Building and maintaining a koi pond is a unique and rewarding experience. There are not many opportunities where you can create your own living ecosystem in your backyard.
A very important part of this ecosystem are koi pond plants, which can not only improve the look of your water garden, but also the health of your koi fish.
Read on to explore the conditions koi need to thrive under your care, and how aquatic plants facilitate the required conditions for koi ponds.
Table of Contents
Keep Water at Ideal Temperature for Koi
Water temperature is a crucial factor that directly affects the health of koi, as well as impacts the metabolic rates of all other living organisms in your pond.
Although koi are cold water fish, they can live in a wide range of temperatures since their body temperature adapts to the surrounding water.
Koi survive for shorter periods at higher temperatures because warm water cannot hold much oxygen. Similarly, cold or freezing water will diminish the koi immune system.
The temperature of the pond should be adjusted gradually in order to protect the health of koi. For example, shade the pond using water gardening plants or koi pond accessories to help slowly cool down the water temperature.
It is also important to note that the fluctuation in outdoor temperatures will more rapidly affect a smaller pond’s ecosystem.
Constructing a more spacious pond or including aquatic plants will help keep the environment suitable and stable for koi fish.
Choose the Correct Water Filtration System
In order to ensure good health and comfort for your koi fish, it is important to maintain optimal water conditions in the pond. Poor water quality can lead to health problems for your koi.
To purify pond water from waste, debris, or any other toxins, it is important to choose the correct pond filters. In addition to a proper filtration system, below we will see just how aquatic plants can combat some of these common issues.
Prevent Pond Overcrowding
Koi fish require ample space to grow to their fullest and healthiest. Overcrowded koi may develop problems such as producing an excess of waste containing ammonia, depletion of dissolved oxygen, and an increase in algae.
Aim to create a spacious garden pond, while limiting the number of koi fish.
Benefits of Aquatic Plants
Aquatic plants play an important role in the life of a koi pond. They can assist the production of oxygen in water and also help maintain proper aeration for the koi fish.
Their physical placement in the pond can also lower the temperature of the pond water while providing koi with a shaded area.
Koi pond plants also assist in keeping water cleaner by limiting the growth and preventing the spread of algae. The plants provide shade, which reduces the amount of light the reaches the pond and keeps the water temperature low.
Both the limited sunlight and cooler water temperatures restrict the production of algae. Aquatic plants also absorb nitrates in the water that can be harmful to koi and aid in the development of algae.
If you are looking to allow your koi fish to breed, aquatic plants are necessary to facilitate this process, as female koi fish lay their fertilized eggs on the plants.
Best Types of Plants for Koi Ponds
Garden supply stores offer a variety of koi pond plants for sale. The best method is to choose an array of various plants. The three most popular categories of pond plants used in koi water gardens are:
- Floating plants
- Shallow water marsh plants
- Submerged plants
Ideally, you should have a mix of all three types of these plants in your water garden. A blend of these plants will provide the highest cover and versatility, while also welcoming diversity into your koi pond.
Whatever plants you decide to include in your ecosystem, make sure that you are knowledgeable on their habits and needs.
Plants selected should be well suited to the climate – not all plants thrive in hot and sunny conditions, and some flora grow too fast for smaller ponds. Additionally, your koi fish will probably pick at the plants within the water.
You should be wary of plants that are too fragile or that grow too slowly, as they can be eaten to death by your hungry fish.
If you decide to move forward with slow growing plants to save on maintenance, you can limit koi inflicted damage by regularly feeding them greens like lettuce and cabbage.
You should also protect the roots of your aquatic plants by covering them with koi pond accessories or keeping them out of reach of your koi fish.
On the other hand, plants that are tough and that grow quickly can easily overpower smaller ponds. It is important to find balance between the aquatic plants and koi in your water garden.
