Value of Koi and to whom

[pond new1]

I am trying to estimate the value of my 3 KOI. I have attached a picture. The fish are 4' down and the largest of the 3 is the orange and white one and I estimate it to be between 12 and 14 inches. I think it is closer to 14 as it is big. I just changed the water last week and that is why it is so clear.

Those are bubbles floating and the pots are at least 9" in diameter. They seem to me to be very healthy and I feed them Hikari Gold in the summer and their color is pretty good as a result. The largest fish I have had for 5 years and paid $50 when it was about 4-5 inches. The other two I've had for 4 years and bought them about the same size. The pond holds approx 2,500 gallons and measure around 15' X 8'.

Of course when you have names for your fish I guess it's safe to say they are priceless to me LOL. But I think they are getting too big for the pond and I think they need a bigger home, right? So I am thinking of selling them for less than full value to ensure they get a good home. Thinking about Craig's List...

I certainly miss the warm 80 deg. weather of last week and it brought my water temp up to 60 deg. plus. Water is back down in the 50 +/- range now.

Thanks.

 

[viggen]

No clue on value.... I picked up 2 koi that are 18-20 inches long + 20 or so goldfish for free......

 

[Waterbug]

Nice looking fish.

I buy a lot off CL and generally like to pay 50-90% off retail. When I pay retail I can get exactly what I want which rarely happens on CL so there has to be a discount. Plus I have to take a drive to see what's being sold and half the time what's being sold isn't exactly what the person thought they had and pictures are always very poor.

For me personally there are a couple of red flags. Color enhancing food...what am I buying? Back to the CL discount. I have some recourse buying from a dealer. 12-14" is really small for 4-5 year old fish. They're just about done growing. So to me I wouldn't go above free. BTW, CL doesn't allow selling pets, including fish. Most people get around it by saying Re-homing with small adoption fee. But people do get flagged.

You could keep them. It's kind of myth that Koi out grow a pond. It's about water quality, not size. For example, professional koi keepers use trickle water change to greatly improve the water and can keep a bunch of large fish in a small pond.

 

[koiguy1969]

i've never read the rules and terms...but i know they dont allow the posting of animals in the "free" section... either way,ive been posting and selling fish on craigslist for years....oh well!
i am one of 6 currently posting and selling koi locally. i have had an add flagged for "free goldfish".

 

[mrsclem]

Koiguy- I also sell on craigslist but when I saw that post, I checked the rules on cl. They do say that the selling of animals is not permitted and yet there are thousands of listings.

 

[koiguy1969]

yeah i never actually read the rules...i figured i saw 10+ adds for koi ..figured its O.K! thats not to mention all the other fish sold there. well i posted a free goldfish add and it was flagged / removed in minutes. then i saw next to the "FREE" section in the catagorie selection for posting, 'no animals'... apparently the posting of fish sales is not a really enforced rule. i have posted alot of stuff on cl and the free goldfish has been the only one that was a problem.

 

[pond new1]

Thanks for all your replies. Guess unless these Koi can dance on the surface they really are not worth more than what they bring to my pond. Great to look at and to attract Herons and Egrets :razz:

But you have been helpful. I now know that they will not "outgrow" the pond so I'll just continue to scale back the numbers of gold fish and enjoy the Koi.

Appreciated

 

[Sunshine]

That is exactly what I am doing this year. The Koi are getting big and the GF are multiplying like crazy. Will be down to only a few GF after cleaning the pond this year.

 

[jebsmith]

your fish are 4 feet long? jesus