Koi growth question:

[Marshall]

I have read many conflicting views on how fast koi grow but, have noticed a common line of info is 1 inch a year? My koi were 4 inches when I bought them about 5 months ago and now they are 8 - 10 inches so what is the "average" and where does this one inch per year idea come from?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The growth rate of Koi decreases with age. Very rapid the first year (Nature's way of insuring survival of some), second year not so much with the growth rate greatly reduced in succeeding years. Of course, environmental factors and food availability play a large role.

 

[Marshall]

The growth rate of Koi decreases with age. Very rapid the first year (Nature's way of insuring survival of some), second year not so much with the growth rate greatly reduced in succeeding years. Of course, environmental factors and food availability play a large role.

Okay thanks. That is sorda what I thought because saying growth is fixed is sorda un realistic. Even my turtles who actually do grow on a 1 inch per year basis is not concrete and can be widely different depending on several factors and strangely food intake is not one of them. If they eat too much the shell will still only extend about a inch a year but their internal organs will grow more causing pyramiding which is basically them getting so fat the literally begin to burst out of their own shell leading to kidney failure infection and even death.

 

[Dave 54]

I have read many conflicting views on how fast koi grow but, have noticed a common line of info is 1 inch a year? My koi were 4 inches when I bought them about 5 months ago and now they are 8 - 10 inches so what is the "average" and where does this one inch per year idea come from?

The growth rate of Koi decreases with age. Very rapid the first year (Nature's way of insuring survival of some), second year not so much with the growth rate greatly reduced in succeeding years. Of course, environmental factors and food availability play a large role.

Koi are basically eating machines and will grow as Meyer has correctly stated however some grow faster and larger than others in their first year {mostly Ogons. Chagios , seragois] and this is more than probably genetic, but their growth rate does start to tail off after the second year .
Enviroment , water quality and food are all factors in your koi's growth rate.
Koi and all other cyprinid species unlike other fish do not have a stomach, as such the food is processed as it passes down the koi's intestine and is passed via the vent and its because of this that koi should be fed little but often [I average around about 4 handfuls per day dependant on what is being fed ... .
I have a number of koi that have taken off size wise whist others are slower in growth than other pond mates all are 24" + the rest range from 15"down to 9" or so .
Koi by their nature will outfgrow rapidly any small ponds so you must have a home in place for them when they do .

Dave

 

[sissy]

I know dealers in koi give them growth food and feed them a lot .Mine were about 5 inch's 11 years ago and now around 2 feet or so long ,no growth food and no over feeding .3or 4 times a week they get fed and they do get krill and fruit and sometimes shrimp

 

[Marshall]

Koi are basically eating machines and will grow as Meyer has correctly stated however some grow faster and larger than others in their first year {mostly Ogons. Chagios , seragois] and this is more than probably genetic, but their growth rate does start to tail off after the second year .
Enviroment , water quality and food are all factors in your koi's growth rate.
Koi and all other cyprinid species unlike other fish do not have a stomach, as such the food is processed as it passes down the koi's intestine and is passed via the vent and its because of this that koi should be fed little but often [I average around about 4 handfuls per day dependant on what is being fed ... .
I have a number of koi that have taken off size wise whist others are slower in growth than other pond mates all are 24" + the rest range from 15"down to 9" or so .
Koi by their nature will outfgrow rapidly any small ponds so you must have a home in place for them when they do .

Dave

Unless mine get to around 24" they will have room but if need be I do have 2 identical ponds so I could move half of them to double the space.

 

[Marshall]

PS: My koi pond is 1100 gallons 12 feet by 16 feet and from 2 to 5 feet deep.

 

[sissy]

Mine is all a littler over 4 feet deep at waters highest level but i will be raising that level up this fall when it cools off by adding another row of block on top and pulling liner up over that so it will be another 4 inch's of water higher .I want to keep the water lower after the incident of aggie jumping out .That is why the window screening on the edges of the pond .

 

[Mmathis]

The quality of their food plays an important part, too, esp when they're younger [I apologize if this was already mentioned], as does the water quality.

I don't have koi, so no experience there, but I did take a summer to grow out some goldfish fry -- and boy, that was the LONGEST summer of my life, or so it seemed, LOL! Anyway, it was a chance to get some practical experience and make my own observations. When I could, I fed the fry live foods, and fed them frequently. They almost seemed to GROW overnight! And each winter I would keep 2 of those fry in my indoor tank so I could be a "mommy" over the winter . Those fish were always larger than their siblings when released in the spring (for clarification, I only "raised" fry one summer, but the summer prior to that I did find 2 fry in the pond, and both of those came inside that winter).

 

[Marshall]

Mine is all a littler over 4 feet deep at waters highest level but i will be raising that level up this fall when it cools off by adding another row of block on top and pulling liner up over that so it will be another 4 inch's of water higher .I want to keep the water lower after the incident of aggie jumping out .That is why the window screening on the edges of the pond .

Luckily I have never had any koi jump out but the comets like to jump up into the waterfall stream but it has about 1300 gph coming off it so they always fall right back into the water. I do have a teflon barrier layed on either side of the falls incase their aim is bad so they will just slide back in. I think it has to do with how much moving water I have making an undertow that makes jumping almost an impossible task except at the falls.

 

[Marshall]

PS: To mak an under tow you just need to anchor a pump about 1 foot fro the surface and aim the ot outflow at a 45 angle to the side and that will give you an undertow in the opposite direction of the side you aim at.

 

[Marshall]

The undertow is what pulls the plants acroos by their roots which are about 7 inches underwater

 

[Meyer Jordan]

In dedicated Koi ponds TPRs (Tangential Pond Returns) serve the same purpose.

 

[Marshall]

In dedicated Koi ponds TPRs (Tangential Pond Returns) serve the same purpose.

I have never heard of those before but do they require a particular pump system or layout? Secondly are they 60 bucks or less ? Thats about what I invested in the tow pump and pvc joints to aim it

 

[Meyer Jordan]