Hello all,

My name is Christopher, and I have just recently gotten into Aquarium keeping, as of Three Weeks ago, in fact. I started out with Koi as my first fish, due to their personality and color. I understand they can and will be large fish, I'm starting them off in a 22 gallon, that I got for free, and I just recently purchased a 75gallon saltwater setup for $200, however, I'm going to sell all the saltwater stuff and convert it to a freshwater tank for said Koi.

Doing so though, will leave my my 22 gallon empty, and I'm trying to find a use for it. Hense my purpose for coming here. I've been doing nothing but reading the last month, I know a pretty fair ammount about my Koi now, but I'm pretty ignorant on the rest of the fish kingdom.

I really want to do an aquascape with both of my tanks. I understand most Koi/Oscars dig up rooted plants, so I was thinking about using Java Moss or Christmas moss.

Actually, for the 75 gallon, I was going to do a Christmas moss wall, and do some Echinodorus tellenus for the floor, with a two part substrate, small gravel on the bottom, with larger rocks/pebbles on the top, also with the roots of the E. tellenus wrapped around an anchor. OR, if that wouldn't be very suitable, doing river gravel for the substrate and using larger rocks for the javamoss to grow over.

What do yall think?

As for the 22gal, not sure. But I know I'm going to do something other than Koi in it.

Welcome to the forum! :D

Christmas Moss (or any moss) = :(
Unless you have godworthy conditions...mosses are a pain. Besides Java Moss. :)

Welcome to the forums!,

i love koi too. best fish in the world, ( other than bettas or goldies )

but do get a much larger tank as koi grow 3 ft long and need plenty of room. if you have say 3 or more, set up a pond and make it a few thousand gallons. maybe a 1k tank would be good for 1 or 2 koi, but do get a pond for more.



of course. the 75gallon will do fine for a few years if the koi are young, jsut keep the lid tightly covered. there jumpers they are.



what kind of koi are they? not like i know koi types myself....
what do they look like?

Well, I can't build a pond, I live on a military installation and they prohibit such things. However, I plan on leaving in three years, and at that time the Koi should be just the right size for an upgrade. I got Wal Mart Koi. Although one happens to be a pretty decent domestic quality Shiro Utsuri. (Black and White) Although the sumi (black) on her isn't the greatest. The other one, Jack, he's mostly orange and black, but of no specific type. Looksl ike a mix between a Beni Kumonryu and a Hi Utsuri, or a Hi Utsuri and a Sanke.

But all in all, they're just mutts. But they're already recognizing me. They come up to the glass when I feed them and don't shy away when I drop the food in. I'm still trying to get them to eat out of my hand, but they might still be alittle too young. However, Jill, my Shiro Utsuri, let me pet her the other day, didn't move at all. It was so cool. They're sharing the tank with a bunch of Rosey Reds. So far no fish has died, and I just started the 75gal this week. Trying to decide what to do with the empty 22gal still. Thinking about having my wife start her own tank and put it in the bedroom to replace the TV, much more relaxing and I'd actually watch it. :)

cool.

i would add that 22 to the bedroom, biggest i've ever gotten in my room is a 10 ( or 3 of them ).

looking forward to pics of those koi.

welcome to the forums, Keebler64

You think that's bad? I once got an albino channel cat (2+ feet adult size) and had it in a 10g. Though it did get a 29g, and ultimately a pond at the local fish shop. :P

A 22g is good for a lot of small to mid-sized fish. I've kept a lot of interesting fish that can go in that size from shell dwelling cichlids to cories, bettas, neon tetras, danios, kuhli loaches and smaller plecos like bristlenoses. Depending on what you're looking for, you can find almost anything in an appropriate size to go.