Hello my name is Aelin and me and my family recently started a fish pond it's been running about 3 weeks and 2 days ago we were able to aquire 3 buatifle young koi fish. A month ago we went to a supplier who sells koi fish and it is run out of georgia. Her store name is the koi store. She said that she would put no more than 15 fish in our size of pond. We decided to get a few just to make sure they would survive before investing a lot of money in fish. She said that in late April she would be getting a new shipment of fish and we decided we wanted to get our bulk of fish their. Our new Pond is about 6 x 5 and 3 foot deep. We then have a shelf going around the edge of the pond going down about a foot or so. We got a smart pond, pond filter and a big waterfall running into the water.
New Pond
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Hey, welcome to the forum!
Personally, I would say your pond is a bit small for all of those fish. A good rule of thumb for koi is 1000 gallons for the first one and 500-1000 gallons added on for the next. I'd go for shubunkins instead.
Personally, I would say your pond is a bit small for all of those fish. A good rule of thumb for koi is 1000 gallons for the first one and 500-1000 gallons added on for the next. I'd go for shubunkins instead.
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Welcome!
I don't mean to rain on your parade or to scare you away from this forum.
6x5x3 foot deep is way way too small for 15 koi!
I don't know how a "reputable" seller could suggest such an abomination.
It is said that for your first koi you need about 1,000 gallons and 250-500 gallons for each additional koi.
Again, this is not meant as an insult to you. That seller is misinforming you.
Hang here and you'll benefit from a wealth of knowledge many members have to offer.
I don't mean to rain on your parade or to scare you away from this forum.
6x5x3 foot deep is way way too small for 15 koi!
I don't know how a "reputable" seller could suggest such an abomination.
It is said that for your first koi you need about 1,000 gallons and 250-500 gallons for each additional koi.
Again, this is not meant as an insult to you. That seller is misinforming you.
Hang here and you'll benefit from a wealth of knowledge many members have to offer.
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Agree...shubunkins are the better choice. There are so many different fish in the goldfish family to choose from.
Koi get huge really fast and produce a large amount of waste which can overtax your filtration, resulting in poor water quality. This makes both the fish and the owner unhappy.
Koi get huge really fast and produce a large amount of waste which can overtax your filtration, resulting in poor water quality. This makes both the fish and the owner unhappy.
Agreed - koi are fun to have, but they are messy and always finding ways to eat our plants 
We also have one shubunkin and she has long flowing fins and holds her own in the pond beauty.
We also have one shubunkin and she has long flowing fins and holds her own in the pond beauty.
One koi or three goldfish tops.
Mmathis
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@Aelin59 Hello and welcome!
Well, I can’t really add to what’s already been said, but this is a good example of “do your own research.” Some koi dealers are only in it for the money and don’t seem to care about the well-being of the fish they sell. Shame on that koi dealer! Did you tell them the size of your pond?
Not to make you feel bad as it’s obvious that you are excited about your new hobby. I calculated your pond to be roughly 400-500 US gallons — perfect for a handful of goldfish (that don’t grow large), but is in no way adequate for koi. Those baby koi you have now will grow fast and large and before you know it your water quality will suffer as will the koi. Koi produce a lot of waste and it’s very hard to control things like ammonia in a smaller body of water.
I would quickly find a new home for the koi you have (do it now instead of later because it’s hard to say good bye once you get attached to them), and cancel any order you have for more koi. As someone else mentioned, Shubunkin (a calico-colored type of goldfish) are lovely and will be more suited to your water volume.
Please post some pics of your pond — we love to see what others’ ponds look like!
Well, I can’t really add to what’s already been said, but this is a good example of “do your own research.” Some koi dealers are only in it for the money and don’t seem to care about the well-being of the fish they sell. Shame on that koi dealer! Did you tell them the size of your pond?
Not to make you feel bad as it’s obvious that you are excited about your new hobby. I calculated your pond to be roughly 400-500 US gallons — perfect for a handful of goldfish (that don’t grow large), but is in no way adequate for koi. Those baby koi you have now will grow fast and large and before you know it your water quality will suffer as will the koi. Koi produce a lot of waste and it’s very hard to control things like ammonia in a smaller body of water.
I would quickly find a new home for the koi you have (do it now instead of later because it’s hard to say good bye once you get attached to them), and cancel any order you have for more koi. As someone else mentioned, Shubunkin (a calico-colored type of goldfish) are lovely and will be more suited to your water volume.
Please post some pics of your pond — we love to see what others’ ponds look like!
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get some floating plants like water hyacinth or water lettuce and that will help with shading during summer and they'll also help keep your water from turning green. Agreed on all the above re size, koi, and shubunkins. If you're going to keep the koi, the water will have to be filtered much more and better. If you have time and would consider a bog (upflow wetland filter; search the threads here for more info) it would go a long way toward NOT having your parents take care of anything as goldfish are tough and don't need regular feeding; just ask @addy1 !
Welcome to GPF!
Welcome to GPF!
mrsclem
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When you can, get the actual measurments on your pond. That will help determine how many if any koi your pond can handle. Some koi dealers will sell fish regardless of pond size knowing you will be back to buy more if something happens. I always ask for proof of pond before I sell to anyone now.
j.w
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Here is a link to a pond calculator: https://concalculator.com/pond-volume-calculator/
I like the idea of getting Shubunkins rather than koi for your pond. They are quite pretty and look like a smaller version of koi.
I would first like to thank everyone for making me aware of this problem. Me a d my family have talked it over and we will sell two of our koi once they get bigger and then we will either get goldfish or Shubukid. Thankyou everyone for helping me.