All animals, including koi carp, need light to live! While artificial lighting can help you see the depths of your pond more clearly or allow you to view your koi once the sun has gone down, natural lighting in the form of sunlight is vital to koi for a wide variety of reasons.
Day and night cycles
All animals live out their lives affected by their “circadian rhythms”, which are caused by the natural cycle of darkness and light. It is, therefore, important to make sure that your pond is positioned in such a way that your koi pond will be exposed to natural light and feel the effects of the daily and seasonal lighting changes. This is important to keep your koi healthy and their metabolisms ticking over normally.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an important vitamin that cannot be artificially created and is only generated through sunlight. Vitamin D enables plant and animal life to grow and thrive. It is responsible for a wide range of processes, including building and maintaining a healthy immune system and contributing to the growth of strong teeth and bones.
While humans get their daily vitamin D dose directly from the sun, koi carp cannot process it in this way. To get their supply of vitamin D, koi need to eat plants and animals that have already absorbed it.
Plant growth
Sunlight is also vital to grow strong, healthy plants in your koi pond and allow the process of photosynthesis and oxygenation of the water.
Exposure to sunlight also means that the plants in your koi pond will be rich in vitamin D, which as already mentioned, is essential for healthy koi.
The colors of koi in natural light
Natural lighting in the form of sunlight also helps your koi’s colors to really shine through. As well as showing the koi off in their best light, sunlight will contribute to the development of healthy color pigmentation.
Can a koi pond be in the shade?
While sunlight is vital for your koi pond to ensure that your fish and plants thrive, it is also important to ensure a shaded area of the pond. This allows the koi to get out of the hot sun when they need to cool down.
Finally, too much bright light over the pond for long periods of time can contribute to bacteria growth and algae blooms, so it’s important to get the balance of light and shade just right!