Koi Breeding?

Question

How do you breed koi and make the koi ready to breed??
Help?!?!?!

Answer 1

I have never heard of koi breeding in an aquarium of any size, so the first requirement is to have sufficient space for the koi to live comfortably and grow to breeding size. This generally means a pond.

And, as mentioned, the koi have to be of breeding size. At a minimum, this is generally 10-12" long for females, and 8-10" long for males. However, generally they are not reliably "fertile" until they have passed the 12" mark by at least a couple of inches. They should be healthy and well-nourished, too - a fish that is stressed or otherwise unhealthy, is not going to be able to devote many resources to reproducing.

Obviously, you also have to be sure you have at least one male and one female. Females tend to be fatter and more football-shaped, and often will have kind of a slight "hump" on the neck/shoulder area. Males, on the other hand, are slimmer, sleeker, and more torpedo-shaped. Also, if you touch inside the gill flaps of breeding-age males, they will feel rough, almost like sandpaper. The only reliable way to know for sure whether you have a male or female, though, is to see which one is doing the chasing, and which one is the chasee. Boys always chase the girls. In fact, koi spawning can be kind of rough on the fish, so many people prefer to have one male with more than one female, or the female can get kind of beat-up with all the constant attention!

Then, it's primarily a function of arranging water conditions to mimic spring in nature. You need a long period (at least a few weeks) of colder water temperatures, followed by warmer water temperatures and an influx of fresh water (to simulate spring rain and/or meltwater). This generally influences the female(s) to spawn/throw eggs, and the male(s) to fertilize them.

You need to either remove the eggs or remove the parents immediately, as koi will very happily eat their own eggs and pick your pond/spawning ropes/plant roots, etc., clean. Be sure to do at least a 30% water change after spawning, as the unfertilized eggs and excess milt (sperm) in the water will cause a huge ammonia spike that could lead to a filter crash.

With water temperatures in the mid 70's, plenty of aeration and pristine water conditions (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates less than 20 ppm), your eggs should hatch and you should have fry within 5-7 days. The warmer the water, the faster the eggs hatch, but water that is too warm is not good for optimal development of the fry, and you will end up with a higher percentage of birth defects.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

When it comes to them breeding, I say they are about 2-3 steps higher on the breeding scale from Goldfish. Im sure if you have plenty of bushy plants around, they should breed. And keep in mind that the ideal time for them to breed is right at the beginning of Spring.

Answer 3

Loads and Loads of water
Live food
Temperature of about 18C

Answer 4

First get several large ponds,then check back.