Maximum Number of fish per size of pond

[mogsie]

isnt fish stocking rates more effected by surface area than just gallonage ?? sure i read somewhere about a certain length of fish to a certain square area of surface water, was it 12 square inches to 1 inch of fish ?? carnt remember, i mean when people say so many fish to every so many gallon, but i could have a 10000 gallon pond that is only 4mx4m but about 4m deep, ( i know them measurements are not accurate but you get the point i am trying to make) and there fore wouldnt have the surface area the the fish stocked by gallonage ratio !

 

[addy1]

How do you resize any of the JPEG photos in you photo file so you can upload one here? Thanks

You need a photo program, most computers come with a basic program to work on your photos.

Or get a free photo bucket account up load the photos to it and past the img code in your thread.

photobucket.com

 

[bobsox]

I'll try that Addy - Thanks...

 

[fishin4cars]

How do you resize any of the JPEG photos in you photo file so you can upload one here? Thanks

I used Windows pictures program, Only took four hours to do all the pictures at one time. Did it work? I'm still trying to get back to what I was doing to see. got hit with a bad Thunderstorm last night at 8:30 and didn't get power back until 8am this morning, Been up all night keeping fish alive.

isnt fish stocking rates more effected by surface area than just gallonage ?? sure i read somewhere about a certain length of fish to a certain square area of surface water, was it 12 square inches to 1 inch of fish ?? carnt remember, i mean when people say so many fish to every so many gallon, but i could have a 10000 gallon pond that is only 4mx4m but about 4m deep, ( i know them measurements are not accurate but you get the point i am trying to make) and there fore wouldnt have the surface area the the fish stocked by gallonage ratio !

This is actually far more accurate way of determining stocking rates by formula, I just never could concept the whole sq. ft surface area formula.

 

[Gomer14]

I use Photoshop Elements 9 to edit and resize my photos. For the photos that I want to get printed I first edit them and then rename them and save them to the maximum jpeg quality. For the the photos that I want to put on the web I resize my edited photos to 750 pixels at their widest and then save them at around 250 kb's in size. You always want to keep your original photo as was shot from the camera just in case you have to go back and re edit the photo.

 

[DrDave]

Great advice Gomer, I use the same software and re-size mine to 800 wide. If I am saving the original, I rename both and add "800" to the re-sized ones name. I do the same with avatar's where they are limited to 80 on most forums.

 

[scooter7728]

This suddenly became a software post lol, I've been told one full size koi per 250 gallons you would hate to buy great koi just to have decide which ones to give away

 

[j.w]

Shame on you boys and girls for getting off topic.............go to your rooms :grumble: :lol: :surfing:

Now lets get back to the business of how many fishies can fit in a fish pond

 

[CometKeith]

I think surface area is a better measuring stick. The old rule of thumb was 1" of fish per one square foot. Newer theory is 1/2 inch per one square foot if you have larger fish like koi. So if your pond is 9x12 and 3 ft deep then you can stock about 108 inches. If your pond is the same gallons and only 2 ft deep you could actually safely stock 50% more ie 160 inches. (10x16x2=2400 gallons). Of course filtration and many other variables will affect these calculations, but the concept is the same; more surface area =more bio load.

 

[addy1]

So to keep more fish in your pond stick with smaller fish like gold fish shubunkins, if you desire koi, decrease the number of fish you have. One two foot koi is probably equal to 5-6 goldfish in bio load.....................just a pure guessssssssss.

 

[DrDave]

All these so called formulas are good for people who are starting out and have no intention to get totally immersed into the technology.
I rescued 12 koi, 6" to 12" koi from a 125 gallon tote that had two Fluval 404's running and the water water was absolutley clear and the fish healthy. The owner realized that he had a time bomb and offered them to be rescued. I was shocked to see them in that tote like sardines.
I would NEVER condone this, but it shows that if you have the knowledge, diligence and filtration you can get away with many in a small volume of water.
That said, no formula can be said to be valid, it is totally dependant on the owner, experience and filtration.

 

[koiguy1969]

i have kept at or near 200" of fish in my 800 gal basement pond...and they spend more time there than in the outdoor pond.

 

[CometKeith]

The distinction here is that there are experts on Koi ponds like Dr. Dave and Koiguy1969 and also there are a lot of people here that like watergardens and have less time and money invested in pumps and filtration systems. My comments regarding surface area really were directed more towards watergardens and lower maintenance set ups. With more sophisticated filtration/aerators etc you can greatly expand the boundaries of what your pond can handle and surface area becomes a less critical factor. I think we are all saying the same thing.

 

[koiguy1969]

I myself don't claim to be an expert by any means. And i surely dont have any elaborate expensive equipment. I run a tetrapond 1000gph pump into a 55 gal diy filter. And a 425gph tetrapond pump with an upper water level fines filter skimmer. Works at just below water surface. This is my basement pond setup. Outside i run a 1200gph tetrapond pump with a 10 gal prefilter for mechanical filtration and a 70 gal stocktank bio filter, also diy. On my 1200 gal outdoor pond. Along with the tetrapond 1000 gph pump for circulation. Its venturied into the top of my bio filter for aeration, and a nice falls. But common sense, a good steady maintainence schedule of waterchanges and mechanical filter flushing or cleaning is all it takes. If you find your having troubles maintaining water quality with what you've got, you have 3 choices...#1- get rid of some fish...#2- better or additional filtration...#3- feed less and see what happens!

 

[ghoti]

I really am new and don't claim expertise here, but I have heard that there certainly should be a maximum number of inches of fish, but also like #3 that koiguy said, it also depends on how much food you throw in the water.

Even if the dealers overcrowd the tanks/ponds, they don't feed all that much.

Bob