January 2000 Selected Articles

Hi Koi lovers,

First, I'd like to thank everyone for nominating me for President of our club. Fred has left some big shoes to fill and I hope I can keep the club going in such a positive direction. Being Vice President for the past two years has been a real pleasure, working with such interesting fun people. I've learned so much during these years, and my interest in koi keeping has been greatly enhanced because of this club.

There's always a lot of extra work that's involved to make us such a success in addition to the monthly club meetings. I’d like to mention some of those people who gave more than their share for the past few years.

First, there's Todo Todorsky, who puts so much of his time into our newsletter, in addition to helping with all of the club activities. I'm sure it's not easy coming up with articles to fill the newsletter each month. Todo is willing to create our most important means of communication on his own time.

Kate Deaton is another member who spent many hours of her personal time as our Treasurer, keeping our funds in order, as well as organizing the supplies we use for meetings and parities. Both Todo and Kate deserve a special thanks for giving so much to the club.

And there's just not enough I can say when it comes to Charles Gardner and Fred Leib. Charlie has just about made the North Florida Koi Club a full time job. Most club members are not aware of how much work he does for us. Not only has he served as our Secretary, but his efforts behind the scene make all of our events as successful as they are. He plays a big part in our participation with the All Florida Show; he represented our club on a trip to California in 1999 for the AKCA seminar, and he literally spends an obscene amount of time on the beautiful trophies we present. To top it all off, now he is our Vice President, so I guess he's not giving up on us yet! We are so lucky to have him in our club.

Now, what can I say about Fred, I'd like to believe that all of us were equally involved with turning this club into the great Koi Club that it is, but we all know Fred was the ring leader. Fred had a vision for the future of this club and there was no stopping him in his efforts. So many people through the years have complimented us on becoming a premier Koi club in the state of Florida. Club participation is at a new level because of all the enthusiasm Fred has generated. It was evident in our recent fall show just how far we've come. The turnout was great and the response from outsiders was even better. This says a lot about Fred's desire to get people excited about this hobby. I can only hope that we retain this energy he has given us to keep the club going in this direction. On a more personal note, I'd like to thank the Leib's for hosting the board meetings each month in their home (as well as the good food).

Last, but not least, thank you to the Rohmans for opening their house to us once again fro our Christmas party. Everyone brought a gift to exchange, and it was a fun night for all who came. I'd like to wish each of you a Happy New Year and I look forward to what lies ahead for our Koi Club in 2000. Jim Roberts.

Office of the Secretary by Charlie

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy Holiday Season!

Once again we had a great Christmas Party at the home of Don & Shirley Rohman. We certainly appreciate them opening their home to us again this year. All the beautiful decorations set the Christmas Party mood.  As always Ken May did an excellent job on music and entertainment for the event. I know he works hard loading his sound equipment to bring to our events. This really adds a nice touch and his efforts are greatly appreciated.  A Koi stained glass lampshade that I donated was presented to Gene & Tina Stogsdill for attending all 12 meetings in 1999. The Stogsdill’s were the only members besides the board that attended all meetings and events.  Fred had Christmas Mugs filled with candy for each member who attended the party, along with other nice door prize items that was given away.  The only business conducted was the annual election of Board Members and Koi Person of the Year. The results were as follows:

Jim Roberts-- President            Charles Gardner -- Vice President          Jan Brown -- Treasurer        Anne Miller -- Secretary

Votes for Koi Person was a tie vote with Rod Lawton & Fred Leib being named as our Koi Person of the year.  I look forward to seeing everyone at the January meeting as we kick off the New Year. Remember to renew you dues for 2000. Also if you have an email address please make sure it is current so I can send reminders of meetings and special events.

Caught In The Net by Todo

In searching the by-ways of the internet for interesting and useful information. I came across a most helpful service. It is found on the site of:

Blue Iris Water Gardens,  8003 E. Cataldo,  Spokane, WA 99212     Phone: 509-921-1001

Email: blueiris@blueiriswatergardens.com,   http://www.blueiriswatergardens.com

The sell all manner of pond related items including Books Filters ,Fish and Pond Treatments, Floating Plants ,Hardy Lilies, In-Line Pumps, Liners, Spouting Ornaments, Submersible Pumps, TableTop Waterfalls and Ultra Violet Units .  Their online catalog is colorful and informative.  But, the feature of their site that caught my attention was the: Blue Iris Water Gardens Pond Calculator.    This page lets you fill in some basic information about your pond and then gives you a read out on several critial measurements and an estamate of the cost of building the unit.

The questions are as follow:  Length at longest point in feet ;   Width at widest point in feet  ;  Depth at deepest point in feet  ; Average depth in feet  ; Heigth of water fall in feet (0 if none)  ; Width of spillway in inches (0 if none)

Once your data is in, it is only a mouse click before the calculator goes to work . As a test I put in the dimentions of my main pond and this is what the calculator gave me:

Using the information you supplied: A length of 18 feet by a width of 16 feet. A maximum depth of 3 feet. With an average depth of 3 feet. ; A waterfall height of 2 feet with a spillway of: 20 inches ; This pond will hold approximately 6463 gallons. With a surface to volume ratio of 1 Sq. ft. to 22 gallons.  ; The required liner size is 26 by: 24 ; This is 624 square feet ; Minimum pump size is 3900 GPH.  ; Recommended pump size is 4980 GPH.  ; Recommended filters would be; Predator 15, Biozorb 7000 , Optional Ultraviolet systems; Aqua UV 160 watt.  A rough cost estimate would be; $2729 or $0.42 per gallon. This is a rough estimate only and will vary dependingon the brand or type of pump, filter and UV light selected.

Much of this information I already knew, but it was nice to have it confurmed. Although, it seems my UV is smaller than they recommend.  Visit the site, type in your own pond information and see what you find. As ususal, neither Barbels nor the North Florida Koi Club endorse any company or product listed. The article is provided for information purposes only.

Euthanasia...Should be considered when a fish is intractably ill or deformed by disease beyond hope of salvation. Even though it is belived a fish feels no deep pain, if they are hopeless, euthanasia is a humane choice.

Ideally, hypothermia is the recommended way to dispatch a fish.

Place the fish in a modest amount of water so that it may recline upright and comfortably. Place the bowl or bag in the freezer and close the door, prividing darkness. As the poikilotherm (cold blooded animal) loses heat, the enzymes that govern consciousness are inactivated and they lose sensation and finally all systems arrest, painlessly and completely.

Alternatives would involve severing the head behind the gill covers.

For larger fish, a sharp blow (with hammer or other weighty object) to the head between the eyes is effective. Then the head is severed. http://www.koivet.com/ Dr. Johnson.

Be Prepared

by Ray Jordan, via Texas Koi & Fancy Goldfish Society Newsletter . Reprinted from AKCA On Line Library.

The last few months have been harrowing for some of our members. One of the stimulating aspects of our hobby is the changing requirements of our ponds and fish. Fortunately, Martha & I have had a fairly relaxing and satisfying winter so far, pond wise. However, as I think back over the past several years, there have been challenges for us and our fish! Now is the time to get prepared for possible problems. Some of the things you might want to think about and be prepared for are as follows:

1. What if your only air pump stops working Depending on several factors such as fish density, you could begin losing fish in only a matter of hours. It is expensive to have spares for everything but an extra air pump is relatively cheap and really a necessity. If you are already using two pumps for your pond then you would still have a back up when one stops working.

2. What if you had to do a major water change: Do you keep enough dechlorinator on hand to change your entire pond's water if needed? Or, what if you forgot and left the water running during a regular water change and over-filled your pond with regular chlorinated tap water? Yes, it is a very good idea to use a water timer, etc. But, sooner or later you will lose track of time or forget and leave the house with the water running, or fall asleep. Believe me, I know. So always be prepared to make a major water change and have spare dechlorinator on hand.

3. What will you do when a fish gets sick: Do you keep a hospital tank ready to go so you can treat most problems successfully? You can buy a 150 gal. Rubbermaid tub, a small pump, filter, and heater for under $200. This is reallycheap insurance and can save you it's initial cost many times over.

4. Do you have written specific directions for anyone taking care of your pond while away from home: For example could they reset a tripped breaker for your ponds air or water pumps? Would they know what to do if a major problem occurred? Ask someone who knows your pond to act as a backup for your house sitter. Be sure they know how to clean your leaf traps, etc. Also, never ever make any significant changes to your pond just prior to leaving town.

5. Read and learn about diseases before they happen to your Fish. Attend the lectures. The new club library is also a great way to start. There are several excellent books and the fish disease video by Dr. Hansen is fantastic.

6. Do not hesitate to call someone: A primary objective of our club is to assist each other. Call someone and ask for help or advice.

Koi Chat with Sandee

New for 2000, Sandee Todorsky will highlight a club member each month.

Jan Brown has been a member of NFKC since approximately 1994. Her pond experience goes back longer, and like many of us, she wishes she had joined the club and gotten her knowledge of pond building before she built her pond. However, her pond was not originally built for the purpose of raising koi. All Jan wanted to do was to grow a water lily. What she learned was that along with growing water plants, you can also grow some pretty vicious mosquitoes.

Jan’s first fish were goldfish, purchased solely for the purpose of eating mosquito larvae. She soon found that these fish were boring. Then someone introduced her to koi, and the love affair began. Here we are a few years later with pond revisions and now Jan boast of two adjoining ponds (connected by a 12 inch PVC pipe) totaling about 5000 gallons with 35 large and 35 younger, smaller koi in a very natural setting. Jan says there are still a few goldfish she has yet to get rid of. And her water lily......the koi ate them until she learned to put them in cages (the lilies, not the koi).

Jan brings to the club an area of expertise that many of us rely on. She is a Master Gardener. As a matter of fact, she is the Clay County 1999 Master Gardener of the Year. Jan has given talks on varieties of water plants and how to avoid introducing disease into your pond when you introduce new plants. She can talk at length about her pond, her fish, and her plants. And she shares her knowledge with a wonderful dry sense of humor.

Jan was also instrumental in starting a "pond watcher" list. If you need to be out of town and have no one to watch your pond and feed your fish, call Jan. She will find a club member who lives in your general area who will watch your pond while you are gone.

When asked about her fish, Jan says that she likes longfins and is partial to yellow koi. However, she says she has given up trying to learn the Japanese names for the color patterns for the fish she has because every time she identifies one, the fish changes color.

Advice for the new koi keeper? Jan says she would offer two pieces of advice: 1) Don’t put goldfish in your new pond to test the water quality because you will never be able to get rid of them; and 2) Build your pond twice as big as you think it needs to be, or before you finish it will be too small.