adequacy of your filtration to the size of your pond.

 

[sissy]

and aeration

 

[Gemma]

I had read that the butterfly koi were hardier and wondered if that's what others had experienced.

I've always had both and in my experience there seem to be no difference in hardiness, between butterfly koi, and regular koi

 

[Gemma]

I was going to do 5.

I have 10 plus 2 shubs in 3000gl, I was told as long as I keep good filtration and aeration I'll be ok!

 

[sissy]

I never really imagined that a koi could get as big as they do .Well I learned the hard way .I got these little 3 and 4 inch long fish and now they are over 2 feet long and boy are they heavy

 

[Gemma]

I never really imagined that a koi could get as big as they do .Well I learned the hard way .I got these little 3 and 4 inch long fish and now they are over 2 feet long and boy are they heavy

How old are Aggie and Bert?

 

[Tula]

I have 4 koi in 1700 gallons. I rehome all their babies and no longer keep gold fish of any kind. I've improved my pond filtration and equipment, quite a bit over the years.

I've had 3 of my 4, over 12 years and they've really grown. I hope they have enough room to be happy, but sometimes I worry. If I ever feel they've grown too big, I'd rehome the newest koi Hopefully they remain happy and healthy, and I'll keep up with filtration.