"drsolo" wrote in message
.com...
until you can tell the difference between a $10, $100, and $10,000 dollar
koi, get the $10 one. HOWEVER.... what is even more important is to find
a
place sells healthy koi and you wont get one from petsmart for sure, and
it
is unlikely you will get one from any old pond store.

In defense of PetsMart. I have bought healthy goldfish and kio (and otos and
plecos) from both their Nashville and Murfreesboro stores. I still have the
beautiful flame red koi from there. She was $2 about 6 years ago. The
others were sold off as I'm replacing them all with butterflies.

You need to find the
place that quarantines their koi for at least a couple weeks after getting
them in, and before they sell them to the public. of course you dont tell
them you are looking for quaratined koi, you ask them when they got the
fish
in, or "when are you getting the fish in so I can be first in line to pick
the ones I want" and see if they bite on that.

Not one place here has the space or facilities to quarantine fish.

Now, if what you want is a pond with koi, then that is really all you need
to know. If what you want is a koi pond, then you are going to have to
search on the net for discussions about the different types of koi, color,
desirable shape, etc. there are a lot of badly bred and raised koi out
there with bent backs, huge heads, etc. If your pond does well then
consider that you are going to be looking at that same gorgeous (or ugly)
koi for 50 years. Ingrid

Ugly fish can always be disposed of. Better to examine them carefully in
the bag before handing over your cash. Checking not only for ulcers and the
larger parasites, but the shape and proportions of the fish as well.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
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