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I just bought a 2gal aquarium for my daughter, and put two 2-in Koi in. I don't know a lot about them, but have seen them grow to be very large. I am hoping these forums will help me learn more about keeping my daughter's pets healthy :)
 
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2 gallon? Oh my. If you have a friend with a pond, give them away so they may live. Koi grow (very) large, need a lot of space and produce insane amounts of ammonia, so you need good filtration as well. There is no way you can keep them alive in a 2 gallon aquarium. Probably not even a 200 gallon one. Rule of thumb is one adult koi per 500 gallon. Im sorry, you bought the wrong fish.
 
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The woman at the pet store said that the size of the aquarium would keep them from growing? We also bought the filtration system
 

fishin4cars

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koibabies said:
The woman at the pet store said that the size of the aquarium would keep them from growing? We also bought the filtration system

Please give me the name of the store, and the person who gave you this bogus information and a phone #. You want a refund? I'll have them give you one! :regular_waving_emot Whoever told you that has no business selling fish, period!!!!!!:):yikesu::yikesu::yikesu::yikesu:
 

fishin4cars

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seriously, take them back! they are going to die, or your going to be spending some serious $$$ getting them a big enough home. want some good suggestions for that size tank, A betta, very pretty, very hardy, don't get big! Maybe 3-4 zebra danios. they like to be in a group again very hardy and the stay small, they even come in fluorescent colors now. Guppies, 1 male 2 females, will probably have some babies for you very interesting for kids to learn about aquarium keeping and the are nice looking fish and not to hard to care for. Not the best choice but far better than a koi, a single small fantail goldfish, It will grow slower in a confined space, eventually it will get to large but it may take a year os so, not a month or two. I'll be glad to try and point you in a better direction but KOI, Bad choice, This fish gets 36" and can weigh over 40#
 

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koibabies

That's too bad that fish store gave you the wrong kind of fish. It would be a sad thing to try and raise them in a small container like fishin said. I would definitely take them back w/ info you can copy from the internet or from here showing the store that they were wrong. If you want you could dig yourself a big pond if you have the room in your yard. We have lots of info to share w/ you on how to do it :)
 

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Welcome to the Forum!

Your koi may not make it a week in that aquarium.

That said, 1 koi in 500 gallons is an opinion, not a fact. Many of us have as many as 20 koi in 1500 gallon ponds. I have been breeding koi for many years and all my koi are active, healthy and eager to see me. It all comes down to circulation, filtration and aeration.
 

addy1

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Welcome koibabies,

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The koi really are not made for a small tank even a small pond is too small, like they all say above.
 

fishin4cars

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1 per 500 gallons is the extreme, I mean yes, I guess if you want to keep a $10,000 Koi spot free of any flaws and perfect pristine water that would be what the show folks think is necessary to grow a 30" koi in three years to win on the show circuit. . But if in fact 1 koi per 500 gallons was actually true I would only be able to keep 5 1/2 Koi. :rolleyes: I think I have a few more than that and they are all doing great, and very healthy. I could keep 2 -2" koi in a 2 gallon aquarium for little while too, would need a 30 gallon filter but I could keep them alive long enough to get them the proper size home. I have been keeping fish for 30 years, lots of experience, know what to look for and how to test the water correctly.
However this is a person that was given very poor advice. 2-2" koi could outgrow and actually crack and break a 30 gallon aquarium in less than a year! I have witnessed it first hand! That sells person should have showed them what would do good in that size tank, or show them a better tank for those type fish. that is the responsibility of the person selling as well as the person buying. Knowing what a animal/pet needs is just as important as knowing what you need to raise a child. I also volunteer at the local animal shelter. It's sad seeing how some animals are treated and frankly, I can't rescue them all.
Learn what is needed to care for a animal correctly, give them a proper home to live in, and if you don't plan on breeding full bloodline cat, dog, rabbit, etc. Please practice spay and neutering.
 

koidaddy

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Welcome to GPF!:) Be carefull what the local pet store tells you. Most time they are off a bit. The one close to my house sells koi but have little knowledge of them.
 

DrCase

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Welcome to the Forum !!
I hope we didn't ruin all the excitement of the new fish
 

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get her goldfish for sure and welcome to the forum .But she may come attached them so do it now and let her go pick out a pretty fish for herself .Shame on store person for selling you this and not telling you about them .Any pet no matter what deserves love ,I donate food and money to my local shelter and every pet I have had has been fixed and I do that though the animal shelter also .They do a great job
 

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