CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to breed koi?

How to breed koi?

Koi belongs to the Cyprinidae family. It is a variant hybrid of carp. It was bred through nearly 300 years of artificial selection and hybridization due to body color mutation caused by changes in the breeding environment. Its reproduction is similar to that of ordinary carp and can reproduce naturally. However, in order to obtain more high-quality products, artificial reproduction is often used for the reproduction of koi.

Koi is a kind of ornamental fish and one of the most popular ornamental fish raised by many families. As the weather gradually warms up, the breeding season for koi is about to arrive. The end of April to mid-June is the breeding season for koi. So, what are the precautions for koi breeding?

Natural reproduction:

When the water temperature is above 18 degrees, breeding can be carried out. When natural breeding is carried out, fish nests should be prepared. Usually, water plants, pine leaves, palm leaves, nylon ropes, etc. disinfected with permanganate solution can be used. The main thing is to achieve uniform attachment of eggs. Tie the above objects into small bundles, hang them on the surface of the pool and evenly distribute them on the bottom of the pool. The ratio of broodstock is generally one female to two males. If there are many broodstock used for breeding, 1:1 is also acceptable. It is easiest to lay eggs in the morning of thunderstorms. Of course, the effect will be better with artificial flushing stimulation.

Artificial breeding:

Since koi are hybrids, it is not easy to get good results by natural breeding. As for the species, more than 80 species in 13 categories can be hybridized, but the offspring will be very complicated. In order to obtain excellent and beautiful offspring, we recommend artificial breeding.

1. Artificial natural reproduction

Select high-quality and good-blooded broodstock of the same species, and place them in an independent clean water pool or cage at a male-female ratio of 1:2-3. Hang fish nests on the water surface and allow them to spawn naturally.

2. Artificial dry insemination

Select high-quality broodstock of the same species with good pedigree, with a male-female ratio of 1:2, and place them in an independent clean water pool or net cage, with a fish nest suspended on the water surface. When the female fish starts to lay eggs, remove them, anesthetize them with anesthetic, wipe off the water on their bodies with a dry towel, press their abdomen lightly, and place the squeezed eggs in a small plate. Note that no water should be mixed in at this time.

Then use the same method to scoop out the male fish, anesthetize it with anesthetic, wipe off the water on the body with a dry towel, press the abdomen lightly, use a straw to suck out the flowing semen, put the semen in the eggs that have been taken, stir it evenly with chicken feathers or duck feathers, and then sprinkle the fish eggs after stirring the semen evenly on the fish nest in the water. Be careful not to scatter the eggs too densely, but evenly. This process should be quick and accurate.

3. Incubation

After absorbing water, the fertilized eggs can be soaked in malachite green solution for 5 minutes to prevent water mold from invading them, and then transferred to clean water for incubation. It is best to use an air pump to pump air into the water so that there is a micro-flow, which is conducive to the breathing of the eggs.

4. Fry cultivation: When the fry are hatched, they can swim sideways and start splashing egg yolk water. After being fed for 3 consecutive days, they can be transferred to the fry pond for cultivation.

Speaking of it, the breeding of koi is not very complicated. Koi breeding is divided into natural breeding and artificial breeding. In order to obtain high-quality koi offspring, artificial breeding is still the most common method nowadays, but this mainly depends on the breeder's own ideas.