9 Koi Fish Keeping Myths You May Not Know

In this video I discuss the 9 biggest koi and fish pond myths still circulating today in 2023.
Koi keeping has many old school beliefs that simply refuse to go away. I talk about 9 of the biggest mistakes we still make and why you should avoid them.
Leave a post in the comments below if you have any others that I have missed or if you disagree with any of my 9.
Check out my website at www.dazzlekoi....
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[@DazzleKoi]

Do you think some of these are perpetuated by the manufacturers to create demand for their products or are they still widely believed to be true so manufacturers simply meet demand with supply?

[@TelfordKoiPond]

Outstanding video👏👍. I’ve just learned more in 15 minutes listening to you than I have in the last 6 months watching other videos👍😊. Amazing that in this day and age there are still so many incorrect theories out there☹️ no wonder newbie’s find it all a bit of a minefield 🤔. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in such a simple and easy to understand way👍🐟🈲😊

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, I hope you are well. Thank you very much for your kind words, it really is appreciated. I'm not a big commenter but I watch all your vids, your filter house and spares shelves are the stuff of dreams. I've seen koi dealers with less well stocked shelves. Love the new intro too 😁😁

[@waynebrown5852]

Another down to earth video and absolutely true in my opinion, after 30+ years of koi keeping

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Wayne 👍👍🍺🍻🍺👍👍

[@archer1483]

Well I will say this, if you're not affected by sales BS for filtration systems medications and such, 50% of this information is definitely common sense, especially where water volume and dilution come into play. It's terrible how retailers can brainwash people into spending more money on things that don't work in their pond. Amazing video and thanks so much. You are a scholar and a gentleman!

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Stephen and thank you very much. You are spot on, sadly there a lot of people out there waiting to take advantage of the unsuspecting koi keeper

[@KoiAquaponics]

You are right about mud points in some aspects - generally maintenance free due to the high volume of water which allows all the pollutants to dilute. You are also right that it doesn't have any magic minerals for growth. In addition, it should be noted that the reason why mud ponds seem to work so well isn't about pH, but more likely increased surface area for oxygenation. The primary cause of mass koi death in a residential pond is when power runs out and there's no oxygen left. This is the main cause in most cases. There's also this important aspect of oxygen for koi growth, which many residential ponds tend to not have enough of. In a highly stocked pond, it's easy to run out of oxygen for our fish. This is why bakki showers work well, the ceramic media are not magically helping stuff, it's the showering effect of water cascading over various media which increases surface area to help with oxygenation. With high flow and combine it with a wet/dry filter setup (aka, bakki shower ) your koi will most likely grow faster than a mud pond with all things being equal. The hardest part is finding a way to clarify water of all the bad chemicals and pollutants. I'm trying to determine if sufficient high flow in a wet/dry shower setup and foam fractionation will help my pond water for my highly stocked pond. I believe it will work but there's no way to compete against a massive mud pond in this respect. It's all about oxygen for growth! There's no scientific proof showing that fish releases growth inhibiting hormones that lasts long enough in water to impact other fish from growing larger. This is the wrong belief, and the wrong way of thinking about stocking density and volume. Rarely does volume impacts the growth of our koi. In aquaculture high density is possible and growth is fast and rapid, and water volume is typically low. They do it fast because of good water quality and high food feeding rate. Once again, the lower the volume of water, the less oxygen there is for fish to use, hence lower growth. Trust me, it's all about oxygen. Your koi pond right now, if you increased flow by adding another pump and use another set of bakki shower, will act like it has 2x the volume of water surface area for aeration.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, all interesting stuff. There is most definitely scientific proof that koi and goldfish release growth inhibiting products though. Search Somatostatins and you will find plenty of scientific studies on this. This is what has led to the belief that fish grow to the size of their surroundings. Its a miss-understanding of somatostatins and how to control them. Totally agree regarding oxygen though. You really can't put to much in. It has benefits on every aspect of koi keeping from the koi themselves to filter bacteria etc

[@mattkinsella9856]

I think you're right in that the mud ponds are simply large amounts of water with large surface area and that's the "secret" if you can call it that. Whether it's oxygen fluctuations, pollutants or anything, it's simply the large amount of water and surface area that can cope with it all, so any fluctuations are tiny and not dramatic. As mentioned in the video, it's why putting a massive filter on a smaller pond to keep more fish is pointless and just a myth. More filtration is not a replacement for more water and the big mud ponds are the ultimate proof of that.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, I couldn't agree more, sheer volume is the key to consistency 👍👍

[@daveanderson3768]

Hi Daz, Just subscribed to your channel. Many will benefit from your good advice.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Dave, welcome aboard 👍

[@BlingKingMarvellous]

Hi Daz.... good video m8... Hope your well also m8 👍 Quick question.. You said adding more bio like k1 for example, does not let you keep more fish etc, and it ends up basically bare plastic.... But does it still mean that you can feed more... which in turn will produce more ammonia etc, which will increase the bacteria in the bio, which will spread to the added media ? Or are you saying adding more k1 for example, will do absolutely nothing at all ? And where u said baking soda is 8.4 anyway... is this the same for bi carb when re raise our kh ?

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, yes bi-carb and baking soda are the same thing. Sodium bicarbonate, bi-carbonate of soda, baking soda are all the same. I think from memory baking soda is an American term and the others are used over the rest of the world. The only one to watch is baking powder. True Baking powder has something else added to lower the pH. Give that one a miss. Having a lot of surplus bio media that is empty doesn't really mean you can feed more unless its consistent. If you fed more suddenly then the colonies aren't big enough to process it and you would get high ammonia. If you do it consistently then eventually the colonies would grow to accommodate this but its basically like new pond syndrome where it will take time and patience. Its not that straightforward though because the flow rate for your filter is optimum for the standard media amount and is related to the volume of the pond. So the flow through the extra media has a different optimum than the mechanical flow and the approximate pond volume flow. So diminishing returns. Any benefit from increased media is reduced the more you add, because you move away from the optimum flow for that media. Unless you increase the media by adding additional pumps and additional containers for the media with additional air etc rather than just adding more media to an existing filter.

[@ashleygethin4649]

Always full of knowledge great video you should work on a book I no there is many out there but you sir are one knowledgable koi keeper 👍🏼

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Ashley, I do write articles which I hope to collate in to a book at some point in my life. Like every thing though its finding the time. I do enjoy writing though.

[@edlesboroughkoipondstevech3546]

Hi, interesting video, I don’t feel so guilty now putting 15mins of water 8 times a day straight from the tap via an irrigation timer 👍🤓

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate 👍👍🍺🍺👍👍

[@iantrevor1703]

Hi Dazz great channel. You are the same as me. I trickle in out during the course of a week 100% water changes. Been doing it for many years. Although my water goes through a decholanator. Results happy healthy koi

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Ian and thank you. I appreciate you taking time to comment 🍺🍺🍻🍻🍺🍺

[@josephhowells7559]

Another great video mate 👌 fish have really grown since the last video 📹 🤣 looks amazing 👏

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Joe, how are things with you and your koi now?

[@harveym5627]

Your koi are looking great, look like they have put on some size🙂 great video aswell as usual 😀

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Harvey, I haven't measured them in a while if I'm honest. I'll get them out for a once over around October probably. They certainly have strong appetites at the moment though 👍👍

[@anthonywatkins2783]

Another very informative video Daz especially the PH section, I’ve learnt even more today to broaden my koi keeping knowledge, as a newbi to this hobby this is really good information, thank you. 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Anthony, much appreciated 🍺🍻🍻🍺

[@mykoiobsession]

Detailed yet very simple to understand video once again. Thank you for putting these out. Hope things are going well for you. Cheers.👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate and thank you. Things are getting better. I've been getting out and about a bit, enjoying the weekends away in my little camper van with my dog. Still a little bit in limbo but trying to make the most of a bad situation 👍🍻👍

[@richd-koi]

Another cracking vid mate. Makes me feel less guilty about spraying in the hose pipe finely with some sod thio. I gave up on clay after 1 pack of it n after what u said it is just for water clarity in ponds really. Keep em up 🐟👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi rich and thanks. Yeah I've never seen any benefit to clay. If people can see a tangible benefit and they are happy with results then all good but I've never been convinced. If I have fines I'd rather fix my filtration than mask it with a temporary fix.

[@nickminter7994]

Great video again, and some really good points. You always come up with the facts to back up your advice. Thanks

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Nick, much appreciated 🍻🍻🍺🍻🍻

[@dapurnirmala1983]

Very agree with myth no. 1 😊. Mudpond is ideal place for koi growing out. Lowcost treatment Rich of natural food Big space for growth You will surprise how they grow in just several weeks

[@Djst-zv1sv]

So when i do a 20 per cent water change i can just top it up with normal water and dont have to add the tetra aqua safe that the aquatic centre sells me all the time

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, you can, but only if you dont have chloramine in your supply. To be absolutely safe, just throw in a but of sodium thiosulphate crystal if you're not sure. That's the same stuff that's in your aqua safe but a fraction of the cost.

[@gerritdevos4707]

Wow Dazzle, I am impressed with the size increase of your koi. Will comment later on the video.

[@dom4955]

Sorry I’m confused. You say in the video that the best water is tap water once the chlorine is removed, but if you have have constant trickle in surely you will always have chlorine in your pond, as it’ll never fully gas off?

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Dom, I trickle in approx. 100% a week from the tap and I have never had a measurable chlorine reading in my pond. In theory I agree there must be tiny trace amounts but they are diluted immediately and so the concentration never gets up enough to show on a dpd4 test.

[@petepw78]

Great video as usual mate :)

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Pete 🍻🍻🍺🍻🍻

[@mick6427]

Hello mate , great video and very informative, how many litres is your pond, cheers Mick

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Mick and thank you, it is 4500 litres, just a sniff under 1000 gallons 🍻🍺🍺🍻

[@anthonyjackson4034]

Good to see you back Darren. Looks like you have blanket weed under control with 100 water changes. How did you do that, phosphate removal? Thanks Tony

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Tony, just consistency in everything I do and patience I think mate. I haven't changed a single thing for a good 16 months now, since the tempest went on, and slowly it just finds a balance. my phosphate is 2 out of the tap so no amount of water changing will ever effect it, it is always 2. nitrate is zero since the shower went on which helps. Good food and consistency in everything I do is the answer I feel.

[@gerritdevos4707]

Thanks Dazzle. Another learning experiance. Realy like the last two myths.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate, 🍻🍻

[@IcenI_Koi]

At last ! What I have being saying for years. Thanks Daz.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers mate, I appreciate that Sir 👍👍🍺🍺👍👍

[@raymondflavin8708]

Tell us what food you use. And do you use a different for fry.

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Raymond, I use hikari wheatgerm all year round. I would only consider using higher protein for young koi up to one year old. Sorry, I have never raised fry so I don't know what is best to use for them. I try to only keep females to avoid spawning problems.

[@johnday8204]

Great video very informative we need ths type of information many thanks

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks John, I appreciate that 🍻🍻🍺🍻🍻

[@JohnJones-hs2kh]

Great video 👍 one question would you use salt in the winter as a general tonic ? Or only use when needed

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi John, I would never use salt to be honest but I do understand it can have its uses if you can't access other options. All my thoughts on salt are in a couple of videos on the channel if you are interested in my reasons etc This is the first one kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYXRnKWIrq-Wn68

[@arnouxhorne7678]

My whole koi owner life has been a lie! Thank you for sharing mate.

[@DazzleKoi]

haha, thank mate, I'm sure it hasn't. Maybe your life has been correct and this whole video was a lie !!😁😁

[@mikefogo9912]

My koi has Popeye,what's the best treatment 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Mike, sorry for the late reply, I'm massively behind with comments at the moment. Is this still an ongoing issue?

[@Smog104]

Thanks Daz 👏👏👏👏

[@JMacFlyFishing]

Great video Daz thanks. Sorry my payment card expired a couple of months ago and that's me just rejoined the channel 😅

[@DazzleKoi]

Hello mate and welcome back. How is the shower doing?

[@JMacFlyFishing]

@@DazzleKoi scraped the DIY and invested in a Momotaro stainless steel shower 🚿 its a game changer. Hows life treating you? Take care mate 🐟😎👍🏻

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, sorry, I managed to miss this comment again, I really hate youtube messaging, its awful. The proper stainless showers are brilliant, you wont go wrong with one of those. How is it performing? I'm fine thank you, life is very different to 10 months ago but its starting to be a bit less bleak. I'm getting away most weekends with the dog in my little camper van so that gives me something to look forward to 👍👍

[@mark5tytshort770]

Will you be doing more videos now,enjoyed video

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, I hope to yes. I have a long list of videos waiting to make but getting the time and access to the equipment is difficult.

[@andrewjbuckley]

Is everything back to normal now

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Andrew, no not really. I am able to get round and flush the filters most days but its not as easy to get a couple of hours to sit and make a video. Getting better though 👍🍻👍

[@grahamparker5129]

Good to see you back Darren mate and a great video what I have seen, and thanks for the voice and keep the videos coming mate

[@alancurtis1388]

so is nt labs medclay a waste of money

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi Alan, I usually say to people, buy it, try it, and if you honestly see a tangible benefit from it then by all means keep using it. I personally have tried many clays over many years and I have never seen a single positive benefit from any of them. A lot of people say they clump fines and drag them down to the bottom so they can be filtered out. I can maybe believe this could be possible, maybe. But my thinking is that if I have fines I would address them by improving my filtration. Dragging them out with clay once a week seems like a temporary band aid rather than a proper fix. If you use it let me know what you think, I'm always interested to hear others experiences.

[@hydrothermheating1]

As usual like first then watch 😂

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate, I hope it lives up to the expectation 😁

[@davidcook380]

Great Video Thanks Dazzle

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers David 🍻🍻

[@littlenudger1972]

as always helpful and informative thanks my fish did not grow much my pond is 5000 gallons i had a few the same size so i put 5 of them in a 300 gallon heated tank at 20 degrees 6 months later the fish in the heated tank are pretty much twice the size of the pond fish

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate, heat is definitely a huge factor when it comes to koi growth. The others should catch up eventually though. Presumably they where fed a lot more as their appetites were higher?

[@johnday8204]

Great sense comments there daz

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks John 👍👍

[@keepingitkoi]

Great update bud 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks Pal 🍻🍻

[@markbrady7462]

Great video Daz.

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers Mark 👍👍

[@koikarma5363]

👍👍💯💯

[@georgecromar4094]

Thanks Dazzle!

[@DazzleKoi]

Cheers George 🍻🍻

[@JhunDumsTVXj]

Amazing

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks friend 🍻🍻👍👍🍻🍻

[@THAT-KOI-GUY]

Great video 👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Thanks mate 🍻🍻🍻

[@andrewmason2879]

Hi mate just a quick question on tap water 🙂 there has been a lot of discussion about using trickle in and trickle out. The copper and zinc heavy metals that are in tap water are not good for your koi in large doses. And not to use the trickle in and out because of this. And just adding fresh tap water when required when cleaning your filters. And saying it best if your koi pond build its own natural eco system and topping it up with tap water when it’s only necessary. Because the tap water in a lot of case is not good if trickling in a lot. I personally trickle in and out only 6% a week with a big blue and top up the the pond when I have cleaned my bead filter out and purge my bottom drain at least once a week and some times twice a week.I then add some dechlorinate which says it get rid of heavy metals for extra precaution. Sorry to but you on the spot but what is your thoughts on all this cheers 🙂👍👍

[@DazzleKoi]

Hi mate, I'll be honest, its all nonsense. To suggest tap water, which is purified and prepared for humans to consume in huge volumes for their entire lives, is unsafe for a fish that have evolved in nature with all that nature throws at it is rubbish. I trickle in up to 100% a week and have for over 25 years and it does nothing but good for my koi. I don't dechlorinate either and never have. It goes in straight from the tap. You need to change water to dilute many many things which are otherwise left to build up. We simply don't have the volume to provide this dilution naturally so if we trickle in 25% a week of fresh water we are essentially adding an extra 25% to our volume as far as dilution is concerned. If you are worried you could throw a bit of sodium thiosulphate in now and again but its honestly not necessary.