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Comment by Sahib Punjabi on October 23, 2010 at 9:36am

Hello Christian,
I think that Sylvia makes an excellent point. I have kept Koi for over ten years and have found the following book very helpful "Koi for Dummies" by R.D. Bartlett & Patricia Bartlett. Well worth the investment :-)
Here is an extract related to your first part of the question (as far as keeping them together, I do believe that there is a person keeping such in an aquaponic system in Florida...it then becomes hard to select between pets & eating fish)

"Do You Have the Space It Takes?
You have two basic considerations to bear in mind when deciding how much space you’ll allot to your koi. The first and most obvious point is the actual size of the fish and the swimming room that they need. The second point is less apparent but just as important. Koi have hearty appetites and produce huge amounts of nitrogenous wastes. An appropriately large volume of water dilutes ammonia and other toxic substances so they’re less harmful to the fish and less burdensome on your filtration system.
Calculating a koi’s fin-flippin’ space
Several long-tested formulas can help you figure out how many koi fit in your pond or aquarium, and they all work off the simple concept that bigger fish need more space than smaller fish. The formulas give different answers, so for the sake of not driving you crazy, take the middle road. As if you haven’t noticed, koi-keeping isn’t an exact science; it’s science mixed with art.
Crowded koi have less margin of safety than uncrowded koi. Figure 1
⁄2 inches of fish per square foot of surface area. To avoid crowding your fish and allow for growth, stock your pond well below the upper limits of the formula. For example, in a 6-x-9-foot pond, the formula allows 81 inches of koi or ten 8-inch koi..."

....Size of Inches of Koi in a pond with surface area of 6 x 9 feet:
at 1.5” (per sq. ft. of pond surface area), 81 Koi,
at 8" 10, at 10" 8 and at 12" 7 Koi

Comment by Sylvia Bernstein on October 23, 2010 at 8:52am

Christian, I would imagine the rules of thumb would be about the same since to my knowledge we usually aren't modifying stocking density by species. I'd go with about 1 per 5 gallons of water, or if your bio-filter is very mature you can move that up to 1 pound per 5 gallons of water, but it is generally better to understock than overstock..

Comment by Christian James on October 22, 2010 at 3:19pm

What stocking density works well with koi compared to tilapia? a lot less or nearly the same? And has anyone grown them with tilapia in the same tank?

Comment by Sahib Punjabi on October 11, 2010 at 6:59pm

Hello Peter,
I purchased my 200 good quality Koi (2 to 3 inches breed in Florida from one of the best Koi farms in Florida :- Blackwater Koi ( http://www.koisale.com/ ). I explained what I wanted them for and they agreed to sell them to me as a non-dealer. I paid $1.75 each, thus $350.00 or so and I believe shipping was $35 or $50.
Yes a lot more expensive than the Channel Catfish (100 for $30.00), but you know, given that I love keeping Koi, I may just use them exclusively in the future...after all, who knows, I may strike "Gold" with some of them if I am to believe the prices what some of them sell for :-)

Comment by Growitright Aquaponics on September 14, 2010 at 2:10am

oops..here's the link www.olomanagardens.com

Comment by Growitright Aquaponics on September 14, 2010 at 2:03am

Do you know of ? They are located in your area and are a great resource.

Comment by Gus Cabrera on September 8, 2010 at 8:04pm

I've just started to research the possibility of growing koi in my AP system. I have talked to an individual in Lumberton, Mississippi who sells fingerlings and is a knowledgeable source on koi and other fish. I hope to visit him possibly in the next couple of weeks and will report my findings. I can tell you that he charges $30.00 per pound of koi fingerlings and he informs me that depending on size, you can get about 30 fingerlings. It's good and fun to be a part of this group.

Comment by Growitright Aquaponics on September 4, 2010 at 2:48pm

I have been experimenting with Koi for the first time. I love them. They are incredibly beautiful fish. They do however, have a reputation for disease and parasites. So far, the couple I have are doing great. They are in their own tank.

I am wondering...who is currently using Koi in their system? Is their anything special you should use at start-up to you keep your fish healthy that will not eliminate the beneficial bacteria already present in the tank?

Comment by Sahib Punjabi on August 14, 2010 at 8:15pm

200 good quality Koi (2 to 3 inches) arrived on Thursday August 12th. 2010. I have posted a photo after one day...coming up to eat from hand :-)

Comment by Emma Lysyk on March 7, 2010 at 12:56pm

Awh, hehe. Yeah, it would be different if I had a pond, or bought them with the intention of eating their offspring later, or had a friend who didn't mind killing the fish for me. As it is, I see and observe every one of them and all their quirks and personalities.

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