Landscaping for koi fish are easy, if not super easy. You wouldn't really need plants and all those decorative stuff you usually put on your aquarium. I chose the following to decorate this 50-gallon aquarium:
- Sponge filter (a must!)
- Stones/small rocks
- Aquarium wallpaper
And that's about it!! Allow me to explain each and everything I placed in it.
To start off, why did I ever think of picking this huge 50-gallon aquarium tank? Although it isn't that huge compared to the 380-gallon tank which is considered the maximum size for custom-made aquariums, koi experts and even hobbyists suggest the rule "90 2-inch koi for every 100-gallon tank". With my koi bought at around 3-inches in length, I suppose my current tank can contain at least 20 koi perfectly.
However, I couldn't contain that much koi just yet.
Other hobbyists suggest 10 gallons for every 3-inch koi can also be done in order to maximize its growth. Currently, I own 3 koi fish and 2 neighboring angelfish who surprisingly live together harmoniously and with the water temperature set at a constant of around 26 degrees Celsius.
As for the rocks, I manually picked them up from near the rivers and some from the side of the road. I made sure to wash them with unchlorinated water and rock salt, setting them aside for a few hours in order to eliminate any microorganism that can harm the fish upon introduction to it.
And you don't just add them all at once. You don't want to stress them out especially if it takes roughly hour to properly fill this aquarium with a layer of rocks. Caution was taken in order to prevent the glass from breaking underneath.
Why rocks?
As a child, I've watch my mother set up our aquarium (containing at about 15 koi at that time if my memory served me right) and she also placed a layer of granite rocks. I've come to realize that these do not only serve as decorations per se, but they were also said to provide some of the nutrients fish need (for example, magnesium and calcium).
Putting up sand instead of rocks is also an option, but in my opinion, it would be difficult to dig all the dirt off from the sand given koi are heavy polluters (and they poo a lot).
The wallpaper is an option, really. Knowing an aquarium containing koi fish can't really be decorated with plants, it's a way to remove the dullness of the aquarium.
Wait, so you mean I can't put plants?
I had the same question when I first picked koi as my fish and after doing thorough research. You can put floating plants, but putting them on an aquarium will be quite hassle if you think deeply of it. It will still be very likely that a hungry koi will eat your plants because they're omnivorous.
So what about plants used for decoration? You know, plastic plants.
I preferred not to put them to prevent the risk of it getting eaten if in case the fish sought of it as food. These decorations mimic the look of real plants, and you can't tell your koi not to eat them. It's better to be safe than sorry.
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