So the new 2026 crop of koi from Japan are now arriving in the USA , so it seems appropriate to write about the kinds of things you may want to consider before your next koi purchase.
First – I want you to know the laws both federal and state (CA) that apply to KOI. The USDA –Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service veterinarian informed me that the ONLY test REQUIRED of koi being imported through US Customs is for Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC). There is NO requirement to test koi for Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) or for that matter any requirement to be parasite free. The State of California, Department of Fish and Game classify koi as ornamental animals under the purview of aquaculture for regulation. The Enforcement Branch for Fish and Game referred me to Information Leaflet No. 35, but to quote the lady at enforcement, “Koi are exempt.” Leaflet number 35 does not require registration and any associated health requirements for “1. The rearing or maintenance of koi or goldfish in closed systems for personal, pet, or hobby purposes. …3. The sale or cultivation of tropical species or ornamental aquatic plants and animals, not utilized for human consumption or bait purposes, but maintained in closed systems and utilized by the pet industry or hobbyists.” The lady at Fish and Game Enforcement told me there simply is NO health requirements when raising, selling or movement between US States meeting the above mentioned criteria. Special notes: When koi are shipped from within the US to Alaska or Hawaii, they have to go through customs before being released – all others just box and ship. Also, SVC is the only California koi disease that carries a mandatory reporting requirement.
So are you getting the picture here -- BUYER BEWARE!!!
So I’ll go through what you might want to consider the next time you are buying a koi. I know that depending on your pond and the value of your koi you may not want to do all the things I’m about to write about but you can reduce your risk factor and who wants to deal with sick or dead koi after bringing home a new koi.
The journey begins with you deciding from what source(s) do you want to purchase koi? This could and should be based partially on what the dealer does to all the koi they acquire for sale. Have the koi been (by batch) scraped for parasites to include gills and tested for KHV (by PCR – active disease or Elisa test - showing antibodies - carrier)? There are several other points to picking out a koi, but for this article I’m going to stick with health issues only. I would have the dealer invert the koi and examine the gills for any problems. I’d also do a close examination of the koi and ALL its parts to include the belly.
So you now have purchased a koi and got it bagged up. You want to transport it home causing the least amount of additional STRESS. For me, it goes in a covered box (in the dark) with no direct sun on the container and positioned sideways in the vehicle – Yes, you don’t want to injure the koi’s mouth or tail if you come to a quick stop.
Now you’re home and the big question is do I quarantine or not – well to quote Nicholas Saint-Erne, DVM (and any other vet I know) “ALWAYS QUARANTINE FISH BEFORE PUTTING THEM INTO AN ESTABLISHED POND!” This would limit the spread of disease to other fish.
I quarantine new koi for 30 days –but the articles on this subject can go from 14 days to 6 months depending on the issues at hand. You need to have a small system but adequate for the koi to move around in. You hopefully can provide an established filter system that is separate from your pond system. I keep my isolation filter material in a bag in my pond’s bio-chamber and I just have to remove it and place it in my quarantine system and turn on the pump. Make sure the koi cannot jump out of the container and make sure it is mostly in shade. You have to know how much water you have and extra oxygen is strongly suggested. Yes, you feed the koi. Got to keep a close eye on water quality and frequent water changes may be required – much less when you start with an active established filter system. Salt needs to be considered to reduce the effect of stress and reduce the osmoregulatory effort needed by the new koi. There are a host of other treatments you may consider depending on what you observe or discover during the first 14 days of quarantine. If you want to know if your koi came with KHV you will need to bring the water temp in your quarantine system up to 72F for 14 days and I also add a small koi (I could live without) from my pond to the quarantine system at this time. Bring the temp up to 72F in the first few days is good for the koi in several important physiological ways. I have seen it in print several times that once you go up to 72F for several weeks for assisting koi to recover from illness or disease you should not let the temp go back down but keep the koi in the quarantine system until your pond gets to 70F and then move koi to main pond. My articles are to be short in nature and as we all know I can get a little long in the tooth sometimes. There are numerous articles on this subject that can be found on the web and the popular koi texts books all cover this subject.
It’s really up to you how much you want to do and how much risk you want to take when it comes to adding new koi to your pond. BUYER BEWARE – it’s your problem to deal with and how big or small or no problems depends a great deal on what you know before you buy and what you do after you get the koi home!!!
r/koi jack
