Poll: How Are You Stocked with Fish?

[koikeepr]

Give us an idea of what your ratio of fish is in the pond. Are you overstocked, understocked, just right?

[Carolinagirl]

I am overstocked. When the new pond is done, it will house only 5 fish, so they will each have nearly 1000 gallons. That will take some of the load off of my other ponds. Rebuilding my big pond will give me a few thousand gallons more and I do plan to cull again this spring to lighten the load even more. But I'll still probably be overstocked. I can't seem to quit buying fish I like!

[Kntry]

In the mud pond, I have 7 females in approximately 70,000 gallons of water.

In the QT, I have 3 females in 5600 gallons of water. Oh, throw in 12 small goldies!

Understocked is so much healthier and easier but not always fun. It requires rehoming fish if you want to buy more.

[stroppy]

16 goldfish in about 1000 gallon pond ranging from 8 inches to tiny, i dont know if thats under or over

[koikeepr]

Most would consider that overstocked, Stroppy. So, your water changes and super filtration are key.

I think I'm just right based on my filtration level. I pretty much can't add any more fish unless I rehome some--which I am doing this spring to a friend's pond (so I can still visit them).

[Luvmypond]

I'm overstocked. I re homed some big comets last year, than had more babies. Someone really needs to invent birth control for fish !!

[WeWilly]

21 koi average 20" in 4000 gallon pond.

[koikeepr]

21 koi average 20" in 4000 gallon pond.

holy crud! That is A LOT of fish inch for 4000g!!! Good thing you overfilter like crazy!! LOL!

[Peppy]

15 koi (239 inches) in 5500 gallons so that's 367 gallons per koi from 9 to 22 inches.

I want to cut down to 12 koi. It IS hard to get rid of koi!!!

[Meganne]

3000 gallons and 6 koi rangeing 12-26 inches. 500 gallons per koi.
as they grow the number of koi may be reduced, I will be watching the water to see if I have to.

if you think it is hard now Peppy, try it with only six!
having one in the mud gives me a year to think about it!
and I been eyeing the lily pond

[ponderpaul]

WAAAAAAY OVER:dunno::dunno::dunno: - 21 fish from 6 to 21 inches in 1200 gal. - lots of filtration and cooler weather is carrying the day at the moment. Plan on thinning things out in the very near future.

[tranquility]

one pond has 5 koi ranging from 20"-30" and is 6,000 gallons-one is 2,000 gallons and has 6 koi ranging from 12"-24",one is around 1,000 and will house around 12 goldies....So I'd say my stocking is just about right...I couldn't say that though before we got the 6,000 gallon done...I was way over stocked in all the ponds--everyone got an upgrade....
Lawanna

[Meganne]

WAAAAAAY OVER:dunno::dunno::dunno: - 21 fish from 6 to 21 inches in 1200 gal. - lots of filtration and cooler weather is carrying the day at the moment. Plan on thinning things out in the very near future.

better have a beauty contest before spring! better you pick who stays than MotherNature....she always picks your favorites! :shocked:

[koikeepr]

better have a beauty contest before spring! better you pick who stays than MotherNature....she always picks your favorites! :shocked:

THAT is a magnificent way of putting it. I've never heard it put quite that way, but it is 100% correct. Inevitably when one dies, it's always one of the ones we loved best. Better for us to re-home a homely looking one and have the choice, than nature to take it's course and take a winner.

[Coach]

I have 7 koi that i am wintering in 2,000 gallons. 14-24 inches. They'll go out in the 4,000 gallon pond this spring. I have a few tosai at purdin that will come home this spring and occupy the inside.

Over the years I have learned to manage water and discovered that as long as the water is NOT compromised, you can stock quite heavily with no ill effects. I've learned safe guards in case something happens that keep one from running on the narrow edge.

when i talk about managed water, I use Reverse osmosis as a continuous waterchange that amounts to 10 to 15% daily. heavy spa-like oxygenation. A heater. proper protein % for temp of the water. My newest addiotion to my quest has been a poly roof over my inside pond to allow maximum natural light. I really have been happy with the results to the color. No loss. I have also been playing with new foods and learning some new things there. Some foods not commercially available in the U.S. that show promise.

So much of this hobby is related to finances, motivation to learn, and finding a compromise with your hopes and dreams. Next year i hope to be able to increase my outside turn over to once an hour thru the filtration. I'm also thinking of going exclusively to sinking food because of predation issues with the critters
who like to visit.


Being involved with this hobby has taught me that the more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn. I like that as it keeps me motivated.

[Serenae]

3 goldfish in my little 100 gallon pond, was 4. I definitely agree with the stated law on ponding that Mother Nature always takes your favourites! :sad0049:

I think that is understocked, as 2 of the 3 are only 2" long, the other is about 4" long?

[malatu]

15 koi (239 inches) in 5500 gallons so that's 367 gallons per koi from 9 to 22 inches.

I want to cut down to 12 koi. It IS hard to get rid of koi!!!

Don't know where you live in PA, but I'm not too far away in DE ... I hope to have my pond complete sometime next spring/summer. If you're still looking to re-home some then, I'd be interested.

[ponderpaul]

"So much of this hobby is related to finances," Coach

Ouch:dunno:, So thankful that it can be truly enjoyable on a small budget and lots of DIY!:happy:
A source of good fish at affordable prices helps alot also.:joy:

[Will]

I'm currently understocked, but merely by way of young fish. As they grow, I'll be culling and rehoming fish. I've fallen victim to Cindy's buying resistance problem, but I'm set for now. No more. Well, except for the 4 fry I'm wintering inside this year at about 72 degrees. They're only in a 10g tank, but I run 30g filtration, plus an air curtain, plus my insanely growing dwarf hyacinth.

[Peppy]

Being involved with this hobby has taught me that the more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn.

I hear you on that one, Coach, and that is so funny because DH cannot understand why I read these forums and what I could possibly learn that I don't already know. Typical of non-hobbiests who think fish keeping is basically throwing a few fish in some water. I learn something new almost every time I read!

Malatu, I promise to keep you in mind but I doubt you'd be interested in my first give away choice since it's just a plain nothing can't-even-classify-it koi. Every day when I look at my koi, I'm trying to decide who must go. I don't even want to get rid of the least of them, LOL! How do we get so attached to fish? They don't even snuggle up to us like cats or dogs or show emotion or do much of anything except swim around and greet us.

I kept 2 babies from last year's spawn with every intention of getting rid of them and they're still here. I might as well give up.

[Meganne]

don't give up Peppy, when you find someone who wants them they become once again the "best" in the pond! what a wonderful honor for them!
and the change in the pallet of you own pond becomes a pleasant suprise.

[ponderpaul]

I don't even want to get rid of the least of them,
It really doesn’t bother me a lot when one dies, that’s nature’s way. But to deliberately go down the line and say I like this one and this one and this one, :oops:, that one has to go --- OUCH:sad0049: Some must go though, and the sooner the better:hmmm::dunno::help:

[koikeepr]

It's not easy, but you kind of rank them in order of your preference of who you could part with. And if you are re-homing them to a great place, you kind of think about it as charity in that you're making some other family really happy with a neat gift.

[Meganne]

Paul is right, it is natures way, and when you are over stocked nature will take care of the problem for you. so, if it won't bother you which natures chooses ........ :dunno:

[Peppy]

Here's the method I used in the past to decide who must go. I'd buy expensive koi food like the $50 for 4.4 lb koi food. Then I'd take the expensive and the cheap food to the pond. The koi I'd want most to get the expensive food were the keepers. The koi I didn't care if they got the cheap food or that I really didn't want them eating the expensive food; those were the ones to go.

Now there isn't a single koi I don't want eating the expensive food so I'm stuck.

[Squidhead]

I think for the moment I am stocked fine. My fish are pretty young and small and have plenty of room to swim freely. In a year or 2 I will have to reduce the amount of fish or all of them and start over. I have 7 Koi in 1200G.
I would think that by the "rule of thumb" it's easy to say if you are overstocked or not. The thing is, everyone has different types of filtration, water conditions and maintenance schedules. If you have the "ideal" set up where filtration and O2 levels can be at a maximum with your fish load, you are OK. A 5000 gallon pond that has a good turnover rate, a sieve, a large bio-filter that is efficient, a protien skimmer and good pond maintenance where mechanical filters are cleaned when needed and water either changed out regularly or the continuous flow method will be able to hold what by "rule of thumb" is overstocked. I say this because "rule of thumb" is a turnover rate of once every 2 hours. Depending on filter design this may be necessary to keep the "big stuff" in the collection part of the filter. If your filter is designed well and has the capacity to handle a quicker flow rate efficiently, you can "get away" with "overstocking" because you are not really overstocked. Protien skimmers are a huge help with this because they remove the things that cause the problems. A UV that is also powerful enough not just to eliminate algae, but sterilize is another help.

[Coach]

While i can appreciate what is being said here, I wonder to myself if any had ever been to japan and seen a culling or an unplanned spawn in a grow pond where an error was made in sexing one of the occupants.(male) All of the pond is netted and all the fish from the spawn are chucked over the edge in the weeds.
Course we're talking a "business" and not a personal pond. Not all of us are so smittened with the show world, so our priorities do change with our favorites.

Hard to believe but i actually retain and admire a kohaku from Purdin that looks like grace, who took the american breeder's reserve grand champion but does not have a white odome. (gasp) Can you believe it?
I also have two koi given to me as a gift that I appreciate as they remind me of the goodness of friends.
While i do love shows and perfect fish, I learned a long tiome ago, for me atleast, chasing the dream of the perfect show fish was.....just a dream, and the reality is getting a beautiful Koi, that I like, and working hard to allowing it to be the best it can be under my care.

[Peppy]

Looks like according to the poll many are overstocked. I didn't vote because I can't make up my mind. I'm understocked as far as the big 3 (water parameters) but overstocked in that if I fed with abandon, those numbers would surely change for the worse. I'm understocked as far as room and inches of fish according to the basic rule of thumb, but according to some show people, I'm overstocked as far as room and inches of fish.

Squidhead is right. There is so much more to stocking than gallons per fish. I have good turnover (5500 gallons of water and 11000 gph) and air (a 150 lpm air pump and a Pondmaster 100 air pump) but then again those are manufacturers' rather enthusiastic specs before pipe and tubing.

I do around 5% new water daily but some will tell you 10% is a must.

Like any hobby, there are levels. As long as the fish are healthy and you're happy with the results as far as growth and how the fish look, that's all that matters.

[Meganne]

Peppy you can vote in the "just right" box, because right now that is what it is. As the fish grow over the years chances are you will most likely be making some choices..... even if never adding any new fish :lol: like that is going to happen! LOL :giggle:

like you I have to watch my water and the koi to tell me what is up and if it is time to chamge things. I will NOT let MotherNature make my choices for me


Dick, I know someone who sings to the cats to come as she culls !!

[Peppy]

I voted just right but not with much confidence. I'd like to feed more and that means getting rid of fish or adding filtration. Guess I need to add filtration. I had planned to do that this summer but never got that accomplished.

I think I'm definitely building a new pond but I get these panic attacks where I think what if I lose interest in this hobby? Do I really want to be dumping more money into yet another hole in the ground? I think this ponding is quite an addiction.

[ponderpaul]

Do I really want to be dumping more money into yet another hole in the ground? I think this ponding is quite an addiction.

Almost as bad as horses and there ain't no cheap horses that you would have in your pond, I mean paddock -- hmmm wonder if we could come up with an easy way to use fish pooh for fertlizer?:hmmm: They don't make as much, but it may be just as rich as horse pooh. Start a whole new industry!:smiley-happy:
I may have too much time on my hands:dunno:

[Peppy]

That's what worries me, Ponderpaul. I've done the horse thing for about 20 years but really lost enthusiasm a few years ago. I've been keeping fish outside for a little over 10 years now so hmmmm, how many years of interest left? Hard to predict.

[koikeepr]

I think it's normal to have hobbies and at some point outgrow them. Some day one could say, I'm tired of mucking after a horse so I'm done with this. One could equally say, I'm tired of water changes and cleaning out filters and I don't have time to sit by the pond anymore because I'm busy, etc. One may develop an interest in a new hobby that overshadows the first one.

It's all a sign of a developing human.

[Peppy]

Exactly, Meg. That's why I'm wondering how much more money I want to dump into a hobby that might soon be on the down-slope. I've loved both fish and horses since I was a little girl. I don't ride anymore but still have my first riding horse, 21 years in February. Maybe even when I'm not all up into fish, I'll still enjoy having them, just won't be obsessed.

[Meganne]

life is all about levels ....hey! that would mean life is like an elevator :dance:

you know Peppy, nothing ever stays the same, we grow and change. but you can't worry so much about tomorrow, we only have today....so enjoy :big smile:

[Peppy]

I guess worry was overstated. Just taking a serious look at how I want to proceed. I think yes, I'll enjoy the fish for many years even if I'm not as enthusiastic and obsessed, I'll still enjoy admiring them just as I still admire my horse every time I see her. Sorry for using the forum to think out loud, LOL!

[ponderpaul]

reading between the lines, it just may be that there are many of us on the forum that are old enough to have gone through many hobbies and interests.:hmmm: It is much easier to sit and watch the fish now than it might have been 40 years ago.:yes::yes:

[tranquility]

You know the thing I've learned about koi--some can handle alittle neglect and overstocking while others can't....untll just weeks ago I've kept my orginal longfins and domestics 5 of them in a 1,000 gallon poorly filtered(a retro bd with machanical filter and a basket of lava rock for bio) pond with a bit more often water changes and filter cleaning....and I've never had any problems with them...they are as tuff as nails...while my Asagi are soo delicate they can't take anything being off in the pond and get ulcers at the drop of a hat....I enjoy giving them all more room now and better filtered ponds--but, honestly IMO some koi are almost as tuff as goldies--they just need a bit more room....
Lawanna

[Peppy]

Lawanna, you're right about that. My two oldest koi survived terrible conditions that did in all the other ones.

[tranquility]

Peppy quite honestly I don't see how mine survived....I can remember when I first got into ponding--I thought I had a really good filter...it was a sub. pump sitting on a concrete block on the bottom of the pond--hose running into the bottom of a large flower pot filled with pea gravel and quilt batting....It was lucky to get cleaned twice a year....I would have to empty the pond out every fall and spring and the stench was unbelivable...but, somehow they survived and grew.....
Lawanna

[Peppy]

I know what you mean. I tried to put baby koi in a 42 gallon water feature. I didn't know! A sweetheart guy at SuperPetz filled me in so I built a 300-350 gallon above ground and get this, a 3170 gph submersible pump! Talk about turnover! That must have been the only thing saving me back then. I raised a koi for nearly 6 years in that. My black koi started out in that one so I have to keep her after all she's been through. Many perished though.

[Squidhead]

I have always enjoyed my fish or just talking about it in the times when I didn't have a set up or pond. With me it's different levels of enjoyment. Right now I am just enjoying the pond more then anything. Now that the weather isn't so oppressively hot, I am really enjoying it. The last few weekends I have taken the kids outside and built fires in a little fire pit we have. The lighting with the sound of the falls is just awesome. My daughter was asking about the moon so I dug out an old, small telescope I had actually bought for target shooting. I had a slightly better one as a kid and had always wanted a real good one. It's almost impossible to focus in on a planet with a small diameter lens and get a clear view of it. It seemed that just as I would get a close by planet in view, as soon as I would try to focus in for a clear look, the movement was just enough to loose the damn thing. So I checked eBay and found a sweet deal, can't wait for a peek through it. It's one thing to see close up shots of the moon and planets in a book or TV, but it's something totally different to see it "live" and as it is, at the particular moment. Even with our little 50 power telescope the detail of the moon is awesome. Put it all together for a great time.

[Peppy]

Squidhead, you're in the best time of your life, raising kids. My husband worked out of town most of the time and me and the boys had great times together. We used to fish, horseback ride, do hot dogs and marshmallows in the yard on a whim. Good times. My youngest always wanted to go on a picnic. I'd saddle up my horse and little Peppy and we'd ride about a mile, have a picnic, and ride back. All that saddling and getting ready to go only a mile down the road! But it was well worth it.

We had a little fishing hole down the dirt road we used to either walk or take the horses and the kids picked sunfish out of there left and right. Then somebody dumped oil in the damn thing. It was great for years though.

The bus stop was almost a mile from the house and I sometimes picked up the kids on horseback or in the little pony cart we had.

You're doing a great job of making memories and that's what it's all about. Only thing I regret is not taking enough pictures.

[addy1]

woooooooooo hooooooooooo
I need my answer changed lol, walking the dog, looked in pond and we have TWO fishes! They have been in there somewhere for 2 months if not more. One goldie, one shubunkin with a tri tail. About 3 inches long. No clue where they have been hiding. We had put in 4 fish, maybe the other two are there also.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab168/missyjosey/aminations/fish-jumping6.gif

[NewToKoi]

For my 1200 gallon pond plus the ~ 200 gallons in the filtration system, I have 6 koi ranging between 7-10", mostly in the 7-8" range with the largest being just around 10". So I believe I am understocked at this point with my 55 gal S/G filter and 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank bio filter.

By next summer when these grow to around 12-14" each (I hope), then maybe I will just be about right. Thoughts?

[Meganne]

Addy I bet the others are there also!!! they can be invisable when they want to....super hero powers you know!


so excited for you!........ummmm, you did check the "under stocked box", yes? lol!

[addy1]

Addy I bet the others are there also!!! they can be invisable when they want to....super hero powers you know!


so excited for you!........ummmm, you did check the "under stocked box", yes? lol!

no i checked the no fish box lol
cause I thought it was no fish.............