[butterflyKOIlover]

Hi I have 5 butterfly koi in a 55 gal tank I use Marineland 350 GPH filter bio wheel and I was wondering if anybody can tell me how to tell a male and a female koi I absolutely love koi and I would really like it if my koi kids lol would be able to breed and what I would need to do if they do breed if I need to separate them or not and the proper way to care for them inside the tank I really could use some information from somebody who really knows what theyre talking about like I said my koi are my baby and I love them a lot
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[thekoimaiden]

Hi and welcome to the community. Unfortunately it isn't easy to sex koi. Your best bet is to wait until they grow over a foot long and look for the width of the body. Females will be plump and males will be thinner. This is most easily viewed from above.

But I'm pretty sure they will not breed for you in a 55 gal tank. I don't know if you are aware, but a 55 gal is not a good permanent home for koi. They can easily reach over a foot long. They really do best in ponds over 1000 gallons. Koi are bred in ponds. Some people use the mud-bottom pond approach and just let nature take it's course. And some people will strip males and females of eggs and sperm and then make the combinations they want to preserve bloodlines and line-breed koi.

Let me know if I can help you with anything else.