Things You'll Need:
- Aquarium Air Pumps
- Aquarium Filters
- Aquarium Water Test Kits
- Aquariums
- Shovels
- Yard Sticks
- Buckets
- Shovels
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Step 1
Understand that April to July is the best time for koi to mate. Try for a one-to-one ratio of males to females when breeding.
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Step 2
Take into consideration the age of your fish. (Koi that are too young or too old may not breed as easily.)
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Step 3
Look for female koi to become bloated when they're carrying eggs. Add a similar-sized male koi to the pond at this point.
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Step 4
Help the fish to form a natural nesting area with synthetic brush or willow cuttings submerged underwater. The fish will nest beneath the brush.
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Step 5
Expect the breeding pond to appear cloudy and give off an unpleasant odor immediately following the spawning process.
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Step 6
Keep in mind that koi will lay thousands of eggs at one time. The eggs need to be separated from the adults to prevent them from being eaten.
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Step 7
Expect the eggs to hatch within a week.
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Step 8
Plan to feed the baby koi as often as five times a day for the first few months.
Comments
mommyhen42 said
on 3/15/2009 Thank you for your article. I just noticed one of my Butterfly Matsuba koi is HUGE with eggs, I didnt expect a spawn this year. So I guess I will have to move her and at least 2 of my other Matsuba males to a kiddie pool and put is some sticks, I hope she gives me enough time to get the water green enough first...
Bill said
on 11/5/2006 I have found all the above information extremely helpful. I have just started keeping koi's so every bit of info is very educational. Thanks Bill (South Africa)
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Koi are considered immature until they are 3-4 years old. Color is not relevant to sex. Males stay long and lean. Females get a low bulge, often a flat tire-look to their lower rear half. Good spring protein will help get them ready for spawning, but don't feed protein foods before 60-65 water temperatures. Start with similar koi for the best results, showa, sanke, kohaku or Ogons of similar color. The percentage of attractive fish is low to start with; it will be much lower dissimilar fish are used. Females won?t go into a spawn naturally if there is not enough dominate males to complete the full egg stripping, nor would you want them to. Females that start releasing their eggs must finish or the eggs will rot inside the body and will poison or kill the fish if not removed. A ratio of 2-3 males the same size as the female is recommended.
Koi literature states they will spawn as the water passes over 70 degrees F, but my experience is that will go after the water has been raised this high and a cool spell brought it down once, and the second time they hit 70 they are triggered.
Koi eggs are individual tapioca-like spheres. They may cover roots and stick to the sides, but they are all independent. Those long strings of sticky eggs with black-grey centers that get wrapped around plants are frog eggs, not koi or gold fish.
Spawning material is a big plus both for inducing the spawning as well as helping to protect the eggs from being eaten from the adults. This is also needed if the eggs are being removed to a separate area to hatch and mature.
Water hyacinths have been the best for harvesting the eggs and they hold more than most artificial media. A problem with this is mature koi will consume these if they are in the pond for long. The larva also hang and hide in the roots so plan on the plants staying in with the new fish if you use them. Eggs take 3-5 days to hatch and then 2 days to absorb an egg sack. Do not start feeding until the fish are swimming horizontally in the water. They will hatch out and hang on the sides until they are ready. Air stones are needed to keep the water moving and aerated. Pumps will suck up and kill the babies. Unless extreme diffusion is done to stop water currents from sucking up the fry, don?t use pumps until the fish are larger than the openings and strong enough to avoid currents pulling into the pumps.
I love to feed micro worms in place of brine shrimp. They only cost for a starter culture, and can easily start many cultures from one small one for heavy feeding. The micro encapsulated foods are great as they resist fouling the water and need to be consumed before the high protein/high surface area foods break down. I feed them through a wire coffee filter to ensure the particle size is small enough for the larva and fry.
Constant water changes and water quality checks are a must. I found you need to siphon off the bottom to ensure the foul material that builds up is removed. This will quickly pollute new water. Never use city water unless it is de-chlorinated and the ammonia neutralized. Mature pond water is best. The temperature of the new water also needs to be the same as the water with the new fish. 10 degrees change can kill the fish. Note most water comes out of the ground around 55 degrees, pond water at this time of year is 70-85 degrees.
As the fish grow larger food can be used. High protein will aid in growth and help limit cannibalism, which will reduce your numbers by at least 50% in the best case. Fish that are much larger than the main group need removed from the population because they got that way from eating so many other fish.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 I keep my fish in a large natural pond. I do not add any chemicals to the water to enhance the health of the fish, and I allow them to breed unhindered. I have a lot to sell (I already have babies in February). Since it's a natural pond, it has a running spring which is constantly replenishing clean water and it has a water drain. So far, my babies are looking very good.