Distinguishing Koi

[malamanyirenda]

I am new to the forum, my name is Malama Nyirenda from Lusaka , Zambia in Southern African.
I have a 1500 Gallon Pond (I have uploaded a video).

I have 6 Koi that I bought locally and some goldfish also bought locally.
The goldfish seem to be multiplying rapidly and my worry now is stocking density.

All the fish are still young but the goldfish population has increased to over 25.
According to my research I can have 6-10 Koi in my pond if they are domestic Koi but I am not sure whether my Koi are domestic.

What do the experienced members advise?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I’m not sure what you mean by “domestic koi,” but your information might be flawed. I just wanted to say “hello,” so I’ll leave it up to the experts here to comment on your stocking issues. What kind of filtration do you have? Also, KOIPHEN.COM might be a better resource for you.

 

[mrsclem]

Hello- I don't think that koi form Zambia are different from any others. Koi can get very large-over 3' so more than 1-2 in a pond your size can be an issue. Koi produce a large amount of waste and require good filtration.

 

[GBBUDD]

Generally my understanding is domestic koi are more of a standard of KOI/carp they are not the monsters that grow to 20 inches in two years. Either way 6 koi in that size pond along with 20 gold fish will be too much as the continue to grow

 

[j.w]

@malamanyirenda

 

[malamanyirenda]

Hello and welcome!

I’m not sure what you mean by “domestic koi,” but your information might be flawed. I just wanted to say “hello,” so I’ll leave it up to the experts here to comment on your stocking issues. What kind of filtration do you have? Also, KOIPHEN.COM might be a better resource for you.

I read two separate articles that state that domestic Koi will grow to about 15" and that Japanese and Jumbo Koi will grow upto 30", I have a DIY 220L Mechanical and 500L Biological Filter

 

[malamanyirenda]

Generally my understanding is domestic koi are more of a standard of KOI/carp they are not the monsters that grow to 20 inches in two years. Either way 6 koi in that size pond along with 20 gold fish will be too much as the continue to grow

I intend to reduce the Goldfish as they grow or build a separate pond for them but what would be the maximum number of goldfish I can keep in my size pond with 6 Koi?

 

[GBBUDD]

Almost 0 the six koi will be too much . BUT it also depends how good of a keeper you are and how often you do the necessary maintenance for the sized fish and how many per gallon. If you don't feed them and there's plenty of algae for them to eat it would be less of a problem add lots of feeding and little maintenance and you have all kinds of issues.

This is not an exact science your water in South Africa could be 1000 times better to start with than say my water is here in the USA. the answer to your question is your own observations of your pond. Just remember that there are no over night answers all adjustments should be done slowly. Fish can take a lot of variables but they are not so good when it comes to the variables changing quickly

 

[Lisak1]

It's confusing mainly because of the word "domestic". Does that mean "domesticated"? Because that's pretty much every koi in every pond. They've all been domesticated and bred for ponds. The opposite of domestic being wild - not many wild koi in garden ponds. Or does it mean "domestic" like native to an area? Then a "domestic" koi takes on a whole other meaning. What's domestic to me would not be domestic to you.

Can you share the articles you read @malamanyirenda ?

 

[Mmathis]

I don’t think the number of goldfish you have is the issue. It’s the number of koi.

 

[malamanyirenda]

It's confusing mainly because of the word "domestic". Does that mean "domesticated"? Because that's pretty much every koi in every pond. They've all been domesticated and bred for ponds. The opposite of domestic being wild - not many wild koi in garden ponds. Or does it mean "domestic" like native to an area? Then a "domestic" koi takes on a whole other meaning. What's domestic to me would not be domestic to you.

Can you share the articles you read @malamanyirenda ?

I have double checked the articles , they are all basically talking about Koi bred in the USA as Domestic and the ones imported from Japan as Japanese or Jumbo Koi

 

[malamanyirenda]

I have asked the pet shop where I bought my Koi and they say they import their fish from Pakistan

 

[Mmathis]

I would take your question to the site KOIPHEN.COM. Not only do they mostly deal with koi, but they have topics dedicated to identifying koi. They might better be able to help.