What should I expect from a pond side service for Koi? Those who carry out any form of service for Koi keepers vary in experience and what services they can offer. Many are Koi keepers that want to help others in the hobby to enjoy a trouble free pond.  They will charge a fee for their work and carry insurance or offer a safeguard to reassure Koi keepers.  There is no agreed training or standard practices for this work and below is a summary of how I see the role of those offering safe services at the pond side. Ideally, the pond water parameters for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH, pH and dissolved oxygen should be tested.  If unsatisfactory, the Koi keeper should be advised how to monitor and remedy this. It is important that the Koi are not subjected to chlorine, chloramine or nitrate from the mains water supply and, in some locations, metals may also require testing.  Advice on testing and removal methods should be suggested. It is important to ensure that the pond and filter are running as per the needs of the Koi stocking level and as hygienically as possible. The behaviour of the Koi and their external appearance can indicate their health and observation is part of the job. It is important that Koi can be netted and handled safely. In a large pond, one person can find catching Koi difficult. Any Koi keeper unhappy about how Koi are handled should make this clear. Those attending a pond should bring a microscope and the necessary items to take mucus smears from a representative sample of the fish to check for parasites.  In a pond of 25 Koi, at least five Koi should be sampled. Using a glass slide direct on the body is not always a safe practice. In addition, it is vital that whatever implement is used to take mucus smears is sterile or disposable and has not been used on other fish. Pond services should be able to recommend a treatment product for Koi, if required, that can be purchased in a Koi outlet or on line.  There are substances that are illegal for use in the treatment of fish and it is safer to question substances not in an appropriate container or package. Every product used should have a brand name and directions for use. If any skin abrasions are spotted on the fish, topical treatment can be carried out with an iodine based product. Any pond service should be able to assist the Koi keeper in the calculation of the pond water volume.  This fact is needed to assess the capacity of the pond and filter as a long term safe home for Koi and is also needed if pond treatment is required and must include the water in the filter system. If Koi losses have occurred with no obvious cause and the Koi keeper would like this investigated to be certain there is no disease in progress that will put other fish at risk, most pond services are able to arrange this for their clients. If the service offers to take a fish away for any reason and it is later returned to the home pond, caution is needed as that can only be regarded as safe if the fish is housed in isolation. There are disease risks if the fish lives with other fish or in a facility that other fish have lived in and it is safer to decline such offers. Some services offer pond maintenance which should be carried out using the Koi keepers own pond vacuum, nets and other items of equipment. If the service supplies their own equipment, it is important that all the items have been sterilised as there is the risk of spreading serious disease if any item has previously been used in another pond. Often, within a few days of the initial visit, a follow up is needed if problems were found in the pond or the condition of the fish.  Obviously, there is no need to repeat all the above recommendations at a follow up visit; discretion is needed. Some hobbyists favour a pond and fish check over in the spring or autumn.