Can Koi have friends?

Something that I hadn't thought about concerns what other species can you mix with your koi. Whilst most serious koi keepers wouldn't dream of such a thing, I do know many who have at least one large dull carp. These may not be a different species but have little in common with the finely breed koi we all aspire to own.
Surfing the net I stumbled upon a site giving ideas for koi companions. Here in the UK we are all familiar with mixing koi in garden ponds with goldfish, golden orfe and maybe a snail or two. I have seen grass carp and sturgeons kept with koi but around the world with different climates and local wildlife there are other ideas. The usual advice here is to avoid koi and plants, as they are either eaten or dug up and other animals are a distraction at best. So it was strange to me to find a site positively encouraging pond owners to introduce such creatures as ; frogs, toads, turtles and even ducks !!

Thinking this was a bit strange or a one off I discovered that actually koi are sharing their ponds with a variety of creatures in different countries. In fact there are websites selling such things as turtles to put in your koi pond. I'm not sure whether they are turtles or terrapins, or if its a good idea, but it seems quite popular. With the hot summer weather here in the UK at the moment it's interesting to read about koi ponds in more tropical places.

Here is a site about a very nice pond where all the inhabitants seem to successfully get along. Admittedly some of them are wandering local wildlife that find a home, but it should make us think how lucky we are to only have to deal with the odd heron now and again in the UK.

www.mysocalledpondlife.blogspot.com