Our number one goal at Niji-Yama Koi is koi health. We adhere to a strict protocol for all our stocks to ensure a healthy and vibrant koi. The Koi Health Protocol outlined below is our standard procedure. We have developed this protocol over 23 years of importing koi successfully. Ensuring koi health is much easier if you follow this protocol as well.
PREPARATION BEFORE KOI ARRIVAL:
-You should have removed all previous koi stock from the receiving tank before new koi are added. Never mix new koi in with previous koi.
-Clean your filters! Remove any residual sludge or muck from the filter system. This sludge or muck harbors potentially bad bacteria which your new koi should not have to deal with. You want the filter cleaned at least a day before fish arrival. This gives the tank water a chance to "settle down" after a filter disturbance. Quite often, a filter cleaning will release potential toxic juices back into the stock tank. Giving it one day after cleaning will allow these juices to aerate out or get trapped back in the filter tank media. If your filter system is less than 5% the volume of your pond you should consider enlarging the filter. The pond turnover rate through the filter should be 1 to 2 turnovers per hour. The filter should be sized to handle this flow rate.
-Change 1/3 to 1/2 of the water to be sure it is fresh and your alkalinity is above 50ppm and closer to 100ppm is better. We keep our koi in very clean and fresh water. We continuously change 1%-5% daily in our stock tanks. We use a freshwater drip system with overflow. 1% to 5% daily freshwater is continuously dripping in and overflowing our stock tanks.
-Check your pH on the day you expect the koi to arrive. The koi in our facility are acclimated to pH of 7.5 to 7.8. However, during shipping, often the pH will drop a bit so it is best if your pH is approx 7.0 to 7.5. You can lower your pH by adding muriatic acid or vinegar to the tank in small quantities until your pH is 7.0 to 7.5. Add a little muriatic acid and wait 1/2 hour to mix and test again. Do not add muriatic acid to tanks with koi still in it. If you need to raise the pH, change more water or add sodium bicarbonate or other carbonate source to bring pH up to 7.0 to 7.5. Test your tap water ph and KH Alkalinity. If you are making daily or weekly small water changes your stock tank pH and KH should gradually stabilize close to your tap water conditions.
-Add pure Rock Salt in the form of 99% pure salt from evaporated salt water. Do not use salt of potassium chloride. This will kill your koi. Do not add any salt that has any other ingredients or preservatives for soft water household tank systems. Just 99% pure salt. This can usually be purchased from Home Depot or Lowes and it will say 99% pure from solar evaporation. Use a good salt meter and add enough salt to bring the salinity to 0.5%. This is approximately 4 pounds of salt per 100 gallons. The 0.5% salt has proven to be a "magic number". All the koi dealers in Japan use this percentage and we have been using it for over 20 years. This level of salt is considered a "stress relieving tonic". It is not a cure all. Newly arrived koi often have osmo-regulatory difficulty until they settle down in the new tank. This level of salt allows the koi's osmo-regulatory system to adapt more easily. It also helps to reduce excess mucous in the gills caused by shipping time in transit. However, that being said, I understand that some dealers are very averse to adding salt because of local water chemistry reasons and you may not want to add salt if your particular situation has proven deleterious. This is very rare. Otherwise, USE SALT at 0.5%. You will keep this level in the tank for up to 2 weeks only.
-Be sure you have a fully oxygenated tank. Add extra air stones or splash in order to ensure 90% to 100% oxygen saturation. Be aware that excess oxygen will drive your pH up so it is a double edge sword. However, your new koi will need full oxygen levels to recuperate from shipping.
- Stock tank temperature should be at least 68 degrees. The koi's immune system does not function well below this temperature. Ideal acclimating temperature is 74 degrees or higher. The koi will be able to adjust and get strong more quickly at these temperatures. Add a 300 watt submersible heater to small stock tanks. You will maintain this temperature for 2 to 3 weeks and then gradually let the temperature drop down to ambient. 74 degrees is wonderful for koi. They can become very strong if fed correctly at 74. However, if your customer's pond ambient temperature is 5 degrees below this then the koi will have difficulty adjusting to the customer's pond. Also remember that parasites and bacteria reproduce more quickly as temperatures increase. You must be prepared to treat for parasites anytime you expose your koi to a rising temperature. Higher water temperatures also require more oxygen.
The above suggestions should be completed the day before koi arrival.
UPON KOI ARRIVAL:
DAY 1:
- Make a final check of your pH. Adjust to 7.0.
- Get the bags floating right away for temperature acclimation. Inspect through the bag for koi condition. If the bag has good inflation and the koi appear well you may float the bag for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes pour the koi and bag water into a large koi bowl. Hand lift the koi into the stock tank. Dispose of bag water. It is not advised to add pond water to the old water. If you adjusted your pH to 7.0 -7.2 then just place the koi into the tank. (If upon receiving, the bag is deflated or if koi appear in bad condition you must pour the koi and bag water into a large koi bowl and add air bubbles. Float the koi bowl in the stock tank 20 minutes to acclimate the temperature.)
- Cover the koi securely for the first 7 to 14 days. New koi are jumpers until they settle down.
- DO NOT MEDICATE OR FEED FOR THE FIRST 2 DAYS. This gives the koi's gut and blood chemistry a chance to settle down and it keeps the water qualtiy high when they need it the most. Just let them rest. At this point what the need most is clean water, temperature of 70 to 76, lots of oxygen and the 0.5% salt.
DAY 3:
- Insect the koi. Give a very small quantity of food just to tease them. Test ph again, it most likely will have gone up and this is normal unless you have poor alkalinity. Check and adjust salinity to 0.5%. Do not let the salinity fall below 0.5% for 10 to 14 days.
DAY 4:
- First dose of medicine. Do not feed on same day as medication.
- We prefer and use only Minn Finn as our preventive medicine. Minn Finn will control all parasites and reduce the bacteria count in the water. However, you must dose properly. Know the gallons of your stock tank EXACTLY. Use the dosage as recommended on the bottle. We have good results using a little less also. You must dilute the Minn Finn in a large koi bowl before adding the the koi tank. Spread and mix the Minn Finn evenly throughout the tank with a cup or bucket. Hot spots will damage koi. Good aeration will help disperse the Minn Finn. Cover the tank and inspect every 5 to 10 minutes. Usually the koi will be a little itchy during treatment and this is normal. If any koi appears in big trouble then terminate the treatment early with the Neutralizer. If koi are handling the bath well leave them in it for 50 minutes and then terminate with the Neutralizer. Mix the Neutralizer in very evenly and quickly. We have been using Minn Finn exclusively since it was introduced to the market with excellent results. That being said you must proceed carefully the first time you use it. Know your gallons and spread out evenly. Unfotunately most hobbyists do not know the gallons of their ponds and will have some difficulty using Minn Finn. Large ponds over 5000 gallons may require two or three people to fully mix in the Minn Finn to avoid hot spots. Minn Finn and salt is a good combination. Minn Finn gets all bugs. You will dose once per week for 2 weeks.
DO NOT USE MINN FINN WITH ANY OTHER MEDICINE.
We understand that there are other medications on the market like formalin / malachite green combos (F/M). You may use these but you must reduce the salt concentration to less than 0.15%. F/M does not kill flukes and it has limited effect on costia or trichodina. If you use F/M you must also dose with a medicine for flukes. Use Praziquantel or Fenbendezol. You can control costia and trichodina with potassium permanganate used separately. Minn Finn does it all when used correctly.
DAY 5: Feed lightly 1 time only. Maintain salt level 0.5% and temperature 70 to 76 until day 11.
DAY 6: Feed a little more food 2 times in one day. Time to rebuild strength.
DAY 7-9: Continue with twice daily feeding.
DAY 10: Second dose of Minn Finn. No food.
Day 11: If koi are looking good it is time to start dropping the temperature to ambient. Do Not Feed when temperature is dropping. Drop only 2 degrees per day until you reach ambient. If your ambient temperature is 10 degrees lower then it will take you 5 days to drop the temperature. No Food. If you must feed the koi wait one full day at a stable temperature before food is given. It takes time for koi digestion to adjust to a dropping temperature. You risk dropsy disease if you feed when temperature is dropping. One day after the temperature has stabilized you may resume feeding lightly. Temperature is one of the most critical parameters to manage and understand.
DAY 12-14: Once temperature is at ambient wait one day and then resume feeding correctly for that temperature. Start making small daily or weekly water changes to dilute the salt back down to zero.
If you have a microscope it is a good idea to check for parasites on day 6 and day 11 after the Minn Finn to be sure the fish are clean. At this point the koi should be in excellent health and can go up for sale.