FindKoi

Hanover Koi Farms

Unclaimed

Koi breeder in Hanover, Pennsylvania

Hanover Koi Farms is a family-owned koi breeding operation in Hanover, Pennsylvania that describes itself as one of the largest retailers of koi and butterfly koi on the East Coast, with roughly three decades in the industry. Rather than importing pre-grown fish, the farm breeds its own bloodlines in-house, developed in part under the guidance of a Japanese breeder, and runs a documented quarantine and health-testing regimen focused on SVC and KHV screening. Fish and pond supplies ship online, with in-person retail hours Thursday through Sunday.

Visit website ↗ 223-400-4307

At a glance

Shipping
Ships nationwide
Visit in person
Yes — open to visitors
Price bracket
Pond-quality koi, typically under $100 · Quality selected koi, roughly $100–$500 (price guide)
Operating since
Not stated
Quarantine practice
Microscopy performed on 10% of the population of every batch of fish before and after treatments, temperature cycling to trigger latent SVC/KHV symptoms, closed systems run on spring and well water, sterilized equipment with system isolation between batches, and periodic lab testing of select batches.
Health guarantee
Not stated — ask before buying

Where their koi come from

Hanover Koi Farms breeds its own koi.

Community reputation

Longtime koiphen forum members describe founder John Fornaro as knowledgeable and generous with his time; more recent threads note that Fornaro has retired (though he still lives on the farm) and that longtime breeder Chris O'Brien, a marine biology graduate with 13+ years at the farm, now runs day-to-day operations. Commentary in these threads is uniformly positive about staff knowledge and fish health, though the ownership transition is called out as a change worth knowing about.

Sources for this listing (2)
  • https://hanoverkoifarms.com/ — location, phone, self-description as one of the largest East Coast koi/butterfly koi retailers, breeding focus, quarantine emphasis (accessed 2026-08-29)
  • https://hanoverkoifarms.com/about-us/ — breeds own bloodlines, training under a Japanese breeder (unnamed), detailed quarantine protocol, focus on koi up to 10 inches (accessed 2026-08-29)