Koi Aquarium School
Hands-on classes for families, homeschoolers, and anyone who's ever watched a fish and felt the urge to understand it.
From your first tank to breeding rare shrimp — the grid below tells the story of a family growing in skill together. Browse beginner to advanced, left to right, top to bottom.
Tiny hands, big ecosystem.
A child carefully lowers a thermometer into a 5-gallon planted tank, brow furrowed, completely absorbed.
Take home: A cycled, planted nano tank ready to house your first fish.
Why your fish keep dying — and how to stop it.
A parent holds a test tube up to the light, reading ammonia levels for the first time, eyes wide.
Take home: A water testing kit and the confidence to read what your tank is telling you.
A garden that breathes underwater.
A teenager trims a lush carpet of dwarf baby tears, scissors in hand, the tank a perfect emerald rectangle.
Take home: A planted aquascape layout using the golden ratio — yours to take home.
One fish. A whole world.
A family crouched around a single betta bowl, watching the fish flare its fins, everyone leaning in.
Take home: The actual reason bettas die in bowls — and a proper setup plan.
Grow your own fish food from scratch.
Tiny hands hold a fine mesh net over a bucket, catching clouds of daphnia, delighted and slightly grossed out.
Take home: A starter daphnia culture in a 1-gallon container, ready to feed your fish.
The most beautiful 2 cm animal you'll ever keep.
A parent and child peer through a magnifying glass at a berried female crystal red shrimp, whispering.
Take home: A breeding colony starter kit and water parameter cheat sheet.
The invisible ecosystem you're already managing.
A family of four huddles around a compound microscope, watching paramecia spiral through a drop of tank water.
Take home: A slide preparation kit and field guide to freshwater microorganisms.
From a half-barrel to a living koi pond.
A child kneels at the edge of an outdoor pond, watching a flash of orange turn slowly beneath lily pads.
Take home: A pond plant selection guide and seasonal maintenance calendar.
Most aquarium advice comes from pet store employees incentivized to sell you things. We're instructors first. We'd rather send you home with a working tank than a full shopping cart.
The moment a child understands why their fish needs a cycled tank — not just "clean water," but the actual chemistry of ammonia and beneficial bacteria — something shifts. They stop seeing a pet and start seeing an ecosystem. That's what we're after.
No PowerPoints. Every concept is demonstrated in a working tank. You leave with substrate under your fingernails and a tank that proves you understand it.
Classes are designed so a six-year-old and their parent can both be the expert by the end. Biology, chemistry, and wonder — together.
Each class maps to life science standards and comes with a take-home guide. Aquariums make abstract biology tangible and alive.
1,200+
Families taught since 2019
94%
Of students keep their fish alive after 6 months
38
Different species covered across all classes
4.9
Average class rating out of 5
"My nine-year-old now explains the nitrogen cycle to her grandparents. At dinner. Unprompted. Koi gave her a language for something she already loved."
Mara Thibodeau
Homeschool mom of three · Portland, OR
Every class at Koi ends with a living system in your hands. Something you built, something that breathes, something that will outlast the weekend. Come see what we mean.