Unboxing Live Koi Fish From NextDayKoi.com 

Shout put to Nextdaykoi.com! You guys rock! Loyal customer of yours! :)

Shout out* to...darn autocorrect! Lol

How about Ontario Canada 🇨🇦

@@cody1995evo Sorry we are not able to export. Thanks.

I want to start a fish business.

I was not concerned about quarantine in this particular case. I appreciate the insight on the acclimation, maybe I misinterpreted NDK’s instruction. Whatever the case, all the fish acclimated perfectly and are doing well and eating!

I'm glad it worked out. The carp family are generally quite hardy souls by all accounts. The proper unboxing steps regarding ammonia spikes should be easily searchable within YT. It is quite possible you were told differently as there are a few videos where people do slow drip acclimation which is is fine when the fish haven't been bagged for a prolonged international journey. It's perfectly fine for fish brought home from your LFS. An hour in the bag won't create a toxic buildup. Enjoy all those new koi.

@puirYorick it actually does have to do with the pond water mixing into the shipping water - The toxicity of ammonia is directly correlated to the pH of the water. A given amount of ammonia will be less toxic to the fish at pH 6.5 than it is at pH 7.5. For this reason we use low pH water when we're shipping fish. The low pH means that the ammonia released into the water by the fish during shipping is less toxic. When pond or tank water (that is generally much higher in pH than the shipping water) is poured into the bag, it causes a pH spike, which in turn makes the ammonia in the bag exponentially more toxic to the fish. This is why we advise customers NOT to pour pond or tank water into the shipping bag. You do have a point though, the best method for acclimating fish is to float the *sealed* bag in the water to allow the temperature to adjust. The bag is filled with pure oxygen. Pure oxygen mixes with water without aeration and agitation, whereas atmospheric air requires aeration and agitation to mix with the water. Once the bag is opened and the pure oxygen is released and replaced by atmospheric air, the amount of oxygen available in the water will start to decrease. After some period the fish will suffocate in the bag if they are not released or the water is not agitated.

Here's more info on pH and ammonia - www.blueridgekoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/pH-and-Ammonia.pdf

RE: "it actually does have to do with the pond water mixing into the shipping water - " Okay - for reasons very specific to your policy to: "use low pH water when we're shipping fish." Therefore, your particular instructions to *your* customers under the presumption that their pond will have water "generally much higher in pH than the shipping water" *would* be perfectly correct. Other hobbyists ordering fish online from a random source need to concern themselves FIRST with the likelihood of ammonia spiking as a result of *opening* the bag. At that moment, the bag water is best presumed to be toxic (in a general case) and the fish removed as soon as possible. I do applaud your company for taking steps to neutralize this bit of chemistry but not every shipper will do the same. Once the new fish is separated from the shipping water (which may also have been medicated AND heavily contaminated with waste), the pond, regardless of its pH, is where those fish are destined to live the next minutes of their lives. The hobbyist does need to have prepared a pond (environment) suitable for the species or else they're about to die anyway. This presumption was the main one I was making - given there were fish of a similar type alive and well in that environment. Hence my greater concern over the bag water than over the pond water. The pond water presents a lesser risk than *typical* dirty shipping bag water - exposed to the outside air - in most circumstances. Regards etcetera.

Interesting. I hope my 5 will grow. I mean that's the purpose of the koi to grow beautifully. Thank you for the info