Up at altitude dissolved oxygen levels are even lower...

It's enormous and it's important!

Nigel Caddock (Nishikigoi International)

Altitude!

Of all atmospheric factors the most critical is altitude. In simple terms the higher above sea level you go the more difficult it is for water to absorb and retain oxygen, and the more critical the need is the ensure there is enough.

By way of example Johannesburg has the highest concentration of Koi enthusiasts in South Africa. Until Happy Koi started selling air pumps this spring the issue of aeration had hardly been addressed in RSA. Willam and Hannes are two of the most forward thinking Koi professionals in RSA, they do understand the critical need for effective aeration in general, and at high altitudes in particular.

To further emphasise this at the recent Mystic Koi festival in Upland California, we met a Koi keeper who has travelled the couple of hours to the Mystic bash from his home in Big Bear CA, where he successfully keeps Koi under the guidance of Bill and Shawn of Mystic, his home is 6000 feet above sea level in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas and thats less than 100 miles away from Mystic which is just a few hundred feet above sea level!

This begs the question how high is your Koi pond above sea level? While our Dutch friends are probably okay everyone else would be advised to at least check!

As with all things in Koi, balance is the key. Its simply the experience of many Koi keepers that providing aeration avoids the potential problems we have identified. As another of our key themes is prevention and in this context prevention = aeration, its not rocket science to work out what the solution might be.

An additional point to consider is that most medications also absorb prodigious levels of oxygen during their reactions. If you need to treat your pond its always a good idea to compensate by adding extra air but when temperatures are high take special care. In fact as a matter of good practice its a good idea always to add extra aeration when you medicate your pond and its always good practice to have a spare air pump for this application.