The Links on the left will open pages a collection of past aricles and items.

Fish per Gallon Formula by Charles Lewis

How many koi can a pond hold is not the same as how many koi a pond should hold. The less experienced hobbyist often has too many koi for their pond or experience. It takes expertise to choose a number of koi that will have harmony with the size of a pond and the care needed to maintain them. Here is a guide to not only what load a pond can hold but also the expertise to have success.

Gallons of water per fish and what is the difference.

·       10,000 gallons. This may be as close to nature a pond can be. Water will be easy to maintain at the highest of quality. Koi will have little or no stress, have good health and their growth will be to the maximum of their potential.

·       5,000 gallons. This is a dedicated hobbyist. They have themselves and their koi to the best environment. Conditions will be nirvana for husband and koi.

·       2,500 gallons. This is a master of the koi hobby.  They have reached a level of Zen with koi, health, growth and effort.

·       1,000 gallons. This is a extreme koi husband. They can sustain good health and growth but need to have expertise in managing water quality. They will need to have an advanced system and care for it regularly. It will take extra effort and could have problems if neglected.

·       500 gallons. This is an advanced aquaculture expert. They would need to have very special equipment and education. The system will be dependent on constant monitoring and attention. Health and water quality problems can occur and will run out of control if not treated quickly.

·       250 gallons. This is a difficult system to maintain and have good health and growth even for the most advanced system. Most hobbyist do not know what is required to make a system like this work if it can at all. It may be as closer to a hydroponics lab or advanced aquarium than a koi pond.

·       100 gallons. This is a temporary holding tank that will require almost 24hour attention and will only be suitable for a short time.

The minimum number of koi a pond should have is 3. This gives the koi companionship and security while giving the pond a balanced look. It will also allow for some variety. The average water garden or small pond is 1,000 gallons or less. 3 fish would be 333 gallons per fish making the pond one that would need advanced equipment, expert ability, constant attention and may be difficult to maintain while risking health problems. Even if it had just 2 koi it would still need to be an advanced aquaculture system that was well maintained. To have only one koi would requires a dedicated hobbyist who would not want to have only one koi. At only 5,000 gallons or 1,667 gallons per koi our pond is approaching Zen realization and could keep 5 fish if managed well. At 10,000 gallons or 3,333 gallons per koi a pond is past nirvana and approaching nature, which is what a water garden was suppose to be.  In summery there is nothing natural about putting koi into a water garden and a koi pond should be as close to nature as possible.   

HOW PARASITES CAN CRIPPLE FROGS.

Since the mid-1990s striking deformities have turned up in more than 60 species of frogs, toads and salamanders in 46 states and on four continents. The number of disfigured animals in some populations averages around 25 percent-significantly higher than in previous decades. Contradictory reports have blamed the deformities on increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation, contaminated water or a parasite epidemic. New evidence indicates that the parasite epidemic accounts for one of the most prevalent deformities-extra hind legs-and strongly suggests that human activities such as habitat alteration are exacerbating the problem.

The life cycle of the parasitic trematode, known commonly as a flatworm or a fluke, the trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae enables the parasite to induce deformities-including extra hind legs-in generation after generation of frogs. In its first larval form the trematode infects aquatic snails. After transforming into a second free-swimming form inside a snail, the parasite embeds itself near a tadpole’s future hind leg. There it forms a cyst that disrupts normal limb development and can cause the tadpole to sprout extra legs as it grows into a frog. The disabled frog then becomes easy prey for the parasite’s final host, often a heron or egret. The parasite matures and reproduces inside the bird, which releases trematode eggs into the water with its feces. When the larvae hatch, they begin the cycle again. Human activities exacerbate this process, especially where livestock manure or fertilizers enter a pond and trigger algal blooms that nourish, and thus increase, snail populations. A tadpole with weakened immune system by excess ultraviolet light or pesticide runoff-which may be more vulnerable and facilitate the cycle of parasitic infection.

Think of that the next time you see a fluke, or a snail, or a bird.