Best Taking Care of Your Koi Fish Through Proper Water Quality Care

Ever since the Japanese interbred simple carp and began creating the beautiful fish known as koi, people have been enjoying these beautiful fish and keeping them as pets. Koi are perhaps the most popular of freshwater fish kept in backyard ponds and they can live for many years in these environments. That is, as long as the ponds themselves are well kept.

While koi fish are a hardy breed, like most other types of fish, they need a constant supply of fresh, clean, oxygenated water. Once your pond gets dirty, it won't be long before your fish become sick and in worst case scenarios, die. Let's look at some of the ways that a good water filter can help to increase the lifespan of your koi.

First of all, your koi filter will need to take the place of what nature does for fish in the wild. In open waters, the waste from fish is filtered simply because of the amount of water that exists in that environment. The waste from fish that is created never concentrates in an area in large enough quantities to do harm to the fishes system. In addition, the natural currents of the oceans work to move the waste around thus increasing the dissipation of this waste matter. In a small pond environment, however, the water can quickly become contaminated by the waste from the fish. A good koi water filter will work to mimic the natural process of the oceans in two ways:

1. Mechanical - This aspect of the filter will work to rid the water of solid waste-The flow of the water as well as gravity allow the solid waste to become trapped in the filter to allow for easy removal

2. Biological - The solid waste, even if it is removed, leaves behind toxic by-products such as ammonia. The biological function of the koi filter uses bacteria to break down the harmful waste into less harmful nitrates. Nitrates can only harm the fish if found in large amounts.

While the filter is a key component of a health fish pond, that alone may not be enough to do the job. In the case of a larger pond, you will want to add pump. Pumps are great additions to koi filters as they work to push the water through the filter, thereby trapping all the contaminants.

In addition to a quality filter for your koi pond, you may want to add a waterfall or even a fountain to your pond. While these add to the overall beauty of your backyard setting, the falling water works to stir up the water and is known as aeration, or adding oxygen to the water. If the water is stagnant, the oxygen contained in the water may be used up by the fish and they will surely die. If you take the time to install a proper koi water filter, clean it regularly and make proper use of a pump and/or waterfall as necessary, your koi pond will provide a healthy and happy home for your prized koi fish.