Plants for Koi Pond – Water Lily

I have attempted to grow water lilies in my Koi pond since the early days in my first pond. In my first pond, I placed my water lilies in the shallow garden pond that overflows into the main Koi pond. That way, my large Koi will not be able to get to the leaves. Unfortunately, my shallow garden pond was near the water fall and I found that the constant flow of water is not good for the plant. After some time, the plant just deteriorated and died. I found that that the water lily is best grown in warm, still water and with plenty of sunlight.

   Pictures of my water lily in my first pond. Other aquatic plants in the picture includes the Umbrella Plant, floating water lettuce and penny wort.

In my third pond, I have better results with the water lilies. Again, I grow them in pots placed in a separate pond with only a few small Koi in it. This garden pond is physically separated from the main Koi pond with the larger Koi but share the same biological filter system. Water flow into the garden pond from the filter return pump is adjusted to be slow enough to maintain water circulation but not fast enough to disturb the floating leaves of the water lilies. Besides maintaining a slow water flow, I also found that regular fertilising and plenty of sunlight helps to maintain the blooming and plant growth.  2 to 3 Fertiliser tablets are pushed into the soil in each pot every month.

    Pictures of the water lilies blooming in my third pond. As the old flower fades away under the water, a new flower head will appear to replace it.

Plants for Koi Pond – Umbrella Plant

The Umbrella Plant (Cyperus Alternifolius) is a rush-like aquatic plant with foliage arranged on stems like the ribs of an umbrella. It originates from Madagascar and is very easy to grow under the hot, sunny climate of South East Asia. Unlike the small dwarf papyrus, this plant can grow up to 5 feet or more in height. As this is a large plant, grow this plant in a large pot that can be fully submerged or half submerged in the pond.

The photo shows the umbrella plant growing well in my third pond.

As new leaves appear, the older, longer leaves will tend to droop. I cut the older leaves away to keep the plant growth in check. The roots may grow out from under the pot and spread freely in the water. The plant’s roots actually split the clay pot it was grown in after a few years of growth in my first pond. When this happened, I threw away most of the old growth and kept the younger plants after dividing them from the massive root ball using a knife. The new young plants are replanted in a new pots with pea gravel or soil and they grow easily.

Plants for Koi Pond – Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus Haspen)

The Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus Haspen) plant is not one of my favourites although I have this growing out of a pot half submerged in my Koi pond. The reasons is that the matured stems will droop down into the water as young plants grow out the cluster of small flower head at the top of stem. Therefore it requires regular trimming to remove the old stems and keep the plant looking good in the pond. I think it will look good if grown densely at the sides of a pond, rather than isolated in pots like in my pond.

Where to see Arapiama in Singapore

The Arapaima fish (Arapaima gigas) is one of the biggest freshwater fish species in the world. Its origin is the Amazon River Basin in South America. It can reach a length of 4.50 metres (177 inches) and weigh up to 200 kilograms (440 lbs). You can see good specimens of these fish in the Mainland Tropical Fish farm in the eastern part of Singapore but the view is from above as these fish are kept in a concrete pond. The fish in the farm is not fully grown yet, about 80 kilograms in weight according to the signage.

These fish are dark brown in colour, with red specks. An attractive and awesome fish to watch but not a fish to keep in a tank or any Koi pond. The Arapaima is a large predatory fish that eats fish, birds and any other animal that it can catch. The farm owner actually places a few floating fake ducks in the pond and builds fencing around the pond for the safety of the viewers and also for the fish.

The arapaima in the farm are probably not for sale. The owner sells fish food for visitors to experience watching the large fish feeds. It probably helps with the upkeep of the fish as they are big eaters and grows rapidly.

BTW, there are arapaima exhibits in the Singapore Zoological Garden and also the Underwater World in Sentosa. Video of Arapaima feeding in Singapore Zoological Garden.

Visit to a Koi Farm in Singapore

The Mainland Tropical Fish farm is located in the eastern side of Singapore. It is about 10 minutes by car from my home. Due to its proximity, this is the place where I buy my Koi supplies like Hikari Koi food and other pond accessories.

The farm has many ponds with young and medium sized koi. There are other aquarium fishes for sale in the rows and rows of fish tanks under the main shed. These include many varieties of goldfishes, Siamese fighting fish or bettas, guppies, tetras, barbs and even arowanas. There is a pond with some large arapaimas (a large carnivorous fish) on display and probably not for sale. The arapaimas pond is a must-see for me each time I visit the farm for my supplies.

A good place for families with young kids to visit during the weekends or for schools to hold excursions for the kids. The enterprising owner has set up a man-made streams for kids to catch small fishes (mostly guppies, mollies and swordtails and some discarded young koi) for a small fee. Small pails and fish nets are provided. The kids can bring their catch home as their new pets.

Fish food is also for sale to those who enjoys feeding the young fishes in the ponds. Sell fish food for a nice profit and get their fish stock fed as well. Brilliant! As long as everyone is happy, who is to complain.