Koi Fish & Pond Plants Near Me

The fish room and greenhouses in Warwick change through the year, so what you see in April is not what you will see in September. We sell standard fin koi, butterfly koi, comets, shubunkins and fancy goldfish, alongside hardy and tropical water lilies, marginal plants, floaters and oxygenators. The pricing tables below show the sizes and grades we list for the 2026 season; what is actually in the tanks on a given day depends on deliveries and on what has already gone home with other pond owners.

Spring

Spring is when most ponds are opened, cleaned and restocked, and it is when demand for fish and plants is highest. The first plants of the year tend to be hardy marginals and early lilies that can take a cool night. Fish selection is usually at its widest in late spring, once pond water has warmed enough for new fish to settle in safely.

Summer

By early summer the greenhouses fill out with tropical lilies, lotus, water lettuce and hyacinth, which need warm water and full sun. This is the best time to fill gaps in a planting scheme or add colour for the rest of the season.

Late summer and autumn

Late in the season the selection narrows. Some plants sell through and are not replaced, and it becomes a better time to buy hardy perennials that will establish before winter than tender tropicals that will only give you a few weeks. If you are shopping for something specific, call 845-651-4100 before you make the drive and the team will tell you what is in.

Standard fin or butterfly koi?

Standard fin koi have the classic torpedo shape and short fins that most people picture when they think of koi. Butterfly koi (sometimes called longfin koi) have long, flowing fins and tails that trail behind them in the water. Both are the same species, both are hardy in a properly built outdoor pond in our climate, and both can live for decades. The choice is mostly about the look you prefer. Many pond owners mix the two.

What a healthy fish looks like

• It swims upright and steadily, and holds its fins open rather than clamped against its body.
• It moves with the group and responds when people approach the tank.
• Its skin and scales look smooth and even, with no raised scales, red streaks, open sores or cotton-like patches.
• Its eyes are clear and its gills move at an even pace, not rapidly.
• It is not hanging at the surface gasping or sitting alone on the bottom.

Ask the team to catch the exact fish you are pointing at. Watching it in the net for a moment is a good last check.

Size now versus size later

A small koi does not stay small. Koi keep growing for years, and in a healthy, well-filtered pond many reach well over a foot long. Buying smaller fish costs less and lets you watch them grow, but plan your stocking around their adult size, not the size they are in the bag. Larger fish cost more up front and give you an established look right away.

How many fish can your pond carry?

Overstocking is the most common reason ponds go green and fish get sick. The right number depends on pond volume, filtration, plant cover and the adult size of the fish you choose. Our guide on how many fish you can keep in a pond walks through the numbers. If you are unsure, bring your pond's dimensions and the team will help you work it out before you buy.

Warwick and most of the towns we serve sit in USDA hardiness zone 6, which means real winters. Plants fall into two groups: hardy plants that come back every year, and tropicals that are grown as annuals here or brought indoors for winter.

Hardy water lilies

Hardy lilies are the backbone of a planted pond. They overwinter in the deeper part of the pond, flower through the summer, and their pads shade the water, which helps keep it cool and limits algae. Tropical lilies and lotus give bigger, showier flowers but need warm water and will not survive a winter outdoors.

Marginals

Marginal plants such as iris, pickerel rush, marsh marigold, creeping jenny and corkscrew rush grow in the shallow shelves around the edge. They soften the border of the pond, give wildlife cover, and pull nutrients out of the water as they grow.

Oxygenators and floaters

Submerged oxygenating plants and floaters like water lettuce and hyacinth compete directly with algae for nutrients. Floaters multiply quickly in summer heat and are tender, so treat them as seasonal.

What koi will eat

Koi graze. Expect them to nibble soft floaters and submerged plants and to dig in loose planting pockets. Lilies and established marginals generally hold up well, especially when planted in containers or protected shelves. A pond with plenty of koi usually needs tougher plants and a little more planting each season.

For more detail, see our guides to the best aquatic plants for New York ponds and how to choose plants for a new pond.