Assess Pond Space

This should probably be moved to Step One, because it's certainly the leading cause of illness in Koi. The detriment of overcrowding is a direct function of necessarily-high feeding rates, always-present under filtration, too infrequent water changes, and then the resultant buildup of noxious compounds including nitrogen, fish solid waste, and Carbon Dioxide as a result of overcrowding. Ponds should NEVER contain more than one inch of fish per ten gallons of water. In fact, if I were advising someone on how to "have an almost effortless pond experience", I would recommend 1/2 inch of fish per ten gallons of water, as a MAXIMUM stocking density. Of course, we know from research done at Auburn University that fish can live in water at a rate of several pounds of fish per single gallon. But these conditions are highly micromanaged and difficult to sustain, to put it mildly. In practice, it is VERY common to encounter ponds crowded with two or even three inches of fish per ten gallons of water, and the fish are "okay." However the density and ecological strain of this loading make these ponds into fragile "card houses" you could not leave alone on vacation. The pH tends to sag, the fish tend to grow more slowly and disease is a much more common occurrence. Johnson's Law: You will not salvage sick fish that are overcrowded. Invariably, Mother Nature will pick of your favorite fish to achieve her ideal stocking density based on the system the fish are in, and then the remainder will recover as if by magical intervention.

So "spread 'em out" and accomplish a reduction in crowing before Mother Nature handles this crucial step for you.

Go To Step Ten

Supplemental Reading:

Crowding - How Many Koi or Goldfish For the Pond or WaterGarden? - Article by Dr. Erik Johnson with formulas.

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