koi breeding

How to breed koi fish Breed Stunning Koi Like a Pro! [Complete Guide 2024]

Ever been mesmerized by the vibrant colors and graceful dance of koi gliding through a pond? Have you dreamt of bringing those living jewels into your own backyard oasis? Breeding koi fish can be an incredibly rewarding experience, allowing you to witness the magic of life firsthand and cultivate new generations of these captivating creatures.

But where do you begin? This comprehensive guide will be your roadmap to successful koi breeding, equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to ensure a thriving population of these aquatic treasures in your own pond. So, are you ready to unlock the secrets of koi breeding and witness the wonder of their life cycle unfold? Dive in and let’s get started!

Breeding Beautiful Koi: A Simplified Guide

Breeding koi can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it does require patience and dedication. If you’re interested in breeding koi for profit, here are some key steps to follow:

Picking the Perfect Parents:

  • Choose koi with desirable physical traits you want to see in their offspring. Look for vibrant colors, unique patterns, and good body conformation.

Creating a Safe Haven:

  • Maintain a clean pond free from predators like birds and larger fish. This significantly increases the survival rate of koi eggs and fry (baby koi).

Boosting Your Success:

  • Diet: Prior to breeding, feed your koi a high-quality, protein-rich diet for at least a month. This helps ensure strong, healthy parents and offspring.
  • Spawning Grounds: Consider adding spawning mats within the pond to provide a designated area for egg laying.

Remember:

  • Breeding koi is a long-term commitment. Be prepared to care for the fry for several months until they reach maturity.
  • Research is key! Delve deeper into specific breeding techniques and best practices to increase your chances of success.

Enjoy the journey of breeding your koi, and remember, happy and healthy parents lead to happy and healthy fry!

Part 1 in how to breed koi fish

How to breed koi fish Breed-Koi-Fish-Step-1 breeding or sexually maturity of koi fish for females 3 years old and males 2 years old
Sexually maturity of female koi fish is 3 years old and males 2 years old

Choose sexually mature female koi that are at least 3 years old and males that are 2 years old. ???? Female koi don’t reach sexual maturity until they are about 3 years old, while males reach sexual maturity at 2 years old. ????

Wait until they are sexually mature to increase their likelihood of breeding and producing quality offspring. ???? A koi’s prime mating age is between 3 and 6 years old, but koi have also been able to produce baby koi fish until they are up to 15 years old. ???? Koi are about 23 inches (58.42 centimeters) long when they are 3 years old. ????

    Breed-Koi-Fish-Step-2 how to breed koi fish ratio of breeders 1 female koi fish and 2 male koi fish breeder
    Ratio of Koi fish breeders 1 Female 2 males

    Identify at least one female and two males to stay in the mating breeding pond or breeding tank. Male and female koi generally look quite similar. However, during mating season, the males have small white growths on their pectoral fins and faces. Remove any koi from the pond that you don’t want to breed; otherwise, you will end up with unwanted baby koi.

    It is easy to spot males once they start breeding as they will chase the females around the pond. You can check out this video of live koi fish spawning; the two that chase the female are males.

    It is not safe to have multiple male koi in the breeding pond or breeding tank. If you have too many males, the female gets stressed, and the other males will only be interested in eating the eggs.

    how to breed koi fish do not cross breed to maintain the koi strain and quality of koi fish

    Select ???? koi that have the attributes you want to replicate. Consider the attributes you desire for your koi offspring. If you seek a particular fin shape, choose koi that exhibit that characteristic. Regardless of the physical traits you desire, aim to select koi with healthy-looking scales and that are at least 23 inches (58.42 centimeters) long.

    When looking for specific colors, choose koi parents that display those colors. Ensure that the koi you select belong to the same strain to avoid crossbreeding, which can disrupt stable strains and complicate culling processes.

    Avoid using pet koi for breeding, as they may suffer torn fins, bruises, cuts, or even death during the breeding process. Additionally, refrain from using breeders with deformities. If you are concerned about your koi’s injuries, take them to a veterinarian.

    The breeding season lasts from February to May, when water temperatures reach 68˚F (20˚C), and koi reemerge from winter dormancy.

    Koi eggs have only one entrance for sperm to fertilize the egg’s nucleus. In the early stages, the nucleus of the egg develops.

    Koi romance typically lasts a few hours, with experienced breeders introducing the male to the female in the late afternoon. Spawning usually occurs during this time. ????????

    Part 2 in How to Breed Koi Fish Making the Right Conditions for Breeding

    how to breed koi fish breed koi in late spring or early summer
    Breed koi in late spring or early summer

    Breed koi in late spring or early summer. Koi tend to breed when the weather is warm and the water temperature has risen. It is important to prepare koi fish breeding tank and food for koi fry like brine shrimp, hard-boiled eggs etc as koi can produce up to 100 ,000 eggs depending on its size Koi fish can lay incredible numbers of eggs at once. A female koi lays up to 100,000 eggs at one pound of weight

    • If you don’t have the right conditions or enough capacity for baby koi, consider removing the males from the pond during this season. You will need a pond that is 3 feet (0.91 m) deep and 6 feet (1.8 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) foot wide to house 5 koi. For more koi, you will need a larger pond.
    how to breed koi fish koi pond filter

    2) Use a filtration system to keep the water clean. A clean pond is important for the health of the koi and their spawn. Use a specialized koi pond filtration system to keep the water clean during the breeding season. These can be expensive but are necessary for breeding. You need to add the koi fish breeders in the breeding cage with fine mesh so that the eggs will not be sucked in by the submersible pump

    • Pond filtration systems can be purchased from pet stores, specialty fish shops or Amazon for between US$200-US$2000.
    • If your pond is particularly dirty or filled with algae, you may need to completely clean it out.
    pond skimmer net how to breed koi fish

    3)Use a skimmer net to remove any debris or predators from the water. Predators (such as other fish) and debris should be removed from the pond to protect the spawn. Use a skimmer net, or a similar scoop tool, to remove anything that might harm the koi.

    • Skimmer nets pool skimmer net can be purchased from Amazon.com link in the description below.
    • If cats or birds are approaching your pond, cover the pond with netting to protect the koi. Use a piece of netting that is large enough to cover the pond and secure it down with heavy rocks.
    how to breed koi fish feed your koi fish breeders 4 times daily when conditioning them to breed

    4) Feed your koi 4 times per day with high protein feeds and live foods, while you are trying to breed them. Increase your chances of koi breeding by keeping them well fed for the month before you breed them. Feed the koi as much as they can finish in 5 minutes. earthworms, daphnia, black soldier fly, tubifex, duckweed, azolla, shrimp anything that are nutritional food with high protein content same with the pellets it should be high protein like koiking high protein, aquamaster high protein pellets.

    how to breed koi fish floating spawning cage

    5) Place a fry mat in the pond or koi fish spawning brush. This is a flat and sticky mat that gives the koi a place to lay their eggs. If koi can’t find a place to lay their eggs, they won’t always mate. Place the mat in an obvious place at the bottom of the pond.

    • Purchase a fry mat or koi fish spawning ropes from a pet store like amazon or a specialty fish shop.

    Koi breeding mats Place the mats on the bottom of the tank, covering at least 2/3 of the tank’s surface. Koi eggs fall to the bottom of the tank, and will stick

    In traditional koi fish breeding, the koi fry mats, also known as spawning mats, are placed in the breeding enclosure while the parent koi fish are breeding

    How to breed koi fish Koi breeding mats
    Koi breeding mats

    How do you make a koi breeding mat?
    Alternatively, you can use tightly packed Spanish Moss or frayed nylon rope to create the mat. Some breeders even use evergreen branches. Generally speaking, anything that is nontoxic and about 4 inches deep will work. The material also needs to be thick enough to catch all the eggs.

    6) Prepare a separate tank for the adult koi. If you want to breed a large number of koi it is important to remove the adult koi fish breeders as they will eat many of the eggs and actually consume all the eggs. Make sure that the koi tank is clean and has a filter system.

    • If you are wanting to breed a small number of koi, leave the adults in the pond.
    • Purchase a koi tank from a pet shop. For 2 koi, you will need an aquarium that is at least 100 gallons (380 L).[3]

    7) Leave the koi to mate. This process can happen immediately or can take a few weeks. Don’t worry if the koi don’t look interested in each other initially. A storm, full moon, or change in air temperature can help encourage the koi to mate, so be patient and let nature take its course.

    • Once the koi have mated, you will see a froth appear on the top of the water and their eggs will be visible on the fry mat.

    Check out the actual live video of my koi fish spawning

    My Koi Fish Actual live video spawning

    Part 3 on How to breed koi fish Caring for Koi Fry Young Koi

    1) Look for froth or scum appearing on the top of the water. This indicates that the spawn has been released. The spawn is immediately fertilized by the male koi and eggs are formed. removed the koi fish breeders once they stop spawning perform at least 60% water change or transfer the spawning brush or spawning maps to another tank for hatching, then place strong aeration and methylene blue to protect the eggs from fungal attack.

    • The eggs will start to hatch after about 2 to 5 days depending on the temperature.
    • If you are breeding the koi for profit, remove the parents out of the pond as soon as you notice the eggs or the presence of froth on the water.
    how to breed koi fish start feeding the koi fry 10 days from hatching with koi fry pellets
    These are the starter food I gave to my koi fry 4 days from hatching

    2)Start feeding the koi fry four days from hatching since in this time the digestive system is already developed and they don’t have egg sacs already, you will notice it because they are already free swimming, Feed your 4 days from hatching brine shrimp, daphnia or hardboiled egg yolk after 10 days you can Feed the baby koi powdered koi pellets after 10 days. Crush up koi pellets using a blender or mortar and pestle until they are in a fine powder. Sprinkle the powder over the pond. Pour in enough powder to last the fish for about 5 minutes. Feed the koi 4 times per day.

    • Continue to feed the baby koi powdered food until they are 4 weeks.
    • Over time, you will learn how much food the baby koi will eat during each 5-minute feeding session.
    • It can take a few days for the koi to get used to eating the powdered food.
    • Feed the fish 10 days after you notice the eggs.

    3) Increase the size of the food once the koi are 1 month old. Start to introduce crumb size pellet pieces once the koi are 4 weeks old. You will still need to crush the pellets but they no longer need to be in a fine powder.

    4)Cull any weak fish if you are breeding for profit. If you have a small pond and want to breed the koi for profit, you will need to cull some of the fish. Identify the koi that are very small, have physical disabilities or aren’t the color patterns you are looking for. learn more about how to cull koi fry

    Here’s my video on how to cull koi fry I will just create a new English version on this

    • Make sure that the koi are culled humanely.
    • You don’t necessarily need to dispose of the koi. Consider giving them away to friends or family members if they are healthy.
    • Koi can be culled at any age, although, it is best to wait until their patterns emerge so that you can choose to keep the koi with your favorite colorings.

    koi fry growth chart about 0.66mm per day or almost an inch (2 cm) per month which translates into about 9 inches the first year of life. learn more koi fry growth chart

    5) Reintroduce parent koi once the baby koi are 3 inches (7.6 cm) long. Once the baby koi start to get bigger, the parent koi become friendly with their offspring. If you have removed the parents from the pond, this is a safe time to reintroduce them.
    Baby koi take approximately 3 months to reach 3 inches (7.6 cm).

    Koi fish color meaning in koi fish tattoo what you need to know 2019

    How to breed koi fish in the Philippines

    koi breeding tips that will make you breed koi fish successfully here in my place Philippines this is the common breeding method here not so technical only natural method

    koi breeding This is my personal experience on how to breed koi fish.

    I had also included the actual koi breeding step-by-step videos that I had done in koi breeding.

    The videos start with identifying the koi fish genders down to hatching and caring and raising koi fry.

    The most important part is to identify koi fish breeder gender check out the video below

    How can you tell if a koi fish is male or female?

    A mature male koi will have a slender looking body, while a female koi will have a rounded body,

    particularly when it’s spawning season and she’s carrying a nest full of eggs! Next, examine your koi’s fins.

    A male koi’s pectoral fins, the ones near his head, will appear pointed and solid in color

    Also, check the male breeders if they are ready to be breed by checking if they have enough milt and sperm watch video below on how to do it.

    koi breeding setup 

    My koi breeding setup is simple DIY breeding koi pond tank and the materials I used are bamboo for the koi pond frame and Trapal for the liner.

    how to breed koi fish breeding tank koi breeding bamboo trapal koi pond

    how old do koi have to be to breed

    Koi fish are sexually matured when they are about 1-year old already but it is not advisable to breed them at young age

    Why? because the membrane of the female egg is thin yet and the outcome is high mortality rate of the koi fry,

    It is hard to determine koi fish age if you just bought it from somebody else or at the pet store, since sizes will not determine koi fish age,

    because koi fish that are placed in smaller koi pond grows slow, so tendency some will breed even if their sizes are small because of their age are sexually matured already.

    How long is a koi fish pregnant?

    Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. Koi fish typically mate in warmer water in the spring or summer seasons.

    There is no timeframe how long will the female koi fish developed eggs. What you can do is isolate the female koi fish breeder.

    This will make the female koi fish breeder to store and develop eggs.

    You can tell if the female koi fish breeder has enough eggs already by looking at its abdomen.

    The female koi fish breeder abdomen will be swollen

    The mating period lasts about two to three days in which the female lays the eggs upon various surfaces while the male shortly after fertilizes them.

    how often do koi fish lay eggs

    Normally koi will breed once a season on Countries that have four seasons usually spring time.

    Why, because during springtime the temperature is warm and foods are abundant.

    but not always, sometimes it will take warmer water and sometimes colder water.

    Sometimes a sudden change in water temperature and water chemistry stimulate them to spawn.

    Once instance to prove this is I transfer my large female koi to the breeding tank with cooler water

    and when I check her in the morning it had spawn that night already.

    It did make for a mess in her show tank. Some will spawn twice in a year, some won’t and even skip a year.

    Some breeders will induce spawning so that they can develop fry on a schedule.

    I always do this though I am not using an artificial breeding method controlling environment works for me.

    I isolate the female from males and condition both the female and male koi fish breeder

    I can breed my koi fish the whole year round since We don’t have four season here in my place.

    Some koi will spawn later in the year but for the most part the farms time to a part of the season to keep their whole operation running on a schedule.

    What age to breed koi?

    A Koi’s prime mating age is between 3-6 years old, but koi have also been able to produce baby koi fish until they are up to 15 years old.

    Make sure to give your breeding koi couple some privacy when it’s time for them to mate. Koi need a place to lay their eggs.

    How long does it take for koi fish eggs to hatch?

    Your koi eggs will hatch around 4 days after they are fertilized for colder Countries. 2 days for Tropical warmer Countries.

    They will then attach themselves to structure like the side of the tank or pond for 2-3 days where they will be feeding off their yolk sac.

    Is my koi fish pregnant?

    However, your koi will appear bloated and pregnant for up to several days before she’s ready to release her eggs.

    At this point, you could still stop the spawning from happening if you don’t want eggs or baby fish (fry)

    in your pond by simply removing the females from the pond, keeping them separate from the males.

    koi breeding Separate the female koi fish breeder for conditioning 

    Separate the female koi fish breeder from male koi fish breeders. Why? It will help ensure the female koi fish breeder to develop more eggs.

    If female koi fish breeder is mixed with male koi fish breeders in the community pond.

    The males will mate her without your knowledge, so the female koi fish cannot store enough eggs on its tummy.

    how to breed koi fish female koi fish showa breeder Breeding koi fish
    Here is a photo of a koi fish female breeder prior from separating and conditioning

    Watch the video here 

    Feed your female koi breeder and male koi fish breeder high protein koi food pellets.

    Feed your koi fish breeders plenty of live foods and vegetation

    Watch video here

    Live foods for koi fish 

    • Daphnia
    • Earth worms
    • Snails
    • Tubifex
    • Shrimp

    List of vegetation that koi fish loves

    • duckweed
    • green pea
    • wheat germ
    • lettuce
    • water melon
    • azola

    Observe the female koi fish breeder body specifically her tummy region if it became swollen already.

    This is your indicator if the female koi fish is ready to spawn

    You can also apply a gentle pressure in its ventral area if the tummy is swollen already if there are eggs already.

    The eggs will come out if it is ready to spawn.

    One indicator also is the tummy region is soft when touch.

    How to breed koi fish koi breeding female koi fish breeder after separation Breeding koi fish
    Here is the photo of the female koi fish breeder after separation tummy swollen already

    And you can also watch the video here

    Preparing the koi pond for breeding 

    • I change the water 60 % and leave the water dripping slowly this will stimulate them to breed too.
    • Add nesting media I created a floating yarn and net

    how do koi fish mate

    The male koi fish will chase the female koi fish and bump its abdomen to the pond wall or nesting media.

    How to breed koi fish Adding the koi fish breeders 

    I add the koi fish together at 6 pm in the evening and note this was also done at the full moon.

    I check them at 12:00 midnight if they had already bred but there was no koi breeding sign yet,

    a breeding sign is female will gather the nesting media and seems like creating bubbles and males will chase her,

    so I just leave them and then when I wake up at around 5:00 am in the morning they are already chasing and breeding here is the actual video of them breeding watch koi fish actual video breeding 

    Remove the koi fish breeders after they are done mating.

    You will notice if they are already done mating when the males no longer chase the female koi fish breeder.

    You need to remove them fast immediately because after laying eggs they will start eating their eggs.

    Then perform 60% water change this will prevent water to be foul because of the sperms.

    in koi breeding you must always prepare methylene blue for protecting the eggs.

    Place methylene blue to prevent the molds attacking the eggs.

    how fast do koi fry grow this will depend on the temperature of the water the climate the faster they grow because warmer temperature stimulate their metabolism and this will trigger them to eat fast.

    What do koi fish eggs look like?

    Koi like to lay their eggs on pond plants, spawning mats, or spawning ropes. … Koi eggs are tiny and translucent.

    They can range from milky white to yellow or green. After the next two days, the koi fish eggs will hatch

    Here is a video of a koi fry growth chart watch it here

    koi fry growth rate in the first week from hatching their sizes are about 1 cm and their koi fry color are all yellow yet.

    you can watch this video of my 1-week old koi fry

    how fast do baby koi grow to depend on the temperature, size of the pond and sources of live foods.

    If you feed them daily with live foods they grow too fast also if your temperature is warmer they tend to feed more in warmer temperature because warm climate makes their metabolism fast, so they get hungry all the time.

    koi eggs hatching depends on the temperature here in my place which is tropical and warm koi eggs hatch in 2 days in colder region koi eggs hatch for 7 to 10 days.

    3-week old koi fry
    what do baby koi fish look like It really depends on the stage for the first-week yellow, second week two colors appear black and yellow, third week 3 colors? If you want to see baby koi fish fry see my video below

    1-Week Old Koi Fry Video

    2-Week Old Koi Fry in our koi breeding 

    3-Week Old Koi Fry

    4-Week Old Koi Fry Video

    5-week old koi fry video

    5 week old koi fry

    6-week old koi fry video

    Here is the vidoe of my 7-week old koi fry now

    Update of our koi fry today, they are now 8-week old koi fry, here’s a video below

    Update today the koi fry are now 9-week old koi fry their number decreases because

    I was not able to remove the tobi koi fry and last week also the water quality was degraded because some of the clams died and also their pooh increase already since they are growing to watch the video below

    Here is an article about Tobi koi fry from http://www.raingarden.us

    THE NATURE OF TOBI
    Steve Hopkins
    Rain Garden Ornamentals
    June 2007
    Anyone who breeds koi knows about tobi. In other species these are often called “shooters”.

    They occur in goldfish spawns too. They are the fry that grow to juvenile size very quickly.

    They are noted for eating their smaller siblings.

    Most tobi koi do not have the refined characteristics the breeder is looking for, although some do.

    I have never seen a good explanation of how and why tobi develop.

    If anyone knows of an authoritative description, please let us know. Until then, I will give you my off-the-wall
    theory about tobi.

    I think tobi are hard to explain because there are two factors at work, genetics and blind luck.

    Genetics: Koi and goldfish carry in their genetic code remnants of everything that come before.

    A top-notch pair of gosanke or ranchu carries all the genetic material needed to make the ancestral common carp or crucian carp from which they were derived through selective breeding.

    They also have all the genetic material needed to recreate the incremental steps in their evolution.

    In the offspring from a pair of sanke you will find kohaku, higoi and perhaps even a magoi.

    A group of ryukin offspring may include individuals with characteristics of wakin and common goldfish.

    The more ancestral forms are always more hardy.

    Left to their own devices and allowed to breed indiscriminately for many generations, a population of koi will revert
    back to something resembling the ancestral common carp and goldfish will revert back to something resembling a crucian carp.

    In a group of sibling fry, those with a more primitative genetic make-up will be just a little bit stronger and faster giving them a slight advantage when it comes time to eat or avoid a predator.

    But, in the world of fish fry, a slight advantage can become amplified many fold.

    There is a snowball effect. A fry that gets just a little bit bigger than its siblings is better able to
    capture and compete for food so it grows faster.

    The larger the size disparity, the bigger the advantage. So, over just a few weeks time an individual that is just slightly
    larger than its siblings becomes ten times larger than its siblings.

    At some point, the size disparity becomes so great that the larger individual can eat its siblings providing it
    with a new limitless food supply.

    The snow ball effect escalates. Blind Luck But, how can some tobi be excellent examples of highly refined koi or goldfish and show no signs of being a throw-back to an ancestral form?

    I think it is because there is a blind luck factor at work as well.

    Imagine a group of larvae which have absorbed their yolk sack and are ready to begin feeding.

    Perhaps some arrive at this stage a few hours ahead of the rest because they were spawned first or their position on the spawning substrate was a fraction of a degree warmer then the rest, or because of some other factor.

    The larvae instinctively dart at a moving food particle.

    Some times they catch it and sometimes they miss.

    They are growing extremely rapidly and catching one or two extra choice food morsels can make a difference in that growth rate.

    Some individuals are just lucky and are able to get a tiny bit ahead of their siblings.

    As described above, a very small advantage can quickly snowball into a large advantage.

    An individual with no innate genetic advantage can become a tobi just through bind luck.

    Another Observation In some batches of fry the size distribution is large and there is an unusually large number of tobi.

    In other batches the size distribution is narrow and the siblings look almost identical.

    In general, the better the fry are fed the less variation there will be in their size.

    If abundant live food can be kept in front of the fry at all times while maintaining good water quality, there is a much lower incidence of tobi.

    Under the best of conditions the growth of fry is phenomenal and most of the population (except for those with serious deformities) has the potential to grow at the rate of tobi.

    The best way to minimize the number of tobi is to provide better nutrition and husbandry.

    The biggest and best koi and goldfish will have had the best nutrition and water quality their entire lives.

    Periods of less than optimal conditions can have long-term effects.

    In extreme cases, we say that the fish is stunted.

    The younger the fish, the more severe and lasting the effect of poor nutrition and water quality.

    Tobi are considered by most to be undesirables.

    If they are genetic throw-backs then they probably are undesirable. However, you should be on the look-out for those fish

    which have both the genetic potential to meet your selection criteria and the good luck to have gotten off to a fast start in life and become a tobi.

    It is always a good idea to separate tobi if you can; especially if they have become large enough to be cannibals.

    But, do not automatically assume they have no potential.

    I’ve got koi fry –now what!? A stepwise approach to raising koi fry

    Update of my koi fry check out this video

    How to breed koi fish people also ask

    how to breed koi

    How do you breed koi carp in a tank?

    Make sure you place a net over the breeding tank because once the koi begin breeding, the process will become aggressive and violent, and you don’t want your koi fish to end up on the floor.

    Once a female begins nosing around breeding areas, she is ready to begin breeding. Add a male to the tank.

    How long is a koi fish pregnant?

    Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. Koi fish typically mate in warmer water in the spring or summer seasons. The mating period lasts about two to three days in which the female lays the eggs upon various surfaces while the male shortly after fertilizes them.

    pregnant koi fish

    Spring is when koi generally spawn. … They don’t give live birth, and the eggs are fertilized outside of the body, so there really aren’t baby koi in your fish either way. However, your koi will appear bloated and pregnant for up to several days before she’s ready to release her eggs.

    Pregnant Koi Fish. “Pregnant koi” is a term for female koi who are filled with eggs they are ready to lay. Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. … The mating period lasts about two to three days in which the female lays the eggs upon various surfaces while the male shortly after fertilizes them.

    How long does a koi fish stay pregnant?
    Koi do not get pregnant and are not live-bearers. Koi fish typically mate in warmer water in the spring or summer seasons. The mating period lasts about two to three days in which the female lays the eggs upon various surfaces while the male shortly after fertilizes them.

    How many eggs does a koi fish lay?
    To answer your question a adult female Koi carp depending on its age and size can lay any were between 100,000 to more then 1,000,000 eggs. Out of these these eggs around 50% to 60% hatch.

    How long does it take for koi fish eggs to hatch?
    4 days
    Your koi eggs will hatch around 4 days after they are fertilized. They will then attach themselves to structure like the side of the tank or pond for 2-3 days where they will be feeding off their yolk sac.

    How do koi fish give birth?
    Koi do not give birth to live young but instead deposit eggs in a method called spawning. Spawning means to produce eggs or young in large numbers. Koi are known as “egg scatterers” because they scatter their eggs all over when releasing them during spawning.

    How long does it take for koi fish to grow?
    Taking a koi from 8-10″ to a mature show koi is about 3-4 years of daily work.

    Then you have about 4 years where they have reached the champion size 6 or 7 or so.

    They still keep growing as they get older but it may slow down to an inch a year or so.

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    Koi spawning behaviour occurs once per year, usually over a period of a few days. … Like most fish, koi are egg layers, and once the female sheds the eggs they they will stick to whatever they come in contact with

    How often do koi fish reproduce?
    The fish typically spawn when water temperatures are 65° to 70°F. In many ponds, this typically happens between May and June – in late spring and early summer, when the birds and bees start to get busy! Give Them a Love Nest – Like you and me, koi like their privacy when it’s time for them to mate.

    But here in my place Philippines which is tropical country not four season. We can breed koi fish whole year round. We only feed it plenty of live foods and high protein foods then they will be trigger to spawn

    koi breeding setup

    Steps
    Choose koi that are at least 3 years old. Koi don’t sexually mature until they are about 3 years old. …
    Identify at least 1 male and 1 female to stay in the mating pond. Male and female koi generally look quite similar. …
    Select koi that have attributes you want to replicate.

    koi breeding guide

    Steps. Choose koi that are at least 3 years old. Koi don’t sexually mature until they are about 3 years old. Identify at least 1 male and 1 female to stay in the mating pond.

    Male and female koi generally look quite similar. Select koi that have attributes you want to replicate.

    koi breeding equipment

    The Equipment · You will need at least two tanks: one for breeding and an additional hospital tank. Both must be able to contain at least 200

    To breed koi outside of the pond, you’ll need several tanks (polyethylene is acceptable) and other items.

    You will need at least two tanks: one for breeding and an additional hospital tank. Both must be able to contain at least 200 gallons of water.
    Each tank needs its own: filter, water pump, heater, air pump, airstones and a net cover.
    You will need spawning brushes for the breeding tank

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    why aren’t my koi breeding

    There are many factors that why you’re koi fish did not breed, one maybe it is too young to breed. The right breeding age for a female koi fish is 3 years old and males are at least 2 years old.

    Maybe your koi fish breeders are not fed enough and condition enough for them to stimulate to breed. Koi fish are a trigger to breed when they have enough foods since it mimics springtime where there are plenty of natural foods.

    Feed your koi fish a lot of high protein diet specially live foods to induce them to breed.

    Making the Right Conditions for Breeding. Breed koi in late-spring or early-summer. Koi tend to breed when the weather is warm and the water temperature has risen.

    If you don’t have the right conditions or enough capacity for baby koi, consider removing the males from the pond during this season.

    How do I get my koi to breed?
    Part 2 Making the Right Conditions for Breeding
    Breed koi in late-spring or early-summer.
    Use a filtration system to keep the water clean.
    Use a skimmer net to remove any debris or predators from the water.
    Feed your koi 4 times per day while you are trying to breed them.
    Place a fry mat in the pond.

    How do I know when my koi is ready to breed?
    Female koi are visibly rounder than male koi, especially those that are ready to lay eggs.

    Males are slimmer in appearance, and may develop roughness on their gill plates when ready to spawn.

    Choose mature koi only for breeding, i.e., they should at least be two years old (younger koi will produce weak offsprings)

    koi carp breeding age

    A Koi’s prime mating age is between 3-6 years old, but koi have also been able to produce baby koi fish until they are up to 15 years old.

    Make sure to give your breeding koi couple some privacy when it’s time for them to mate. Koi need a place to lay their eggs

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    There are many factors that make your koi fish did not spawn maybe they are too young, female should be at least 3 years old and males should be 2 years old, they don’t have enough nutrients to make them spawn female needs high protein and plenty of live foods to develop eggs same with males, they don’t have the right privacy, you need to separate your female and two males in the community pond and place them in the breeding tank for them to spawn, give them the right environment conducive to breeding like freshwater, spawning media etc

    when is koi breeding season Spawning season usually takes place in the early mornings during May and June. As the koi prepare to spawn, the males will start following and showing interest to the most receptive and fertile female

    how to select koi for breeding Choose healthy fish; the male should be older than 3, and the best female age window is between 5–8 years (males have no age limit) Generally, it is recommended that you pick your two best-looking koi to breed. When choosing your male and female koi, look for healthy fish.

    why aren’t my koi breeding Koi tend to breed when the weather is warm and the water temperature has risen. It is important to be prepared as koi can produce up to 1 million eggs. If you don’t have the right conditions or enough capacity for baby koi, consider removing the males from the pond during this season.

    When koi prepare to spawn, the males begin chasing after the females, nudging their sides with their mouth and fins. This encourages the female koi to lay

    Koi romance takes a few hours, and experienced breeders place the male with the female in the late afternoon.

    what makes the best clay for breeding koi This is the same reason that Champion Koi breeders add mineral rich clay to their koi care routine that emulates the mud ponds in Niigata, Japan.

    Is clay good for koi?
    Image result for what makes the best clay for breeding koi
    Adding It to Food

    Koi clay helps improve the overall health of fish in a variety of ways. Your fish will experience improved water quality, better skin luster and enjoy a better environment, but when koi clay is ingested by fish and/or added to their food, they get even more benefits.

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    Koi need a place to lay their eggs. The fish typically spawn when water temperatures are 65° to 70°F. In many ponds, this typically happens between May and June – in late spring and early summer, when the birds and bees start to get busy!

    how do koi reproduce
    Like most fish, koi reproduce through spawning in which a female lays a vast number of eggs and one or more males fertilize them. Nurturing the resulting offspring (referred to as “fry”) is a tricky and tedious job, usually done only by professionals. … Koi produce thousands of offspring from a single spawning.

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    breeding koi for profit

    Knowing how to do it, though, is another matter altogether; let’s review exactly what you need to do in order to breed Koi fish for profit

    Raising the bright orange or red koi, an ornamental fish that’s both beautiful and valuable, requires careful consideration and unique resources in order to create a profitable business. … Getting started with raising koi fish requires a small pond that holds about four to six feet
    raising koi to sell


    when do koi fish lay eggs

    The fish typically spawn when water temperatures are 65° to 70°F. In many ponds, this typically happens between May and June – in late spring and early summer, when the birds and bees start to get busy!


    selling koi for profit

    The fish typically spawn when water temperatures are 65° to 70°F. In many ponds, this typically happens between May and June – in late spring and early summer, when the birds and bees start to get busy! Give Them a Love Nest – Like you and me, koi like their privacy when it’s time for them to mate

    But there is an exception in warmer tropical countries they can spawn whole year round because tropical countries’ temperature is like May and June temperature is warm and have plenty of foods.

    How old does a koi have to be to breed?
    3-6 years old
    A Koi’s prime mating age is between 3-6 years old, but koi have also been able to produce baby koi fish until they are up to 15 years old.

    Make sure to give your breeding koi couple some privacy when it’s time for them to mate. Koi need a place to lay their eggs

    How do I know when my koi is ready to breed?
    Female koi are visibly rounder than male koi, especially those that are ready to lay eggs. Males are slimmer in appearance, and may develop roughness on their gill plates when ready to spawn.

    Choose mature koi only for breeding, i.e., they should at least be two years old (younger koi will produce weak offsprings).

    how to get koi fish breeding

    Choose koi that are at least 3 years old. Koi don’t sexually mature until they are about 3 years old.

    Identify at least 1 male and 1 female to stay in the mating pond. Male and female koi generally look quite similar.
    Select koi that have attributes you want to replicate.

    koi breeding

    In this video We will learn how to breed koi fish, how to setup breeding tanks, how to identify koi fish gender, what to feed koi fish breeders so that they will be stimulated to breed

    1. Step 1 Identify koi fish gender

      identify koi fish gender

      Identify koi fish gender if it is male or female, Why? You need to separate female from the male koi fish gender so that the female can store enough eggs
      Check out my videos on how to identify koi fish gender
      And this video on how to identify butterfly koi fish gender

    2. Step 2 Separate the female koi fish

      female koi fish breeder

      In step 2 We are going to separate the female koi fish breeders from the males so that the female koi fish breeder can store enough eggs.
      in this stage We will also feed her enough live foods and hi protein rich koi food.
      The live foods I recommend are, daphnia magna, earthworm, shrimps, brine shrimp, black soldier fly larvae and duckweeds.

    3. Add the koi fish breeders in the breeding tank

      add the koi fish breeders i

      After a few weeks later when the female koi fish abdomen became large it’s time to add them to the breeding tank during late in the afternoon. The ratio is 1 female and two males

    4. Koi fish breeders ratio

      ratio of koi fish breeders

      The ideal koi fish breeders ratio is one female and two males do not add more than 2 males if there are too much males some will loss interest in spawning and will be interested in eating the koi fish eggs only.

    5. Female koi fish full of eggs

      female koi fish full of eggs and ready to spawn

      Check female koi fish abdomen if it is bloated already this means that it has plenty of eggs and ready to spawn already

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    how many koi when breeding

    at least 1 male and 1 female in the mating pond you’re using. You can spot the male koi during the breeding season, as they have white growths on their pectoral fins and heads. Feed the koi 4 times per day during the breeding season to increase the chances of offspring.Some breeders use two males for a single female during breeding to maximize the yield of the propagation.

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    Get Your Breeding Ponds In Order. The next most important aspect of breeding Koi fish is having a high quality space for them to live and grow

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    add the koi fish breeders i

    To breed koi for a profit, it is important to choose koi that show the physical … any koi from the pond that you don’t want to breed; otherwise you will end up … be because you don’t clean the water thoroughly enough before you put it in the tank.

    How to breed koi fish in Japan

    Step 1
    Introduction Breeding Program

    Step 2
    Preparations Koi Fish (Parent Koi)

    Step 3
    Start Extracting Eggs (Female Koi Fish)

    Step 4
    Extracting Male (Male Koi)

    Step 5
    Mixing eggs with Male koi

    Yamakoshi, Niigata. A mountainous area where the majority of the Japanese Koi breeders are located. It’s the beginning of June and its very hot with high humidity. Exactly the conditions that the Koi Breeders need for their new offspring.

    It is an exciting moment for the Shintaro koi farm in addition to the normal activities. this will be a long day and night for the entire staff.

    This time of the year it’s time for the parent Koi to spawn and the important period of breeding and growing up Nishikigoi takes place. In the course of this program we follow the Shintaro Koi Farm during the entire breeding process.

    In this episode the Shintaro Koi Farm will show us exactly how breeders in Japan. breed koi, from the preparations for the nursery to the actual breeding program.

    We do not skip anything, and we show everything from the beginning to the end.

    The footage that you will see in this Program, in both part 1 and part 2, are very unique and exclusive. It is at most special that a koi breeder gives us access during this process. Nothing can go wrong on this day all ponds have been cleaned with military precision and only fresh water ensures the perfect conditions.

    Every smallest deviation can ensure that the fraggle eggs will not hatch.Fortunately, the Shintaro Koi Farm is a very experienced koi farm led by Masaru Seito.

    Knowledge and experience have been transferred from generation to generation. Masaru San will be assisted by the entire staff including his tune sons Kensuke and Kosuke. Both will have to do everything themselves in the future and.have an important role in this breeding process today. The Shintaro koi farm is known for their very high-quality Go-Sanke and jumbo koi that sometimes grow up to 90 cm. But before a fish reaches that length each fish is on the. same journey and at the Shintaro koi farm this is the starting point.

    This is the breeding house, during Cultivation, guests are usually not allowed or only in very exceptional Cases. Both males and females are placed in the ponds. When the females ready to Hatch, the male and female koi are placed together between the spawning ropes. With a little help from the staff several

    couples will successful contributes to the new generation of Nishikigoi tonight.It is around 10 o clock in the evening and the fish are in the mood. It will not be long before the first female fish release their eggs. Because the eggs have to be collected everyone is alert to the first signals. You can only do it once.

    When the time is right Massaro son will start the whole process.

    Finally, the moment is there: the females are ready to release their first eggs.

    Kensuke and Kosuke catches the females Nishikigoi and let them settle in a separate tank before the process can actually start.

    It is very important that the Showa female settle down before the eggs are extracted.

    Kensuke San therefore allows to show how to swim in a separate tank for about 1 hour. Tonight, the farm will spawn two sets of Showa two sets of Sanke and one set of the Kohaku variety. Most with human intervention but the Kohaku’s will spawn completely natural. Every year the Shintaro koi farm gains more insight into the development of the different bloodlines with the aim of striving for perfection.

    For that reason all data is kept carefully the amount of eggs and for example the water temperatures.

    The koi will be put to sleep briefly so they don’t notice anything from the egg removal.

    Everything happens in an animal friendly way where the health of these

    koi are the most important thing. Parent animals are the foundation of any Koi Far,

    so all parent animals deserve only the very best care.

    It is absolutely very important that the fish are very calm, the faster he or she

    will fall asleep. This will make removing the eggs or sperm much faster.

    It is finally going to start and the female Showa is first to act. The opening and belly are now cleaned with a saline solution to ensure that all germs are removed.

    After drying the fish the koi is wrapped in a towel and the extraction can start.

    the Eggs are gently massaged loose and collected in sterile Bowl. The Nishikigoi is completely under anesthesia and does not notice the entire process at all.

    Because the Nishikigoi sleeps all her muscles are completely relaxed so all the eggs can be removed. It is very important that all eggs are collected.

    If you do not do this properly it can cause future health problems for the Koi. Once all eggs have been collected the eggs are carefully packed and weighted.

    The female is immediately returned to recover from their extraction.

    Several hundred thousand eggs of this Nishikigoi are ready to be fertilized.

    With the seed of the male koi it is time for the next female. After this the first male will donate his sperm and fertilize all the eggs.

    What you can clearly see is that this female has a swollen vent. A sign that the Koi is ready to start.

    This koi has considerably more eggs than the previous one, It differs per fish and based on the weight of the eggs an estimate will be made of the absolute numbers.

    Once outside everything is ready to fill the first pawning ropes with the fertilized eggs. But before that, a man have to be added to the process.

    Back in the koi house the staff noticed that the Kohaku’s can continue without people’s help. These eggs are fertilized in a natural way and after that they will be collected.

    The sets of Kohaku are put together. Because these Kohaku’s can reproduce without the help of the breeder, the focus for now is on the male fish from which the sperm must be collected.

    It is now almost two o’clock in the morning and the cultivation is now running at full speed like well-oiled Machine. The team works together to successfully complete the mission.

    The male koi is now well asleep and the collecting can finally start.

    An empty syringe is used and the contents are then placed in a large jar with liquid. It is very important to collect as much liquid from the male as

    possible so that the maximum number of eggs can be fertilized.

    Once ready the fish is given a shot of antibiotics and allowed to relax in one of the ponds.

    It is time for perhaps the most important part of this video!

    The eggs are mixed with the sperm. The koi are about to become parents to hundreds of

    thousands of their own offspring. Masaru San divides the eggs and mixes them with

    the seed one of the male fish. Masaru uses a sterile dividing tool which ensures that the fertilized eggs can be distributed evenly over the spawning ropes.

    Thousands of koi are now at the beginning of their life journey.

    One that may end up in your own pond or at one of the largest Koi shows in the world.

    Maybe the future Grand Champion can be grown here in one of those tanks. The eggs will,

    attach to the hairs of the spawning ropes. Within minutes they are clearly

    visible and it will only take two days before the first eyes are visible.

    After three days the eggs will hatch.

    Even the eggs that do not attach to the spawning ropes will accompany their…

    brothers and sisters at the bottom of the tank. It is now well into the night and the tiring and hard work has paid Off. The last eggs are collected from one

    of the female fish. I’m very grateful to the Shintaro koi farm for their

    hospitality and support for the channel. These unique images provide an insight into their work by one of the most famous breeders from Japan. At the end of

    the video I’ve prepared two new videos for you that you must see. In part 2 of this program the eggs will hatch and the fish will be selected.

    How to breed koi fish in Japan

    Breeding high-grade koi is a very complex subject that has intrigued breeders for centuries. In this chapter we enter the magical world of the famous Japanese breeders to find out how they perform miracles every season to produce bountiful selections of fantastic Nishikigoi. We then go on to see how we can put this knowledge into good practice to improve the breeding of the koi in our own ponds.

    Left to their own devices and given the right conditions, koi will naturally spawn in late spring or early summer.

    The art of the professional fish farmer/breeder is to breed a particular variety of koi regularly and with consistent results.

    Hopefully, after successive spawnings over a number of seasons, a perfect specimen will have evolved. As in the case of many prized animals, such as cats, dogs and horses, a pedigree line is developed.

    This entails a broodstock of near-perfect males and females, brought together simply for the process of procreating and producing the perfect offspring. The same principles relate to the breeding of high-grade Nishikigoi.

    Although koi are bred successfully in the Far East, Israel. South Africa, the United States and Europe. Japan is still the home of Nishikigol, so we will examine the success story of the breeders there.

    Breeding Nishikigoi in Japan


    Several areas in Japan are important for the high-grade ko they produce, notably Hiroshima, Shizuoka, Saitama, Toyama and Kyushu, but the prefecture of Niigata remains by far the most distinguished. Here you will find many well-known resident Nishikigoi breeders and their fish. Kawasawa, Shinoda, Hosokai and Dainichi read like names from a “Who’s Who” of koi-breeders.


    Modern koi-breeders, even those following in their father’s footsteps, have probably studied fish farming at university and traveled the world, learning the complexities of fish genetics and breeding methods.

    Fish farming in Japan does not only mean the breeding, subsequent spawning and growing on of a breeder’s own fry. Some farmers just buy koi fry or even the eggs and grow them on in their own stock mud ponds.

    This But purely a practical answer to the lack of Spaccaggrow.efon prized kol from the top breeders. Although the ud ponds are vast and hold enormous
    stocks of key, they are only available during the summer growing period. ponds are emptied during the October harvest and do not contain any stock until the following May.

    All stock is brought down to the breeders’ winter holding facilities, which are usually located near their homes.

    The koi are then over-wintered in purpose-built, greenhouse-style facilities that contain many huge ponds for bringing on their prized new-season Tategoi (certain fish chosen by the breeder for their prospective potential) and their broodstock.

    Japan and preeding are synonymous with the famous mud ponds” in which young fry and Tategoi are grown on. These man-n ponds are sited on hillsides close to the paddy fields t they once served.

    These days, far more money is made selling Nishikigoi around the globe than from a kilo of rice! New ponds are dug with excavators, the clay istamped down by machine to make them impregnable to water and smoothed off for the benefit of the koi and the ease of netting them later.

    The ponds vary in size, but range from 60 m² (646 ft2) to many hectares, while the depth usually depends on the size of fish being grown on; up to 1 m (39 in) for fry, to over 3 m (10 ft) for the larger fish.

    Stocking levels for these gallons) of pond water. This level of In early s stocking allows for up to four culls throughout the summer growing season.

    The summers in Japan are extremely warm (above 30°C/86°F), which means that the ponds need heavy aeration.

    This is achieved using large compressors or paddle-type machines that agitate the water surface. Both methods force air, or dissolved oxygen- the best aeration possible – into the water.


    There is only one predator of koi (other than man) that causes problems for the breeder. The indomitable heron is a problem in Japan, just as it is in the rest of the world.

    Both the tried and tested nylon line and elevated moving scarecrows are used to deter herons from the moment the mud ponds are stocked.

    Preparing the mud ponds


    In early spring the mud ponds are drained off and allowed to dry out. The ponds are then rotavated and pure lime is added to the mud. The lime not only kills off any parasites that may

    be lurking in the mud, but also helps to increase the pH of the very acid, natural spring water from the mountains that is used to refill the pond.

    The breeder then adds phosphates and minerals to the pond base before it is tamped down again, ready for refilling. As well as being very acid, the spring water also has a high mineral content, so the water in the pond tends to turn green very quickly.


    A few days before spawning, chicken manure is added to the mud ponds and this produces millions of natural infusoria (a class of protozoa- a minute, waterborne life form) and essential food for young fry.

    The newly hatched fry requires vast amounts of infusoria to sustain its growth rate from day one.

    Tategoi also enjoy this diet when they are returned to the new season’s refreshed mud ponds, having been overwintered in the indoor ponds.


    Meanwhile, the indoor spawning pools are also made ready. They are drained down and cleaned thoroughly, and the filters are replenished with new oyster shells that help to raise the pH of the water. The pools are then refilled with exactly the same

    Preparing for spawning During May, the pools are prepared for the actual spawning A large rectangular spawning net about 1 m (39 in) deep is suspended within the pool to prevent the mating koi from damaging themselves on the sides of the pool.

    Soft, artificial spawning grass (kin-ran) is then attached to the bottom of the net to induce spawning. In June, the brood koi are introduced to the spawning pool. Mature females (over 5 years old) and males (over 4 years old) are normally used for breeding.

    Experience has shown that younger females do not produce sufficient eggs, while males do not produce sufficient milt (sperm) to fertilize all the eggs, making spawning commercially uneconomical.


    For a natural spawning, one female is introduced to three males. In general, spawning takes place within two days of the fish being placed in the pool. With the help of artificial grass to improve the breeding environment, the female drops her eggs, which are immediately fertilized by the male.

    The ambient water temperature should be about 17°C (62°F). Spawning nearly always occurs very early in the morning and takes between 5 and 9 hours to complete.

    A mature female can shed up to 400,000 eggs at one spawning. A member of the breeding team is always available during the mating process to oversee “fair play” and check on the female’s condition.

    The parents are quickly removed from the pool to an outside mud pond to recuperate and to prevent them from devouring their offspring. The pool with the newly hatched eggs is then treated with a mild solution of malachite green to prevent fungal infection (Saprolegnia) from affecting the eggs.

    After spawning, the water quality of the pool is constantly checked for ammonia, nitrite and oxygen levels, and, where necessary. spring water is continuously trickled into the pool, creating gentle but constant water change. Heavy aeration is maintained at all times to Produce the high dissolved oxygen levels required. Depending on the water temperature, the eggs hatch in 3

    The fry


    After hatching, the fry resemble tiny transparent slivers with eyes and a yolk sac. At first, they live off the yolk sac, and their swimbladder gradually inflates, but within a day they become horizontal in the water and free swimming.

    Now the fry are about 7 mm (0.28 in) long and appear pale yellow. They are soon darting around in short bursts, hunting for food.

    At this stage, they are carefully transported to the enriched waters of the mud ponds to grow on during the summer season. The first cull takes place a few weeks later. The mud

    pond is carefully harvested, using huge, fine nets to avoid damaging the stock. About 80 percent of the stock – fish with deformities, or specimens showing poor color, size and shape are culled.

    The rest- those already showing signs of good color or pattern-are retained. By this time, they are about 1.25 cm (0.5 in) long.


    In late July, when the fry are about 2.5 cm (1 in) long, a further cull takes place. This time, about 50 percent of the fry are retained and their food is supplemented with powdered fry food, suspended in baskets in and around the ponds.

    The third cull takes place toward the end of August, when about 60 percent of the fry are retained for growing on and the rest are destroyed.

    The baby koi, now approximately 5 cm (2 in) long, are fed mainly on pelleted food. During late October, when the fish reach about 10 cm (4 in), the mud ponds are completely harvested.

    Now only the best Tosai koi (less than 1 year old) are finally selected for growing on in the indoor winter ponds, some of which are heated. A further 30 percent are destroyed and the rest are sold off very cheaply, mainly at auction.

    These are the koi that are sometimes grown on in countries such as Thailand and Taiwan and sold cheaply around the world as Japanese-bred koi.

    You can now appreciate why the quality of koi to come out of Japan is so high; every fish will have survived as many as four separate culls, purely on merit.

    Artificial spawning methods


    Some countries outside Japan spawn koi to order, using hormone injections of gonadotropin (removed from the pituitary gland of donor wild carp) to induce an almost instant spawning.

    The method is widely used throughout the world for the mass production of fish destined for the food market, such as trout and salmon.

    However, Japanese Nishikigoi breeders frown on this process, which they consider poses a risk to their valuable broodstock, and because the natural method still produces more fry than they can economically handle.


    Other spawning methods employed in modern kol breeding include “chipping.” Here, the parent male and female are tagged with a microchip placed just beneath their scales.

    The fish can then be readily identified within a breeding program to ensure it “throws true” when attempting to breed a specific variety.

    This is a term used in breeding programs to describe the offspring from a particular spawning.

    If the subsequent progeny are identical to the parent (even in the case of cross-breeding a planned new variety) and have not produced any “throw-backs” (fish varieties of unknown origin and parentage), then the offspring are said to have “thrown true.”

    The information is collated and used for subsequent spawning to achieve the perfect progeny.

    Breeding your own koi


    Breeding your own koi can be the culmination of a dream. There is nothing quite like the achievement of bringing a living creature into the world and being involved in its development; in the case of koi, this means from the moment the egg hatches until it grows to full maturity.

    The following will enable you to tread in the steps of the revered Japanese breeders and perhaps even produce a winner in your local Open Koi Show. However, you should not take the breeding process too seriously. Expense

    how to breed koi fish flock spawning in progress
    Above: Flock spawning in progress. The males coerce the female into a corner and encourage her to spawn in the blanketweed. The eggs are transferred from the algae (left a holding facility before the parents eat them.

    dictates that you will not be able to match the “big boys” from Japan. Even on a very small scale, koi breeding is not cheap, either in terms of money or time, but it is still a very worthwhile experience.


    Natural spawning


    Kol are oviparous breeders, which means they lay eggs. Once shed, the eggs fall to the bottom or surrounds of the pond and stick to any plant matter or other object in the pond, thanks to a sticky secretion on the outer surface. The survival of the fittest begins right away; remember, only the strongest, but not necessarily the best, will survive.


    Koi will spawn naturally, given the ideal water conditions and a temperature of 17°C (62°F) or higher. As the water temperature rises in spring, be prepared for the fish to spawn “en masse.”

    This is known as flock spawning and can produce many koi, but their quality will leave much to be desired. The size, color, and patterns of these koi will be generally poor, although they may be perfectly healthy.

    Sexing koi


    Koi-keepers often ask, “How do I tell the sex of my koi?” The answer is that even a professional breeder finds it very difficult to sex small koi. As a general rule, koi measuring less than 25 cm (10 in) are presumed to be sexually immature,

    but once past this stage, the sexual organs begin to develop. Mature females are generally plumper in the belly region, whereas mature males tend to be more sylph-like and narrow- (2 bodied when viewed from above. In male koi, the pectoral fins are usually longer, and the ventral fins are longer and more pointed than in females.
    When males are ready to spawn, fine, white, raised spots called tubercles appear on the head, gill plates and the leading edges of the pectoral fins. They resemble grains of salt and are often mistaken for- and treated as – white spot (Ichthyophthirius) by the inexperienced koi-keeper, so it is vital to appreciate the difference.

    The tubercles are most prolific on the pectoral fins, where they occur in fairly regular rows and feel slightly rough. The male uses them during breeding when he constantly nudges and chases the female to induce spawning.


    Having sexed suitable koi, it is best to separate the males from the females in early spring, before any spawning activity takes place.

    Planning for spawning

    There is obviously an advantage to planning a spawning. so that you can control when your fish will mate. By having everything ready for a planned spawning you can start to develop your own strain of koi in your own breeding facility.

    If you can divide your pond into sections using floating net cages, so much the better. If this is not feasible, you will need a separate breeding tank. Use either system before the actual spawning to keep the males and females totally separate.

    You can make temporary net cages from very fine net curtain material draped over and tied to solid 40 mm (1.5 in) or 50 mm arrow- (2 in) pipework. Form the pipework into a large rectangular al fins shape, using 90° bends so that the net can float in the pond, while the bottom is weighted to create a “pool within a pool.” The breeding area will now be completely enclosed within the Dots net, which protects the fish and retains all the eggs.

    Now follow the professional breeders’ regime and tie spawning ropes to the bottom of the netting to replicate the fishes’ natural spawning grounds. This method is perfect, as er, so it the mating is really quite physical. Most fish, particularly the female, usually end up with scale damage after all the buffeting regular and bumping involved. Place the parent fish (one female to three males) within the breeding net a few days before the Female anticipated spawning.

    Alternatively, use the excellent spawning ropes or floating males spawning cages now available. Spawning ropes are made of fine nylon bristles twisted around a central wire, similar to the brushes used for filtration purposes, but much longer. They are suspended within the pool and imitate underwater plant fronds. When spawning is complete and the ropes are covered in eggs. remove them to a separate facility for hatching.
    activity

    Floating cages resemble breeding nets, but are much smaller and generally round. The eggs adhere to the soft nylon acility. fronds on the outside of the netting. When spawning has occurred, turn the cage inside out, which protects the eggs and subsequent fry from their parents, although both can remain in the same environment. This method is good for both fry and broodstock and causes them the least amount of stress.

    How to breed koi fish A floating spawning cage
    How to breed koi fish A spawning rope green spawning ropes represent pond vegetation remove the ropes with the eggs to a safe haven for hatching and growing on
    how to breed koi fish dried foods for newborn and small fry

    You can make a breeding tank from any large container with an adequate surface area that can sustain some form of filtration and aeration. Always check where containers have come from and what may have been in them; certain materials or liquids could prove highly toxic to fish.

    A purpose-built quarantine tank can “double up” satisfactorily as a breeding unit. When required, top up the secondary tank with identical pond water, so that there is no difference in water quality. This will ease the stress on the broodstock when they are moved.


    The spawning


    Now you can apply the same principles to breeding as a professional fish farmer. Clean the breeding tank (if you are using one) and make sure that the water quality and aeration are perfect.

    Use the same ratio of parent fish for breeding, namely one mature female to at least two or three mature males.

    This should result in near-perfect spawning, with all eggs fertilized. Put the brood koi together and if they are ready to mate, the males will soon be chasing the female vigorously, nudging into her rear end, trying to induce her to release her eggs.

    This mating ritual is known as the “spawning dance.”


    This magical moment usually happens in the early hours of the morning after a warm night. If you wish to play the expectant parent, it really is an amazing sight.

    The early morning quiet is broken by the sound of violent thrashing the water and the surface of the pond becomes a bubbling mass.

    The mating procedure will last most of the morning and then the pond becomes motionless; in fact, an eerie stillness descends.

    When everything has settled down, the first thing is to remove the parents from the breeding area.

    This entails lifting your koi from the floating breeding net or separate breeding tank and returning them to the pond or, if you are using a floating spawning cage, turning it inside out.

    This is to save the eggs from the predatory instincts of the parent fish, which look upon their newly laid spawn as first class beluga caviar!


    The eggs can either be left in-situ or taken to another hatchery tank containing similar water. In both cases, treat the spawning media containing the eggs with a mild solution of malachite green (3 parts per million) to sterilize the eggs for 10-15 minutes.

    It is true that some breeders do not do this; they believe that the eggs absorb the chemical, which has a toxic effect and causes congenital defects.

    Caring for the fry


    Depending on water temperature, the eggs take 4 to 7 de to hatch, although they do not all hatch out together.

    Once hatched, the fry live off their yolk sac for 2 or 3 days and then require a constant supply of liquid or powdered fry food.

    Provide a high-protein diet, but take care not to pollute the water. The best advice is to feed little and often, and test the water constantly for ammonia, nitrite and oxygen content.

    Aerate the water well, but not so severely that it damages the small fry. Strong water currents built up by the airstones can easily lead to the fry being buffeted against the sides of the pond.

    If the young are held in a separate tank, keep the filtration at a low flow rate so they are not dragged into the filter media.

    To avoid a buildup of toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite within the hatchery tank, consider installing a constant water change facility, whereby a trickle flow of fresh water is in constant operation, thus avoiding major water changes later on.


    Liquid or dry fry food is readily available from koi dealers and aquatic outlets. Choose a liquid fry food specifically for egglayers.

    It contains extracts that help form instant infusoria on which the minute fry can survive. Add the liquid to the water via a droplet bottle two to four times each day. The

    dried alternative is supplied in a dust-like powder, but performs in exactly the same way as liquid food.


    risk that a water After a few weeks under ideal conditions, the fry will readily accept broken-up flaked fish food or good-quality, powdered From koi pellets.

    You can even add montmorillionite clay to the for large water on a regular basis to supply valuable trace elements in readily absorbed quantities, providing the fry with a really small healthy start.

    Because koi do not have a stomach, continue “preda feeding little, but often. Good-quality, dried, tropical fish food holding is a useful addition to the diet of small koi as it contains many if they trace elements, plus animal Once and vegetable extracts.

    Your local aquarist center may also stock frozen fry food, such as Daphnia and bloodworm, which will all be readily accepted. This is a much safer method of feeding “whole” food than catching your own; there is always the

    risk that you might introduce a waterborne parasite from a natural pond.
    From an early stage, check for larger than average fry: these may be eating the smaller fry. Remove the young “predators” to a separate holding facility or cull them if they show any deformity. Once the fry reach 5 cm (2 in), they should be feeding on good quality dry food, either flake or mini pellets. From then on, maintain your regular feeding program.

    Pay attention to the water conditions to avoid any problems resulting from poor water quality. One of the problems of breeding koi outside Japan is that countries with a temperate climate do not enjoy the same long and very hot summers.

    Those extra few weeks of feeding enables the fry to grow stronger before the onset of winter. In early autumn, consider heating the breeding facility to extend the summer or bring the young fish in from the cold.

    A large aquarium in a shed, garage, greenhouse or outhouse is the most successful location for overwintering them. When spring comes, you can return them to the garden pond, healthy and well-fed.

    Keep records
    Remember to keep a record of your successes and failures. The log should show all the details of your brood koi, both male and female. A diary" of the breeding program and relevant information, such as the prevailing weather conditions, etc., will help you when you start breeding your own fish and may even contribute to improving the quality of future generations. Record all deaths due to illness or damage. The accumulated information will help you in future breeding seasons.


    Culling

    how to apply cologne Apply right after you shower onto dry skin. · Hold the spray bottle 3–6 inches from your body. · Apply cologne to heated areas of your body.

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