Koi.rest
Consumer and social
virtual relaxation pond
SHOW HN2026
228points
65comments
#227of 4,366 in 2026
Top 6%of 2026 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
19 positive, 9 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 10 critical, out of 41 comments about the project. Thread score +0.34.
Performance: 2 for, 6 againstIdea: 6 for, 0 againstDesign: 2 for, 2 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Relaxing ambient sound and visuals
From 3 comments
This is great! The sounds and visuals are a great way to recenter. Only UX thing I’d say, is it would be nice, and less distracting, if other “users/koi” popping in instead kind…
pozol on HNLike others, I'm getting the one-frame every 2 or 3 seconds behavior. But I'm finding something I didn't expect. I'm listening to the sound and not watching the koi, and that is…
rickydroll on HNRunning well for me! Would also love some very minimal interaction ability. Making water ripple, etc. Something to ease me into the idea of taking a deep breath and sitting while…
lakeffect on HN
Cool idea and fun to use
From 3 comments
This is honestly super cool, and a lot of fun. I was about to say something about the koi fish spawning and despawning until I read that they are the other users on the site,…
Suhinnall27 on HNLove it
_qua on HNThis is really cool! So peaceful.
lappet on HN
Objections
Laggy or low frame rate in many browsers
From 3 comments
Cool idea but as some others have said the website was running quite slow for me. I noticed it at first when hovering over the 'enter' button (so before even loading the pond)…
dylanhouli on HNIt's running at 3fps or something like that. Is that a me problem or a "lots of traffic" problem?
hatthew on HNSeems like quite laggy (I suppose bcz of heavy assets and rendering). I would have liked it more if we had some interactive elments with the pond or the fishes because I can only…
samrj12 on HN
Koi pop in and out abruptly; should fade
From 3 comments
I noticed the koi pop in and out of existence on visible parts of the screen - it would be nice if incoming koi swam into frame from offscreen, and outgoing koi swam offscreen…
p1necone on HNThis is great! The sounds and visuals are a great way to recenter. Only UX thing I’d say, is it would be nice, and less distracting, if other “users/koi” popping in instead kind…
pozol on HNYes, that was very jarring. I didn't bother reading the intro text that said the other fish are other people on the site, so I just thought this was janky crap. The creator…
dolebirchwood on HN
Too many koi is stressful
From 1 comment
Too many koi fish is stressful (and slow) I'd love a version without the multiplayer and just zen
marcuskaz on HN
Requests
Add interactivity like ripples or bubbles
From 3 comments
Cool idea but as some others have said the website was running quite slow for me. I noticed it at first when hovering over the 'enter' button (so before even loading the pond)…
dylanhouli on HNRunning well for me! Would also love some very minimal interaction ability. Making water ripple, etc. Something to ease me into the idea of taking a deep breath and sitting while…
lakeffect on HNA fellow ADHD sufferer. I first clicked the enter button and, for once thanks to, slow loading I saw the 15 30 etc options... So went back and clicked 15 and waited and waited…
Paradigm2020 on HN
Option to control number of koi
From 3 comments
Too many koi fish is stressful (and slow) I'd love a version without the multiplayer and just zen
marcuskaz on HNLooks like it locks the number when you first load. I had it open for 30 minutes, with just 3 fish, but after reading your comment, re-opened to find 3 dozen. Choice about…
mcint on HNThank you for the feedback! Will definitely add that as an option.
hxii on HN
Screensaver or live background support
From 2 comments
This is honestly super cool, and a lot of fun. I was about to say something about the koi fish spawning and despawning until I read that they are the other users on the site,…
Suhinnall27 on HNThis is great! I would really like this as live background on Android.
farrysaini on HN
Questions
How is the audio generated and how is repetition handled
From 1 comment
How are the ambient sounds made-looped recordings or synthesized in the browser? I’m curious how you handle repetition during longer sessions.
safaelmali on HN
Why the fish count and multiplayer behave as they do
From 2 comments
This is neat. I like the zen background sounds. I'm particularly fascinated by digital third places with extremely limited social interaction (like cursor camp by Neal). I think…
jeromechoo on HNIt appeared to be real earlier, or at least simulated being real. I watched for 10 minutes and there were ~10 koi in my pool, with koi routinely flickering in and out of…
applfanboysbgon on HN
Alternatives named
Windows 95 Marine Aquarium screensaver
From 1 comment
Pleasant flashbacks to the Windows 95 classic Serene Screen “Marine Aquarium” https://youtu.be/PprsZgA-kxs?si=waSpdI4J323fNNGh…
rhplus on HN
Koi Pond iOS app
From 1 comment
This immediately made me think of the old iOS app Koi Pond. In 2008, it was incredible. I remember being amazed by the water that you could spash/swirl.…
bosunknows on HN
Cursor Camp
From 1 comment
This is neat. I like the zen background sounds. I'm particularly fascinated by digital third places with extremely limited social interaction (like cursor camp by Neal). I think…
jeromechoo on HN