# Koi.rest 18 Hacker News commenters recommended Koi.rest and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People recommend it as a soothing koi pond with zen background sounds for relaxation. The most common caveat is laggy performance, with some critics reporting very low frame rates. ## Why people recommend it - Calming, zen-like relaxation (4 comments): "I'm listening to the sound and not watching the koi, and that is incredibly soothing/relaxing for my ADHD mind." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49844366)) "The sounds and visuals are a great way to recenter." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837765)) "Top of bookmark list for a daily zen!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837863)) - Zen background sounds (2 comments): "The sounds and visuals are a great way to recenter." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837765)) "I like the zen background sounds." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837291)) - Polished UI and visuals (2 comments): "I dig the voronoi used as an approximation of caustics!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49841240)) "I really like the UI especially the about page." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837446)) ## What people warn about - Laggy, slow performance (5 comments): "I'm on a laptop with 96 GB ram and a Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370, and it's running at 3 FPS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49841305)) "Seems like quite laggy (I suppose bcz of heavy assets and rendering)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49839173)) "increase the frame rate of the fish animation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837916)) - Too many fish overwhelm screen (2 comments): "there were some any fish that they fully covered the screen, couldn't see the bottom of the pond" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49841222)) "Too many koi fish is stressful (and slow)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837875)) - AI-built code concerns (2 comments): "You don't know what's causing it to run this badly because you didn't write it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49847791)) "this was vibe coded so yes it has terrible performance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49838224)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Catch a Bird](https://hackerapproved.com/p/catch-a-bird.md): 39 recommend - [neal.fun](https://hackerapproved.com/p/neal-fun.md): 15 recommend - [Zombo.com](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zombo-com.md): 8 recommend - [Pumpkins.sh](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pumpkins-sh.md): 7 recommend - [Human Fovea Detector](https://hackerapproved.com/p/human-fovea-detector.md): 7 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Koi.rest", https://hackerapproved.com/p/koi-rest/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).