Buying a new pond... What fish??

Question

HI i am buying a new pond liner and underlay and it will hold 15000 litres(330 gallons) and i currently have 2 shubinkins 9 goldfish which i have just got from a friend a goldfish which i have in there for ages (more than 8 years) and we were thinking of buyin some more fish like shubinkins and/or koi as the 9 goldfish which we have seem a little imbred and facts say that there bound to be. so how many shubunkins and/or koi should i get. And when you answer please also think about the breeding of the fish. I would raher get shubunkins and/or koi instead of more goldfish as would like to cross breed the a little.

Answer 1

Hello i am a fish exper.t Any koi breed with eachother. but they are kind of unlucky, most of the time their eggs get trapped into the filter and die =[

if you want to breed them, dont forget to check if its  male of female by looking at its 'anal fin' its the fin below its very back one. if the 'anal fin' is spread out, its a female if its points its a male.

hope this helps.

Answer 2

Your pond can house 6 koi or 12 shubs or a combination there of with room for breeding.  Remember always keep 4-5 females to every 1 male  so if you are going with 3 koi one male two females and 6 shubs 1 or 2 males the rest female.  This is due to the chance of violent breeding with too many males.  They will gang up on the females.  Remember in the spring youwill have to cull your fry.  Fish get stunted due to over crowding not from small conditions.  Allowing too many fish to exist in the pond isn't good either.

You may also want to get water lettuce and/or water hyciths.  They are good for shade and keeping algae at bay.  They also house the bugs the koi and shubs love to eat.

When purchasing koi or shubs get them from a reputable water garden store not walmart.  You can tell the females from the males in body style.  The females will be fuller bodied while the males will be long and lean.  Usually the stores keep them apart so sexing should be easy.

Remember your koi will not breed until they mature around 4-6 years. While your goldfish only need to be 2-3.

Answer 3

Do you plan on having plants in the pond?  Koi are like to do some damage to plants. Also with my experience growing up with a goldfish pound you start out with 9 and end up with 50.  So take that into consideration.  

I would only get 2 koi because they grow so fast and so big. I would go with 5 more Shubinkins if I was you.  I love koi but they get so big, and they like to mess up plants.