Koi

[Josette Portelli]

Can anyone please tell me how many Koi should I have in a 1000Lts IBC tank for 3 growbeds?

[George]

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You might be better off stocking lightly to begin.

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

I have been considering Koi for a while now but they end up so large that over time you will need to remove some of them. After some research I decided on the Shubunkin breed that max out at about 8-12 inches and are much less expensive. They are also at many major pet store chains for a couple bucks a fish.

You really don't need a a lot of fish for 3 IBC grow beds, maybe about 1/2 to 1 pound per grow bed feeding about 10-20 grams of food per square meter of grow bed per day.

George's recommendation to stock lightly is wise, you can always add more but is harder to find a home for unwanted fish.

[Josette Portelli]

thanks for your replies.At the moment I have ten koi and their size vary from 3 to 5 inches.  The thing is that I am having trouble with plant growth. Dying leaves, browning at the edge of leaves, very slow growth and now the lettuce died also. I give the liquid seaweed every other day and chelated iron every 2 weeks. If you have other suggestions I would app your help!!

[Josette Portelli]

More pics.

[Josette Portelli]

[Alex Veidel]

Although its a little hard to tell because the picture is a little blurry, the white flecked leaves look like spider mite or thrip damage.

I would say the slow growth is coming from a phosphorus deficiency because of the purpling leaves. Phosphorus is used to make cellular energy (ATP). One of the functions it's used for is moving excess sugars produced in the leaves down to the roots. When the plant runs out of energy, the sugars accumulate in the leaves and you get purpling leaves.

Leaves browning around the edges and falling off could be calcium deficiency. You can supplement calcium with dried ground eggshells, dolomitic lime (also a good source of magnesium), calcium bicarbonate, etc. All of those options will raise your pH though.

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

What is the PH of your system?

[Josette Portelli]

Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair said:

What is the PH of your system?

The Ph is 7.2. NO3 is between 25 and 50. NO 2 is 0. GH is 16 and KH is 3