Rajat Agarwal has been a pond owner since 2004. Through years of hands-on experience, and more than a few lessons learned the hard way, he has developed a fond love for koi, their gentle nature, their stunning variations in colors and styles, and refers to them as “Nature’s Masterpieces”. He’s developed a deep understanding of what makes koi special, their varieties, building ponds, Japanese landscaping and pond keeping. Since 2022, he has made presentations on koi classification and varieties, koi ponds and building Japanese koi gardens for local pond societies in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston (as well as the Austin Oita Sisters Japanese Cultural Event). He has been featured on the Central Texas Gardner, KXAN 512 Studio and RJ Designs on KLBJ radio.
In May 2025, he opened ATX Koi Corp (www.atxkoi.com; #atxkoi on Facebook and Instagram), becoming the leading supplier of prime Japanese and domestic koi in the Greater Austin area. Along with amazing assortment of prime koi, the business also offers consulting services, pond care supplies and accessories, food, non-prescription medical treatments and maintenance services for ponds.
In koi keeping, discussions about food often begin with brand, protein percentage or whether a feed is meant for growth, color or all-season use. But that is not really where nutrition begins. Nutrition begins with metabolism, and metabolism begins with water temperature. Koi will often rise to the surface with energy, appearing eager for food. […]