20/07/2026
This started with one small koi pond in Centurion. Then it became a fish farm.
As our koi bred and the babies grew, one pond became another—and eventually our koi adventure expanded into a breeding pond, a 20-metre fry pond and nine separate ponds.
Some ponds were used for different sizes and stages of development. Others were separated according to colour, quality, growth and breeding potential.
And then there were the koi we simply became far too attached to part with.
This was the Bushveld chapter of our story.
Our South African-bred koi grew surrounded by wildebeest, nyala, blesbok and impala, with the occasional monkey or baboon appearing to investigate the koi food. It was an unusual setting for a koi fish farm, but for several years, it was home.
This was where we watched tiny fry develop into recognisable koi. We learned how their colours changed, how patterns developed and how individual fish grew into personalities far larger than their ponds.
The farm chapter would eventually end in devastation after a fire forced us to move every surviving koi back to Centurion—but that part of the story deserves its own post.
Some of the fish shown in this video are still swimming in our home pond today. Others remain through their offspring, photographs and the lessons they taught us.
Over the next six months, we will be sharing the complete journey as we prepare for our move to Australia. You will meet the original breeders, see fry-to-adult transformations and follow selected koi as they begin new chapters in carefully chosen, established ponds.
What should we show next: the 20-metre fry pond, the breeding setup or the rescue after the fire?
📍 Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa
🐟 Eight years of koi breeding, growth and beautiful chaos
Follow for the next chapter.