There have been several to many articles on this very subject
in pond magazines and books. Yes, the Japanese do indeed
use mud ponds to grow out their Koi. The mud makes the
colors much brighter. The Japanese don't keep the Koi in
these ponds all their lives - just a portion of.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Anne Lurie" wrote in message
om...
Disclaimer: I know nothing about koi -- I'm still amazed that my
goldfish
from PetsMart are still alive 4 years later in my teeny 3-foot water
garden!

However, a few things occurred to me after checking out the website
mentioned in David's post below. And definitely, I think people should
check out this page on the website
http://www.tategoi.com/oomokoi/farm%20photos.htm for the beautiful photos,
especially the terraced(?) ponds.

First, "mud pond" may mean something entirely different to the Japanese
(or
it doesn't translate exactly) -- perhaps "mud pond" only refers to a
pond
carved out of dirt, rather than lined with some other material?

Second, the water does indeed look very muddy, but might that not be
caused
by all the people & activity in the pond? (After all, these photos show a
harvest; I did not see any pictures of "undisturbed" ponds.)

Third, as my husband would remind me, "well, after all, they're a member
of
the carp family, aren't they? Do you think that carp get crystal clear
water everywhere?" (to which I reply that I had not given that particular
topic much thought, as indeed I had not).

Just my $.02 worth,

Anne Lurie
Raleigh, NC
________________________


"David Larson" wrote in message
...
Hello all,

I've read many threads about Koi needing to have crystal clean water in
order to thrive. Then I
looked at a few websites for Koi breeders in Japan, and their Koi live
in
mud ponds and the water is
far from crystal clear. Look at these pics -

http://www.tategoi.com/oomokoi/koi%20harvest.htm

Now... these breeders have zillions of dollars (yen) invested in their
Koi, so they need them to
maintain prime health. This being the case, is it really necessary to
have
clear water for koi? Yes,
Ph, nitrates, nitrites, and such need to be correct - but it seems the
water itself does not need to
be clear.

What am I missing here????

- David