Transporting koi requires a mandatory fasting period of at least 48 hours beforehand, a critical measure to safeguard fish health and maintain water quality during transit.
Core Physiological Rationale:
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Gut Evacuation and Health: Fasting allows the koi to completely evacuate its digestive tract. During transport, stress and physical jostling can cause digestive shutdown. Undigested food in the intestines can ferment, leading to bacterial enteritis (gut infection), bloating, or even regurgitation, which fouls the water inside the bag.
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Ammonia Control: This is the most vital reason. A feeding fish produces waste. In the confined, sealed, and oxygen-limited environment of a transport bag, feces and urea breakdown rapidly produce toxic ammonia. Studies show that an unfasted koi can cause ammonia levels in the bag to spike to 2 mg/L or higher within 6 hours—a concentration over 10 times the lethal threshold. This creates a toxic "poison bag" that chemically burns the fish's gills and skin, often causing death or irreversible damage before arrival.
Standard Operational Protocol:
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Process: Fasting is conducted in the holding system with normal filtration and aeration for a full 48-72 hours to ensure gut clearance. Fish are only bagged for transport after this period.
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Water Preparation: Transport water is often pristine, cooled, and treated with ammonia detoxifiers and slime coat protectants. Fasting is the primary preventive measure to make these additives effective.
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Post-Transport Protocol: Upon arrival at the destination, koi must be properly acclimated to the new water. They should continue to be fasted for an additional 24 hours to recover from stress, after which feeding can resume cautiously with a small amount of highly digestible food.
In summary, pre-transport fasting is a non-negotiable best practice. It directly prevents self-pollution and ammonia toxicity, which are the leading causes of mortality and post-shipment health collapse in transported koi.
