Separating Fish
 

Hi pet experts,

My dad has a collection of Japanese Koi. I'll Coles Notes the dillema:

1. They're getting fairly big (scary big)
2a. The tank is becoming small due to their size
2b. Because the tank is small, they don't have a lot of room to swim around in
2c. They can't swim around because the fish are too big and there are too many

If I were to get another tank, would splitting half of the Koi in another tank cause a problem like shock and result in death? I don't know much about fish in general but any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

If you own BIG Koi fish, you are gangster.


Therefore, your dad is GANGSTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. You can tell him Alpha sent his regards.

separating the fishes won't cause any damage to them unless you didnt cycle the water for the new tank and get the proper equipment for it. otherwise it's fine... they'll be happier in the bigger tank anyways

don't forget to match the temperature and dechlorinate the water
throwing in a little aquarium salt wouldn't hurt either

sell em to people who have ponds and buy smaller ones.
koi arent ment for tanks =T

The koi that we have are huge. Some of them the length of my forearm, if not, a few inches larger.

We thought of digging up our own outdoor pond but these fish have always lived indoors all their life. I don't know if they can survive in the cold weather. Not only that, there are a lot of racoons and coyotes in our area which pose a threat to their safety whether there is something covering them up top or not.

And no, selling them is not an option. My father would sell me off first before selling his fish. :p :D

if your house is fenced, coyotes cant get in and if they are as large as you say they are.. racoons wont be able to eat em. plus you'll need a pond that is deep enough where they cannot be fished out.

just drain half the tank water and throw that into the new tank and follow what eatman +guy above him said

if you dont do the above, you can risk PH shock but for older/larger fish who arnt sick/weak are usually ok but theres always the chance. otherwise you'll have to accimilate each fish slowly.

ie. small fish u buy from a store come in a bag, you float bag in new tank to match temp then every 10 mins you add in a bit of the water from tank into bag. then after a few times you put him in new tank.

u shouldnt put them into the pond until early april when the temperature get warmer. if selling them isnt an option, dig up the pond, they'll be happier that way. make sure the pond is deep enough or they'll die ;)

Your dad would chop you up and feed you to the koi before selling his fish.

If u gots a quality heater and make some fenced lid thing for your pond should be fine. My friend got a crate box outside filled with kois. Had to make a fence thing to keep the birds and cats out

wtf you have a koi TANK? how big is your tank!?

go buy a big ass rubbermaid tub and put some fine netting overtop.
I say fine cause cranes can get through the bigger stuff.
throw in a heater.

otherwise get a big tank at home, from what u say atleast 80 gallons. 100+ would be nicer.
get a heavy duty filter, cause koi are messy as hell, and use some of the old filter media and put into new tank.
If you have gravel or rocks, take half of the old put into new, and replace the old in the old tank with new stuff.

umm yeah...
big BIG tank... haha.

from what u say, the second you tell us the tank size the hardcore fishkeepers are going to start flaming on too many fish in small space. lol...

WE WANT PICTURES!!! WE WANT PICTURES!!!

theres reali n tank big enough for koi... well not to max its potential size (if from good blood line that is) its recommended 1000gal per adult koi =T

Buy a kiddy pool.

Holy shit I want to see this koi tank! Unless your dad owns a Chinese seafood restaurant or something, it would be amazing to see a big enough tank to hold a "collection" of koi!

Post a pic!

i dont think pictures can justify it

you'd have to see it in person
alphamale, just come over next time to see it in person

^I know you're just trying to bait me into looking into the tank. I don't want to be fish food!

any crazy ones that look like human faces?
lol
and the kiddie pool idea works.
It's a little shallow though.
I haven't been in your house since the last owners were there haha. or wait... the ones before that.... don't remember the layout.
just make sure the floor can handle it!

Bump.

Fish have basically outgrown the tank. I'm afraid it's not enough room for them to swim around in. I know it's too cold to dig up a pond but we're thinking sometime around March/April when the weather settles down.

Make sure the pond is a deep one, so when its cold, it'll be warmer down there for them. Also get like a fence or wired stuff to put on top of the pond to stop the heroins and whatever else will eat your fish.

Pictures! I wanna see em :|

koi is really high mantenance especially with a pond
my dad had over a dozen of them in a nice pond but this was back in asia and on top of a 4-storey apartment where wild life/winter wasn't a concern

Make sure you have proper cover, and you could look into buying a fake model of an eagle..it help keep the stupid crows away from my yard but i dont know if racoons and cats (clever-ass animals) will buy into that :P

last winter I took a huge piece of plastic sheet that is 2 inches thick and cover my small pond (max 2 foot deep) and left a small opening. the entire winter the pond stayed about 10 degrees which was good enough
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isnt koi tough fish? they can live outside in a pond with cold air and debri,, will they be so easily damaged or hurt if transferred into a tank that is not properly cycled?

how big are they and how big is tank that they're in right now? oh AND PICS!!!