Breeding Koi can be both fun and worthwhile especially when money is involved. Who doesn’t love extra cash, right? With a lot of time, money, patience and dedication, you could very well be on your way to creating your own personal gold mine. There are some critical steps involved in breeding Koi, and for the average person it may be a turn-off, but for someone who understands the full financial gain, this is only a small sacrifice to score the “big win”.
It would be ideal to keep in mind the saying that, “Nothing happens overnight”. This is so true. Like with most things, breeding Koi is going to take real time and real dedication. This is definitely not one of those projects you want to jump into headfirst, not if you still want your head at the end anyway. Set realistic goals, so at the end, whether the result be good or bad, you are not left totally disappointed.
Money, money, money and plenty of it. The goal here is to make money, but when starting a business venture, a lot of times you have to put out a substantial amount of money in order to get a huge return later and this also applies to breeding Koi. Koi, unlike the usual fish we hear about are very expensive to breed. You want to ask yourself questions like: Can I really afford to breed Koi?, If so, how many?, What colors will I breed, What do I want them to look like, About how big will I want them to get, and if you don’t already have a Koi pond or don’t feel the one you have is big enough then another question may be “Where will I store them?” If you can answer these questions, then very soon you will be in business. Be well prepared financially to bank roll this idea because between purchasing the mating Koi, Koi’s food and equipment, you very well may be on the road to shutting down your business before it ever gets off the ground.
Do research. You probably didn’t get up one morning and decide you want to breed Koi. There are plenty of other people who are breeding Koi or will do so in the future, so read about breeding Koi from others like yourself who are either already doing it, or may know someone who has done it; this will prevent some major mistakes on your part and save some of that money that breeding is supposed to bring in for you. Practice and studying does make perfect. You might even want to frequent Koi breeding forums on the internet. As computer savvy as you are, I am sure you will find everything you are looking for right on the internet.
Technical Koi Information
Let us get technical about breeding koi! Koi was first identified in Japan, to be a multi colored fish in the carp ethnicity. Its special or most dominant feature is in its outer skins vibrant colored spots that give impression of decorated fish. And the name Koi stands for friendship in Japan and may be it is the reason for most of Japanese people to cultivate koi around their household. In Japan koi stands for friendship and love!
With dates back to eighteenth century, koi breeding got the popularity in Japan. Later this fish was spread thru out the world and except the Polar Regions, koi fishes are every where. This fish is adored by all the civilizations around the world. Their huge growth rates have worked as a boon for any koi breeder, economically and socially. The huge growth potential from single parenting koi fish is something a trend that took away the world in the beginning of last century. Even, there are records that too much koi fishes have vastly affected major water ways in different countries. There growth rate holds the economic prospect for any breeder.
Though the breeding started when some ancient farmers noticed the stunning colors in their rice fields, now they are more or less staying in the ponds or tanks. Those farmers took few of them, got some taste and start to think about cultivating them. They have later identified ways to manipulate the colors on these koi fishes. Especially the Kohaku, Sanke, Showa, Tancho, Asagi, Shushi, Bekko, Goshiki, Ogon, Koromo, Butterfly Koi and Ghost Koi are greatly praised round the globe. Their coloring, patterns, scaling are different and distinguishable to each other.
The reproduction process of koi fish is similar to that of other fishes. The female koi fish hatches numerous numbers of eggs, and then it becomes the duty of male koi fish to fertilize them. The female koi fish lays eggs in numbers of hundred thousands. So it is a crowd going to fill any pond likely in few months time. Baby koi fishes are referred as fry. When these hatched eggs are cultivated, fertilized and nurtured, hundred and thousands of fries fill the pond or incubating tanks. This is the reason why some water ways got blocked for koi fish. Think of a two generation cycles from single parenting koi fish.
You get a minimum of hundred thousand koi fishes in few months. Then these hundred thousands fishes will lay eggs reaching their maturity to hundred thousand times to their number. Could you figure out the number? I could not. What I can say, a pond filled with fishes instead of water! This spiraling and spawning of koi fish holds the economic prospect of the koi breeder.
It is only the aqua culturist or koi fish breeder specialist can perfectly nurture the fries. And they need to have patience to do this type tedious job. They can understand which parenting fish to use, how to nurture the fries to get desired colored koi. The main technical aspect of koi breeding depends on the reducing defection rate. Most of the laid eggs do not produce healthy and sound offspring. It is the breeders’ task to cull these defective offspring thru different stages and controlled environment. As not all the offspring pass thru the culling process, lots of fries are used as fish food for other fishes. Only the survived koi that are good in size, shape and color are sold.
Barebones Requirement for Koi Pond
Whatever you’re reason for wanting to start a Koi pond; you may find the range of options to be quite overwhelming. It is feasible to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on your Koi pond before even purchasing any fish! If you’re just starting, however, you may want to start with something a little more budget friendly to determine if Koi ponds are right for you. This guide will cover the absolute essentials of setting up your first Koi pond for just a few hundred dollars and some honest elbow grease. In the future, you may become a very successful Koi breeder, but for now let’s focus on setting up a functional pond that do well enough to keep your fish healthy and happy. After you get the pond in place, functioning, and stable enough to support the Koi you purchase—then, and only then, would you truly be ready to sink into the investment of purchasing the Koi fish themselves.
To begin, you will need the following five items:
1.) A Pond Liner – Simply put, a pond liner will hold the water in your pond. If you dig a hole in the ground and put water in it, it will be absorbed into the soil (unless you’re talking about a LOT of water). Furthermore, you want to separate you Koi’s environment from outside contaminants as much as possible. Consider either uPVC or Butyl; both are readily available from your local home improvement store. If your hole has lots of sharp rocks in it, you may want to purchase some extra layers or padding to protect the liner. Since the padding will not come in contact with the Koi, anything resistant to shredding will work, even an old rug.
2.) A Filter – You cannot have a Koi pond without a filter. Your filtration needs will depend on the volume of your pond, which means that if you want to save you should start will a smaller pond. Unless you are skilled in fabricating your own aquarium filters, you would be best served by purchasing a filter in the store. You need a filter to remove debris, bacteria, and toxins from the water. If you’re working on a budget, take a good look at the filter prices and their recommended replacement intervals making sure to factor that cost into your calculations.
3.) A Pond Pump – This will work in conjunction with the filter to clean your pond water. It is absolutely essential to your Koi’s survival to have a working pump at all times. If you can afford it, you should always keep a backup pump on hand in case of a failure. Make sure to check with your aquarium supply dealer regarding pump efficiency. A general rule of thumb is that your pump should be able to circulate the entire pond’s volume within a couple of hours.
4.) A UV Clarifier – This is a special piece of equipment that fits between the pump and the filter. It uses UV rays to help the filter remove algae from the pond water. Algae are a special concern in Koi ponds since it is often too small to be caught by most filtration systems. The UV rays will cause algae particles to bond together so that they are large enough to be filtered out of the water. It is feasible to remove algae from the pond by chemical methods, but this is considered hazardous to the Koi.
5.) A Test Kit – Even experts need test kits. The quality of your Koi’s water must be checked frequently. One of the most dangerous chemicals to your Koi is ammonia, which can be detected by neither sight nor smell. You will need two different types of test kits, one for pH, and one for nitrate (which will indicate filter performance). Ensuring the quality of your Koi’s water is a major factor in how long they will survive.
Buying Your First Koi
If you’re out to buy yourself a Koi for the first time, you might feel a little intimidated; and you probably should! Owning and raising Koi is a very large and considerably diverse field with many, many options for a beginner. You could spend a couple of hundred dollars for a new fish or thousands for just one. Let’s take a moment to discuss a few points of interest on buy Koi, and provide some tips on how you can avoid overpaying for your first fish.
Try Dealing Locally
This can’t be stressed enough when it comes to buying Koi. There are many variables when dealing online or a through a seller directory when it comes to buying live animals that can lead you to a bad deal. There are many stories of buyers travelling long distances to purchase Koi, only to find something different than what was advertised. Also, some of the larger Koi dealers spend great amounts of money on advertising and sales promotion; avoid paying for this by doing the research yourself. And in the case of ill merchandise, or any other problems, it is always much easier to arbitrate a solution with a local dealer than you have met in person.
Purchase Koi Young
As a general rule, the older and more developed a Koi is, the more it will cost. The only exception is a fish that has matured to full adulthood and is now descending toward old age. This is because of the heavy time investment and diligence required to raise a Koi to adulthood. Adult Koi are also capable of breeding and thus creating more Koi. It will always cost more to “purchase the goose that lays the golden eggs.” Given the high value of these animals, a breeding Koi will be more expensive and even harder to find.
Make Sure the Koi is Healthy
Despite their size and hardy appearance, Koi are very delicate animals. They have very specific conditions in which they thrive, and often can become ill with only a small amount of neglect. Like humans, not every affliction the Koi can carry is immediately visible by the eye; however, there are several things that a prospective Koi owner can watch out for. Physical damage to the fish is the most obvious warning sign. If the animal seems to have suffered trauma, it may have been psychology damaged as well. Animals with uneven or damaged scales might be trouble-makers, causing problems with other fish in the community on a regular basis. Also have a good look at the fins, and underside if you get a chance. It should be pretty obvious when something is wrong. If the fish is oozing any bodily fluids, it has likely been damaged recently. Study the fish for abnormal behaviors.
Inspect the Seller’s Facility
It would be prudent to request a visit to the seller’s raising facilities instead of simply viewing the Koi inside a display tank. You should be concerned and have reservations is the facility is not clean, or has an abnormally foul odor. Take note of how many Koi the seller keeps in one enclosure. Too many is a very bad sign. If you can’t visit the facility, try asking for pictures, or at least asking the deal about his Koi raising practice. You want to be sure the Koi you plan to purchase are a good investment and will not end up wasting your valuable money. No one likes to waste money – especially on something that you can’t get your money back for!
Check for Overbreeding
Overbreeding is what occurs when a Koi breeder mates his fish with other fish that are closely related to it. This can lead to several problems, including unattractive animals. The most obvious sign of this is the appearance of the Koi itself. All Koi should have well-defined patches of color. Colors should not appear scrambled or blend each other.
A Quick Guide to Koi Breeding
Like most fish, Koi carp lay eggs instead of bearing live offspring. In fact, Koi are known to lay thousands of eggs at a time. This process may sound easy and promising if you’re considering breeding Koi for fun or profit, but many factors must be exactly right for even a small percentage of these eggs to survive so don’t get your hopes up just yet. This article will explain the process of Koi spawning.
The first component of Koi breeding is a pair of healthy, mature Koi. The actual art and science of raising healthy Koi is outside the scope of this article, but there are many resources available. If you can raise healthy Koi, however, they will reach sexual maturity as early as three years of age. Sometimes they will not start breeding until they are almost four. It depends more upon their physical growth rate than age. A pregnant female will be relatively easy to notice among other Koi. They will, of course, appear larger, mostly in the abdomen. Pregnancy, however, does not equate to fertility in the fish world. The eggs must be fertilized by a male, and determining when a male is ready to breed is not as easy.
The next most-important factor is an appropriate breeding setup. Generally it is preferable to conduct Koi spawning in controlled environment, separate from the other Koi that you may have. Since the water parameters most appropriate to encourage breeding are somewhat stressful on the Koi, it is best not to place the entire flock under this type of strain unnecessarily. Also, when keeping the spawning pair separate from the rest of the flock, you can better ascertain the type of Koi you will produce if you are trying to cross-breed. Furthermore, you will have much more control over the fate of the eggs, which will improve the overall survivability of your Koi babies.
The ideal setup will have plenty of room for both fish. Expert opinions vary, but temperature should be somewhere around 2-5°C higher. Always remember to give the female an area to lay the eggs; they will need something to attach to. Plant matter tends to work best, but even experienced breeders have been known to use a solution as simple as a mop head to save costs.
Always keep the eggs separate from the rest of the flock. If left open to the adult Koi, they will likely be eaten. Additionally, it is best if there are some “private” areas within the breeding enclosure, basically anything that gives the impression of a nest. Again, some plant matter or even fish netting will work well for this effect.
Koi will naturally breed in the spring. They can sense the time of year through changes in the water temperature. It would be considered extremely difficult to simulate this, so it is best to allow this to occur naturally. If the pair will breed, they will very likely do it in the morning. All of the conditions must be just right. If they do not breed, try adjusting the water temperature; it may be too cold or too warm. Make sure they are well fed. You can keep trying, but it is only recommended to keep the Koi in the breeding enclosure for a few days at a time. They may perish if exposed to the high temperatures for too long.
The eggs, if fertilized, will hatch in seven to ten days after the spawning. While it was said that Koi will lay thousands of eggs at a time, do not raise your expectations that each one will survive. Not all of the eggs are going to make it and you should not expect thousands of little Koi swimming around for your money making. Make sure that you set your standards lower and don’t base your budget on the hopes of thousands of Koi offspring in each batch of two mature Koi.
Maximize your Profits
One of the most fundamental issues concerning breeding Koi for profit is the quality of the parents. The Koi parents will be responsible for producing more and more offspring, and so if the source is tainted/less than ideal, then so too will the children. Many would-be Koi breeders will gasp upon hearing the asking price for a top quality Koi parent, in reality however this should be seen as a business investment rather than a business expense.
Professional breeders have been known to spend tens of thousands of dollars in order to secure a premium parent, and in this business, it is quality that counts and as an absolute bare minimum figure, you should expect to pay no less than $1000. It is crucial that you are well aware of the various figures and amounts involved in this business prior to you actually entering into it. Given the high value of this particular commodity, (and the high costs associated with it as well) having sufficient money both in terms of the capital sums as well as ongoing expenses is a necessity.
Plan your business, your current assets, and your current resources very carefully. In the Koi breeding business, you tend to have to rely upon ranges of numbers, rather than exact amounts. For example, an adult Koi female when pregnant can give birth to anywhere between 50,000-500,000 eggs and whilst not every single egg will fertilise and grow, a significant proportion will. You need to draw an average figure as to what percentage of the laid eggs do not develop into Koi fry, and then write that off as a bad debt, this will have to be included in your profit margins as an expense. You may need to charge more per fully grown Koi fish in order to offset this drain on your finances.
50,000-500,000 is an exceptionally high number by any stretch of the imagination and even with the percentage of the eggs that will fail to grow into fully fledged fry, you are looking at a lot of fish that will gradually grow in size! Again, you will need to be intimately aware of the amounts of food that they consume, in order to ensure that they have enough and do not starve. You may find that some of your fish will grow faster than others and thus as a result, dominate the food supply meaning that weaker and smaller fry cannot access it. It is these small details that you have to be the most stringent and in control of, if you want your breeding Koi for profit to have any sort of measure of success. In the words of that timeless adage:
“Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail.”
Will you separate the fish from one another as they grow and develop, and achieve their varying stages of maturity? This may become essential in the event that a small number of fish end up bullying and dominating the rest of the pool. Having the fish segregated from one another will also help make it your system more organised and methodical, allowing you to start additional breeding with newly developed adults, in order to continue the cycle of growth. However, just because the number of fish being born is increasing, does not mean that your profit margin is. Make sure that you are at least breaking even before you begin to expand.
Final Word
No one knows what type of outcome you are expecting, except you and since you are the one executing, it will get nothing less than the best effort that you can put forth. Stay ahead of the game. You may not have initially began this venture with an interest in breeding Koi, but most often you will find money is an incredible motivator. Whatever you do don’t give up. The best jobs are those where you can have fun while you work, so be persistent but find newer and more fun ways to accomplish your goal, and in this way, you will be able to stick around and watch your investment grow right before your very eyes.
Okay folks, that's today's home business idea. See you Monday. Have a great weekend.
Terry
