How many fish for my pond?

[medxam]

I have a 10' X 15' rectangular formal type pond that holds approx. 2500 gallons. How many adult size Koi and assorted other fish will it support? I have a skimmer with basket at the deep 3' end and a waterfall at the opposite 2' deep end.

medxam

 

[fishin4cars]

All depends on how well you'll filtration is, how good you keep your water quality, and how much mainatnce you'll willing to put into the pond to maintain that quality. I would say max load about 250" of fish (Give or take) On adult koi keep in mind that they have a LOT of body weight per inch compared to a 1 inch goldfish. But for full grown Koi I would say no more than 8-10 at the very most.

 

[addy1]

When you buy the little koi remember they will get big pretty fast, it is easy to see these little fish and not think of them as huge fish.

 

[sissy]

Thats for sure Addy mine were a couple of inches long 7 years ago and are now over 2 feet long .I have given a lot of baby fish away to keep down the population in my pond .I have lifted the sides on my pond 2 times in the last couple of months .I am glad I left a lot of extra liner and at full depth it is over 4 1/2 feet at one end and goes to 2 feet deep and I have 2 filters and 2 waterfalls and an air pump and have to stay on top of it to keep it clean

 

[digginponds]

I have 8 fish total........... And my pond is 1200x600 18x15 @ max 3ft deep. multiwaterfalls

Bigger the pond ,Bigger the fish RIGHT? But remember [adult fish] need room to grow,too.

Most new pond owner's dump tons of fish in there pond,and later wonder why they are looking on craiglist to get rid of 'em.
imho-Start off with a few,you can always add,later!

 

[addy1]

I can attest to that, started with 5 that were old enough, big enough to breed, now have 100 plus, all still small, have the water room, but they sure bred.

Next year hope some of the new fry get scarfed up as fish food.

 

[medxam]

Thanks to all who posted. I am still trying to get thsi pond to cycle. The pea soup is driving me crazy. It was built last fall and ran all winter without plants or fish. This spring when it was time to go, I got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and spent most of June and July in the hospital or in the bed at home. We are changing water and trying to add as many plants as possible. No fish yet,

It may be next season, god willing, before I can et it going.

medxam

 

[CometKeith]

hi medxam, hope you are feeling better. A few small goldfish may help it cycle.

 

[addy1]

Agree cometkeith, I put some feeders in last year when we got water into the pond, even though it was not even plumbed yet. A few of those feeders is what has now populated my pond.
I put them in to get the water going.