Yes...they do vary *wildly* but koi are very adaptable fish. They can adapt
to almost any environment. Lets say you adapt you koi to a certain water
quality..that you feel they do best in. PH ,water hardness, a pristine
level...then they become accustomed to that water quality. So every time it
rains, or you do a water change aren't they more sensitive to disease and
stress because they are "spoiled", used to one specific water quality???
I'm not arguing your point...just curious?? thanks Mike
"Lee B." wrote in message
...
One of the things that I've learned on my journey to proper koi keeping is
that conditions vary *wildly* from place to place within the U.S., let
alone
the rest of the world. Your recommendation - which obviously works well
for
you in your part of the world - would be condemning my fish (in MY part of
the world) to certain death in very short order. Kick back, relax and
thank
your deity of choice for living in such a fortunate location.

Lee

wrote in message ...
Eyeball it..LOL Nothing scientific about it. I have never checked
water
PH
etc in over 10 years. It is an outdoor pond . Its conditions are
dependent
on how much rain or lack of rain we get. If we get plenty of rain
...that
in
itself changes the water in the pond. If it is a dry spell in the
Summer
I
might do a 1/3 water change every other week. I am not going to drive
myself nuts trying to keep the water conditions at a perfect level. My
10
year old Koi are proof that you don't have to go overboard and make
allot
of
work for yourself with keeping a healthy pond. It is much better to
have
fish that are adaptable to varying conditions, outdoor koi and goldfish
are
those types of creatures. Very adaptable. IMHO and experience. MIKE