Keeping Pond Water Healthy, keeps your Koi healthy!
Did you know that about 75% of a fish’s body is water, just like 60% of your body is water?
This means having healthy water for Koi is even more important than humans. When you consider that Koi live and breathe in water, you can tell how much of an impact water quality has on Koi’s health.
We write this blog post to give you a foundation of the nitrogen cycle in koi ponds, so you can master the art of koi pond maintenance and create a healthy koi pond. We will also explain our best product recommendation for keeping your water healthy. Good luck and happy ponding!
Nitrogen Cycle of your Koi Pond Graphic
We created this graphic to show the parts of a pond’s cycle and decomposing plant and animal matter.
To keep water quality safe for Koi, the nitrogen cycle must follow the process shown below:
Importance of the Nitrogen Cycle for Koi Health
- Koi eat food and produce waste. The food that Koi do not eat also decomposes, releasing ammonia into the water. Ammonia is very toxic and dangerous to Koi, making it crucial to maintain an ammonia level of 0 in your Koi pond water. This is especially important for maintaining good Koi pond water quality.
- Nitrosomonas is a nitrifying bacteria. comes to the rescue by consuming ammonia and converting it to nitrites. However, nitrites are still toxic to Koi, and a nitrites level of 0 is required to keep your Koi healthy. This process is a critical part of the Koi pond nitrogen cycle.
- We need the help of another type of nitrifying bacteria—Nitrobacter. Nitrobacter consumes nitrites and converts them to nitrate. Nitrate is not toxic to Koi.
- Nitrates can be easily removed from the system by a water change, or aquatic plants and algae can consume them.
To keep the pond water healthy for your Koi, there are many other topics to understand, but grasping the basics of the pond nitrogen cycle is an essential first step to successful Koi pond management. By understanding how the nitrogen cycle works in your Koi pond, you can take steps to maintain optimal water quality and create a thriving environment for your Koi.
After understanding the importance of the nitrogen cycle in maintaining a healthy koi pond, it’s also crucial to consider the benefits of using salt in your koi pond. The article “Benefits of Salt in a Koi Pond Why You Should Use It” explores how incorporating salt can further improve the overall health and well-being of your koi fish.
Your Pond’s Need for Bacteria
In this chart above, you can see the important role of beneficial bacteria. Without these 2 kinds of beneficial bacteria, water will harbor toxic ammonia and nitrite and harm your Koi’s health. Even if the water is clear, the existence of ammonia and nitrite means unhealthy water. To keep ammonia and nitrite levels at 0, it is critical that your pond system always host enough beneficial bacteria.
Other reading: How to make medicated koi food for bacterial infections
Your Pond’s Need for Oxygen
Your pond needs more oxygen than you probably expect. Koi need oxygen, of course; but these beneficial bacteria need it, too. (Bacteria that need oxygen are called aerobic bacteria). On top of that, algae consumes oxygen; and when debris decomposes, oxygen is reduced further.
Using Beneficial Bacteria for Koi Pond Filtration
If your pond is new, the nitrogen cycle is not established yet. So it is important to seed the pond with beneficial bacteria. If your pond is already established, I still recommend you add the bacteria on a regular basis, around once a week.
Koi eat and produce waste every day. The ecosystem changes every day. To keep everything balanced, I feel it is wise to add beneficial bacteria regularly and maintain the bacteria count consistently.
Niigata water bio balls are one of our top selling items and our customers love it’s ability to help maintain a healthy ecosystem. We always recommend natural biological filters for your pond. You may also consider reading about our custom created koi pond filter.
Niigata Water Bio
There are many beneficial bacteria products on the market. Any of them will do the job, but let me introduce my favorite.
Niigata Water Bio is our favorite on the farm for several reasons:
- First of all, this Japan-made product contains about 20 billion beneficial bacteria and their food in each small tablet. So as soon as it is dropped in your pond and dissolved, they can multiply themselves quickly.
- Secondly, it may surprise you to know that the bacteria in Niigata Water Bio can live in cold water as low as 41F. So it works great even at the beginning of spring and fall when Koi are slow-moving and have low health immunity.
- Lastly, this product has been very popular in Japan for the last few decades since around 1988—meaning it works.
If you are looking to improve the biological filter and nitrogen cycle in your pond, than we highly recommend you try Niigata Water Bio.
Maintain a Balanced Ecosystem with the Right Supplies
Create a thriving environment for your koi fish with the right supplies. At Kodama Koi Supply, we offer a range of products to support their health and well-being, including:
- High-quality koi food
- Effective water treatments
- Durable filtration systems
- Beautiful pond decorations
- Expertly crafted pond pumps and aeration systems
Browse our selection today and discover the difference that quality supplies can make in creating a balanced ecosystem for your koi fish!
Ready to add life to your Koi Fish Pond's ecosystem after mastering nitrogen balance?
Explore All Koi Fish Varieties Available Now!
We have only the best Japanese Koi Fish available. Take a look through our inventory to choose the one that catches your eye!
Every koi has a special characteristic and only you know which is best for your pond.
My fish didn’t eat as much as normal at the end of the summer. I had a bunch of pine needles blow into the water and I cleaned them out as best I could.then started seeing small red worms in filter.are these the cause of the problem. Please help
I do not know if they are the cause of the problems. Let’s start from the basics. Please check your water parameters if you have not done so? Please check your water temperature. They do not and should not eat as much when water temperature is cold.
Just lost five big koi fish, change the water and put Japi stress coat + in new water, fish still not eating, Sorry
Hello, I have recently added a small pond to my backyard. How long do I have to wait before adding Koi? Is it dangerous to add before the pond matures?
As long as your water is treated, you may start. Please make sure you start small with a few Koi so your filter is not overloaded.
those small red worms maybe bloodworms. bloodworms are present in nicely conditioned water system. it is neither harmless to both Koi and humans. Kois love it for dessert.
Just noticed one of my koi is sick. Half of his tail fin is gone, his tail is bent at a 30degree to 40degree angle and he cannot use his tail very well to move. He has dropped weight. Noticed some redness on his body in spots. Hard to upright himself to get food. He has lost 1/2 his body weight?? Its the weekend, I don know a Vet who would specialize. I inherited a 1/4 acre pond with about 15 Koi in it. There is a waterfall for aeration. All the other Koi are fine. Im thinking a predator might have attacked him. I call him Big Boy because he was the largest and looked like a 747 coming down the line when I go out to feed them. Any help would be wonderful. Im calling a Vet in the am.
Every spring we have 3 or 4 koi w ulcers on their side & also get them occasionally in summer. I have taken sick fish to vet & we have to treat them for bacterial infections. Have to inject the sick fish every third day which usually takes care of problem but stressful for koi to catch sick ones. & keep in separate place. How can I avoid this spring time illness?
Hello I am sorry for the experience. If you experience this every year, good chances are that the pathogens lives in your system like filters or gravels at the bottom if you have. I would move all the Koi to a holding tank and disinfect the entire pond and the system completely. If you would like to discuss more, please email us at info@kodamakoifarm.com with your pond pictures.
my koi pond is crystal clear the water test are fine. I had a thin layer of algae on the side, that is now black like it died. Should I remove this black stuff. Fish are healthy and happy. I heat the water to 65f.
Yes, I would recommend removing it.
Hello, I understand that in winter the nitrifying bacteria decrease their activity, even die, in my country (Mendoza, Argentina), the water temperature is 6°C (approximately 42°F), that would indicate that all the beginning of the season the pond starts the cycle again?
I have a 14 thousand gallon pond in Pennsylvania. I started with ten 1” koi I bought at a pet store ten years ago. Six years ago they started making babies. Now my best count was at 32 last week. I’ve just lost two of my biggest in three days. No visible signs of trauma. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t think I can afford the bio tablets for this size pond.