If you have a water garden, chances are that you have fish as well. Whether they be goldfish, koi or small mouth bass, having too many fish can affect the health of your pond. Remember, bigger the fish, bigger the fish waste. It’s actually one of the biggest problems we see with poor water quality.
How many fish should I have?
First, you need to know your pond’s surface area. (Pond Length x Pond Width = Surface Area) The popular consensus in the pond world is 1″ of fish for every square foot of surface area. For instance, my pond is 11′ x 16′ so it totals 176 square feet (roughly) of surface area, so the maximum inches of fish I should have is 176 inches.
Don’t max out from the start!
Koi fish grow FAST! The average adult koi is at least 10″ long. But they don’t stop there. When calculating how many fish should be in your pond, use the full adult size to accommodate for your growing koi. For example, with my 176 inches of surface area I could get anywhere between 10-17 fish as long as 10″. Unfortunately many fish will grow past 10 inches, not to mention you may have new babies in that timespan. Keep in mind the adult size of your fish variety!
We receive many calls with people wanting to donate fish or needing to get rid of some and it can be a real problem doing so. We only have a limited amount of space for this type of situation and finding someone who needs fish is difficult. If this is your case, check out local Facebook Groups designated specifically for Pet Classifieds or pet rescue for your area.
Fish are a NECESSITY for a healthy and thriving ecosystem pond. If you want to minimize the maintenance on your pond, fish are a key factor in doing so. Just make sure you have the right amount!
Still want to read more? Check out this blog post about How Koi Fish Get Their Names.