Southern California Koi Rescue is a nonprofit animal rescue specializing in large koi fish and other pond pets. If you are looking to purchase high quality Japanese koi fish, we would be happy to refer you to several highly reputable koi dealers that not only support us, but whom we also consider to be close personal friends. We are not koi dealers ourselves, nor are we their competitors in any way. Simply put, we do not “sell” koi.
The sole purpose of our special hosted koi adoption events is to help us find suitable new forever homes for the beautiful living jewels entrusted to our care. While rehoming fees at these events are a tiny fraction of typical koi dealer wholesale costs, these minimal fees do help to offset some of our costs for the various free services we provide. We have successfully re-homed literally hundreds of large koi fish through adoptions made at these events.
How can I attend a hosted koi adoption event?
Private hobbyists wishing to attend one of our special hosted koi adoption events must first submit an approved Koi Fish Adoption Request. These requests are reviewed by our volunteers. Approved hobbyists are added to our adoption event notification list and will be contacted via SMS text when future events are scheduled. Available slots for these events are extremely limited, so quick response is highly recommended to confirm an appointment.
Submit a Koi Fish Adoption Request here.
Koi Adoption from a Koi Rescue vs. Buying Koi from a Koi Dealer
By definition, a koi dealer is someone in the “business” of selling koi fish. As a nonprofit animal rescue, our “mission” is to find suitable new forever homes for the living creatures entrusted to our care. Our special koi adoption events are intended to help us accomplish this mission. For this reason, an approved Koi Fish Adoption Request is required for all private hobbyists wishing to attend our events.
Our dedicated team of volunteers commonly travels hundreds of miles at their own expense to complete large koi rescues throughout CA, NV, and AZ. After finishing quarantine, many of these rescued koi fish are then made available to approved private hobbyists through adoptions made at these special hosted events. The minimal rehoming fees charged for adoptions made at these events help to offset some of our operating costs for the various free services we provide.
Adoptable Pond Pets
Besides large/jumbo koi fish, we also make other pond pets available for adoption to new forever homes during our special hosted adoption events. These adoptable pond pets typcally include large pond goldfish, channel catfish and aquatic turtles.
Koi Adoption Process
The koi adoption process is very simple. Approved private hobbyists on our notification list are invited to attend one of our hosted koi adoption events. After their appointment is scheduled, hobbyists arrive on time to select the koi and other pond pets they wish to adopt. After paying a minimal rehoming fee, these adopted pets are then packaged by our volunteers to help ensure their safe transport back to their new forever homes. Average appointment time is less than one hour.
Koi Rehoming Fees
Just like when you adopt a new puppy from your local animal shelter, a nominal rehoming fee is required for all koi adoptions made at our special hosted koi adoption events. While a tiny fraction of typical koi dealer wholesale cost, these minimal fees do help to offset some of our costs for the various free services we provide. An effective rehoming fee of $33 USD is charged for most large/jumbo koi fish made available for adoption during our events. This effective rehoming fee represents the average USD amount actually paid per fish after accepted “free koi” quantity discounts.
To help promote interest amongst koi keepers for our events, we typically promote these adoptable large/jumbo koi fish for “$50 each or 3 for $100.” This represents an effective rehoming fee of $33 USD (3 koi / $100 = $33). All koi adoptions completed during our events are on a first come, first served basis and we do not hold specific koi for any hobbyists. To help ensure a level of fairness for private hobbyists with later appointment times, we also set aside a special assortment of large/jumbo koi fish. Effective rehoming fees for these special offerings typically range from $50 – $150 per fish after “free koi” quantity discounts.
Sample Rehoming Fee Schedule:
- Large and Fancy Pond Goldfish: $5 USD each (4 fish minimum)
- Small Koi and Butterfly Koi: $5 USD each (4 fish minimum)
- Adult Red Ear Slider (RES) Turtles: FREE (Turtle Adoption Request required)
- Non-RES Aquatic Turtles (i.e. Painted Turtles, Softshell Turtles, etc.): $10 – $50 USD each
- Large/Jumbo Koi and Butterfly Koi : $50 USD each or adopt 3 for $100 USD
- Special Large/Jumbo Koi and Butterfly Koi: $50 – $150 USD each after “free koi” quantity discounts
Event Locations
Because Southern California Koi Rescue is a non-profit animal rescue run entirely by a team of volunteers, we do not operate a traditional business location. Therefore, our special koi adoption events are hosted at private residential locations belonging to some of our volunteers. In the past these events have been hosted within the cities of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Victorville.
Koi Packaging & Safe Transport
If you plan to attend one of our special hosted koi adoption events, there is no need for you to bring any containers or bags for transport. All selected koi fish are bagged and boxed by our volunteers to help ensure their safe transport back to their new forever homes. We package the koi very much the same way as if they were being shipped via UPS of FedEx. During the warm summer months, we highly recommend transporting your new koi within an air conditioned vehicle. We do not recommend transporting live koi within an open truck bed during the summer heat. We do not supply ice packs free of charge, but you are welcome to purchase ice packs from us or bring your own to your appointment to help prevent your new koi fish from getting too warm during transport.
Koi Quarantine
Our rescued koi fish are quarantined by us for a minimum period of 4 weeks before we make them available for adoption to approved private hobbyists. While in quarantine, these koi are treated for common koi parasites and any other health issues found. Regardless of source, we highly recommend quarantine for any new koi additions before adding them to your main pond.
Visit our Koi Quarantine page to learn more about our recommended koi quarantine process.
Any koi fish deemed unfit for adoption after finishing quarantine are released into one of our dedicated santuary ponds. These “scratch and dent” fish are loved and well taken care of by our volunteers.
Live Arrival Guarantee
While koi losses during transport are extremely rare, they can happen. A koi loss may occur due to a bag leaking or becoming punctured while in transit. If such a loss occurs, simply alert us immediately and we will gladly issue a credit redeemable towards rehoming fees at our next scheduled adoption event. If you are unable to attend this next scheduled event for any reason, simply contact us to request an extension valid for rehoming fees at our following event.
Credit amount issued typically equals the full “face value” of any koi lost during transport. This face value refers to the full rehoming fee for the actual koi lost before taking advantage of “free koi” quantity discounts. Because most hobbyists take full advantage of these discounts, this amount (face value) often far exceeds the actual amount paid (effective rehoming fee) for any koi lost.
It is not possible for us to accurately diagnose nor provide treatment for any koi fish once it leaves our care. We also consider “free koi” quantity discounts accepted during our events as pro-active replacements for any possible koi fish losses occurring in the future. For these reasons, we do not provide additional free replacements for any koi losses occuring after adoption date. All koi adoptions are AS-IS and FINAL. No refunds.
Review our Live Arrival Guarantee here.
Koi Health Resources
Koi are living creatures and great care must be taken to help keep them alive and healthy. We have published a Koi Health resource page to help hobbyists ensure optimal koi health regardless of whether they adopted these koi from us or not.
Review our Koi Health resource page here.
Upcoming Adoption Events
Our volunteers generally host koi adoption events every 4-6 weeks. Scheduling of these events is dependent on sufficient interest among approved private hobbyists wishing to attend. We commonly promote these events via social media so be sure to follow us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
Policy Acceptance
Attending one of our hosted koi adoption events confirms your full understanding and acceptance of our policies.
