Fish Load Calculator
This fish load calculator will give you a good estimate the total inches of fish capable of living in a well
filtered pond with good circulation.
You can estimate the fish load two ways:
- By the number of gallons your pond holds.
- Or by the surface area of your ponds.
It will give you an estimate in inches to guide you in purchasing goldfish or Koi fish. Obviously the smaller the fish, the more fish
you can place in your pond, but keep in mind that fish grow, so start slowly.
Surface area calculations are also important because they give you square footage information when determining how many inches of
fish to purchase.
You will need to know the surface area and gallon capacity of your pond in order to use these calculators.
You can obtain this information on our site, listed under pond calculators.
When using any of the calculators, keep in mind that all of them are based on estimates only and meant to use as a guide.
To calculate the gallons your pond holds Click Here.
Goldfish produce less waste then Koi fish so a good rule of thumb for goldfish is 5" of fish for every 100 gallons of water.
Koi fish produce more waste then goldfish so a good rule of thumb for Koi fish is 3" of fish for every 100 gallons of water.
To calculate the surface area of your pond Click Here.
The guideline for this is 1 foot of fish for every 24 sq foot of surface area.
Examples of how large pond fish can grow.
Koi = 30"
Comet Goldfish = 14"
Shubunkin Goldfish = 12"