Koi fish are scientifically known as Cyprinus rubrofuscus, they are famous for their graceful movements, their energetic colors, and their beauty which have fascinated humans and other species for many years. They belong to the family of common carp and are popular for their excellent beauty and amazing flexibility. They have amazing structure, color, movement, a wide range of scale types, and their lifespan.
After exploring and searching about the koi fish, we will discuss their health maintenance, environmental factors, their historical period, and their duration of life. This knowledge will enhance the research about the variant factors like nutritional diet, husbandry practices, and water quality to increase their lifespan.
If you are a new koi keeper and want to buy koi fish but you do not have enough information to take care of them. So, you don’t need to worry because it has approximately a life span of 100+ years to live.
The average lifespan of koi fish is around 25-35 years but in unexpected cases, the koi fish can reach 200 years with the help of major precautions that would help them to increase their life.
There are several reasons that we should take care of to grow their life better and increase their duration of life. Here are some reasons that are listed below:
What changes in the Genetics of koi fish from others?
The genetic makeover of koi fish plays a crucial role in developing the specialized character of koi. It has developed different traits such as vibrant colors, its moving scale, and its texture and structure making it different and special from other fish species.
This development makes a huge change in the successive generations of the koi fish. These changes can increase the energy in the immune system, boost their metabolism, and decrease their pollutant diseases.
Environmental factors:
These environmental changes can play a significant role in maintaining health and growing up their life span for their long and better life. These factors include water quality, temperature, precautionary measures to protect them from variant diseases, climate or weather changes, and so many changes that affect a positive change in the koi fish`s life.
Water quality:
Regular testing and maintaining the ideal water quality can play an important role in increasing the age of the koi fish. The important scales that are useful for the koi fish are temperature, pH, resistance to diseases, and amount of ammonia and other bacteria in the water.
If you want to see your koi fish grow up and be happier, you should take care that your koi fishpond water should be free from different chemicals such as nitrates, ammonia, chlorides, and sulfones. A home water testing kit is very useful for the regular testing of the water quality.
Temperature & pH:
These two factors are essential for the growth and long-lasting life span of the koi fish. The damaged grass and decaying things should be removed to protect the koi from diseases and maintain the pH of the water normally. The average pH of the water is around 7.6 to 8.0, which is a little bit basic.
On the other hand, temperature should be normal and free of all pollutant gases to provide a healthy environment for koi fish. The water should not be very cold or hot. Ideal water temperature should be restricted from nitrates and other filthy things to prevent any distraction, and filtration should be easy to use.
Nutritional diet for koi fish:
Nutritious food is valuable for the best lifespan of the koi fish. It is best to grow and increase the duration of life of koi to take a healthy and nutritious diet. Here is a list of some energy resource that are very important for the koi fish in their life:
- Proteins, such as young koi can take up to 40% protein, and adults can take 30%, but this limit is not less than 30 because they need an amount of protein to grow better. The things they use for proteins are corn germ, fish meal, etc.
- Carbohydrates, such as fruits, peas, orange slices, and soya beans, need to be fed by koi fish which is the best example of carbohydrates for this species.
- Fats and koi can take up unsaturated fats from about 5 to 8%. If these fats increase too much, then it will cause obesity and harm many parts of the body. It can damage the immune system and slow down their metabolism, so fats can be taken in small amounts, such as vegetable oil, fish oil, etc.
- Vitamins and minerals are also very important for koi fish to grow their overall health. Vitamin B12 helps in their reproduction and reduces the deficiency of blood. B1 is used in digestion and B2 is very useful in nerve tissues for blood supply.
Effect of the winter season:
Koi fish are commonly found in the country of Japan. The temperature of Japan is bitterly cold and koi fish bear up to more than 10 degrees, but when the winter season comes, the temperature falls to 10 degrees. In this case, koi fish come in a coma state, their body cannot move easily, they cannot intake food properly, and preserve many essential things for their survival. In this state, their metabolism slows down. Since koi fish originated from Japan, it has very extreme cold temperatures, and koi fish survive in the winter season.
Koi fish can sleep in winter during temperatures of less than 50 F. This sleep process refers to the longer life span of koi fish. And this state of sleep(hibernation) is known as torpor.
If you want to keep your koi fish healthy and happier, then you must keep your pond water from icing.
How do the oxygen levels affect the koi fish?
The oxygen levels are essential for koi fish in increasing the longer life span of koi fish. Sudden Loss of oxygen is harmful and ultimately leads to death. Two factors affect oxygen levels like algae blooms and ponds algae, which produce oxygen in the day as a useless or by-product in green processes.
The conservative methods, aqua-cultural and community-based protectors help the environment to take security measures to protect koi fish and their marine environment. All these factors increase the life cycle of koi fish.