March  2000 Selected Articles

If you were unable to attend, our February meeting was hosted by Ann Miller and her daughter Carolyn. The meeting was held at Carolyn's house, where she and her husband Jim made us all feel very welcome. Not to mention very full, with all the delicious food they served! At the meeting, Koi Mom, Sandee Todorsky sold fish and Rod Lawton provided us with pond and fish supplies. Sandee has donated a fish and Rod has donated food and chemicals, all of which will be raffled off at the March meeting. A test kit and a small submersible pump are among the items to be raffled.

The All Florida Show is now only a few weeks away, taking place this month, March 17, 18, & 19, in Orlando (actually Kissimmee) at Splendid China. Remember, this is a major event for all Koi clubs in our state, so try to attend and show your support, even if you can only make it on Saturday.

We are still in need of places to hold some of our meetings this year. We hate to rely on the same members to provide us with a place to hold our meeting, so please help us out if you can have a meeting at your home.

Let me say thank you to all of you that bring a food dish each month to our meetings. We always have a nice variety of food to choose from. It's important that we all contribute by

bringing something, because this helps take the burden off of the host. Most importantly though, is the help we should give to the host, by leaving their home with no mess to clean up. At each meeting it's a small group of people that are always left to pick up plates and cups and help load the chairs and tables. We need to recognize that, as members, we share the good food and hospitality of others, so we need to share the responsibility of cleaning up. MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK!!

The March meeting will be held at Bob & Peggy Morris' house, and we know everyone attending will find it was well worth the drive. I hope to see you all there!

Jim Roberts

Office of the Secretary by: Anne

My daughter and Son-in-law, Carolyn and Jim Smith, and I were the hosts for this month’s meeting.

Carolyn and Jim got a chance to show off their brand new house, since they only moved in November, their pond is in the planning stages. I think everyone had a good time and no one should have left hungry with all the food that was brought in.

The young fish show was discussed and will be in Mandarin at the new Ace Hardware on US#13. Also discussed was the pond tour, the date was been changed to the weekend of June 3&4. The tour will again be on both Saturday and Sunday, but this year will be limited to only 12 ponds with one side of our area showing on different days.

Jim opened for discussion two items that the club needs s to purchase: two new tables and a fish measuring bowl. Both items were approved by a vote of those present.

Rod Lawton had information on the awards ceremony at AFKAPS, this year it will be held immediately following the banquet; therefore it will be possible to attend the awards without having to attend the banquet. Rod suggested that for $65.00 a night ($5.00more than the motel suggested by AFKAPS) it might be better to stay at the Sheraton 4 points at Orlando as it is just .06 miles and a straight shot from the show. The Sheraton rooms also have a small refrigerator included. It was voted that the club retains a "hospitality room" at the Sheraton, for volunteers and club members that need a rest or to freshen up. Please get in touch with Rod if you can help this year. S Jon Lockerman needs volunteers with the safety patrol. It will be both day (new this year) and night and there are voids to be filled. There is a special need for people to help tear down Sunday night. All volunteers will be listed in the AFKAPS program and will attend a special Bar-B-Que. on Friday night. Please think about helping out, even if you will only be attending one day. Each club will be responsible for a "Friendship Award" and Charles Gardner has volunteered to make one for our club.

Jon Lockerman suggested that the club pay for a two year name registry and web site for our club with Todo Todorsky to be the web master the cost will be $250.00 a year. The motion was tabled until the board has had a chance to discuss the issue. If you haven’t seen Todo’s site and can get to a computer it is http//users.cybermax.net/~ todo (just in case you haven’t been by that way yet). February meeting attendance: 41

Koi Chat with Sandee

Rod & Bonnie Lawton have only been members of the NFKC since January 1997. However, they have been admiring and working with fish for many years. In fact, they started stocking their pond in 1987. They started with aquariums and tropical fish doing some breeding and selling while stationed in Hawaii. And it was there that they fell in love with Koi.

Rod admits that his first Koi came from the Lilyponds Catalog and from a vendor he befriended at the Pecan Park Flea Market. And though he admits that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, he also knows that the more you learn about the various types of Koi, the tighter the standards of beauty become. And learn he did. Rod has had a subscription to Koi USA since 1986, and he reads it. He reads other books and gets information off the Internet. So he has become well schooled in this hobby of raising Koi. He says the best fish still come from Japanese breeding. And he buys small, quality, imported fish with the hopes of someday raising a beautiful champion.

Rod & Bonnie don't always agree on the best fish. Bonnie's favorite is a longfin that Rod is not sure is even a Koi! But that's OK. We know Rod is a purist when it comes to "his Koi".

When asked about his pond, Rod gave me a lengthy explanation of some very specific items. The condensed version is that he made many of the same mistakes that we've all made. He started with a concrete pond with plumbing that was too small, sides that were not smooth, and an algae problem. Now he has 2,200 gallons with a cover and good filter including a UV filter, and he can enjoy his fish.

Advice for new pond keepers and Koi keepers? Build your first pond as if it will be your last. Go as big as your budget will allow and then add a little. Give yourself plenty of room from the edge of your pond to the nearest fence or building on all sides. Put in at least one good size bottom drain (at least 3-inch diameter). Put in a waterfall. Rod says its easier to make something too big smaller than making something too small bigger. You may not get it just the way you want it the first time. But if you plumb it right, you can always modify it. If you plumb it wrong (undersize), you may be back to square one.

When asked about a story about his pond, Rod replied: One day Bonnie had just returned home from shopping when she noticed the dog kept barking in the back yard. To satisfy the dog, she went into the back yard and saw the flash of a couple of fishing poles hanging on the fence and some young boys running away. She recognized one of the boys as the next-door neighbor who had recently moved in. As could be expected the boy’s stepfather was an avid bass fisherman. The dog led her to an area beside the pond where Bonnie discovered a 15 inch Koi flopping on the ground with a fish hook still in it's mouth. Putting the fish back in the pond, she called Rod at work. Livid, Rod came home when Bonnie told him that she thought the fish had a hook still in its mouth. Since the pond was full of algae, he blindly netted every shadow that swam by until he found that fish. Sure enough it still had a hook with some line tied to it hooked in its mouth. Rod removed the hook (didn't know a thing about meds or have a quarantine tank back then) and returned the fish to the pond. After calming down a bit, Rod gathered the two poles and headed for the neighbors front door. The stepfather refused to talk to Rod, so the mother came out. Rod told his story and the boy denied it until he couldn't explain how Rod had his fishing poles. Rod was assured the matter would be dealt with swiftly and he returned home. As he returned to the back yard for one more search of the area for any more fish on the ground or other damage, he could hear the mother who had dragged her son out onto the back patio yelling, screaming and spanking the h??l out of this boy and getting the names of his accomplices. This occurred in the beginning of spring. About 2 weeks later, the weather was warming and the pond was clearing and Rod was out doing his ponding chores when he recognized that smell that all ponders know and dread, rotting fish! He searched high and low and could find nothing. He started looking into the pond and was thinking to himself that although he had never really taken count, he was sure that he was missing some fish.. Intent on solving this riddle, the nose did the hunting and found the odor to be strongest at a particular section of the fence, but couldn't see anything there. He then looked between the two fences and there was one of his prettiest fish rotting on the ground. Mad as a hornet, he dug under the fence and pulled the fish out onto a newspaper, then measured the remains of what was now a dead 15 inch Kohaku. Paper and fish in hand he started for the neighbor's door and again spoke to the mother. Rod told her he was a Koi keeper but not a fanatic and he would appreciate her replacing his fish. She agreed and asked how much the fish cost. He said he didn't know how much it was worth today as he had bought the fish as a five-inch fish several years ago. He told her he still had the receipt and phone number from where he had purchased the fish and she could order another 15-inch fish from them. She agreed. The next day, the mother went to Rod’s house and apologetically said, Mr Lawton I had no idea your fish cost so much and I don't know that I can pay that much money to you all at once as it will have to come out of my tips from my job. Since Rod had bought the fish several years earlier at about $25 as an import (about 1988 and this was about 1993). Rod had never given much thought to what the fish would be worth at 15 inches. She then told him about her call to Lilypons. They told her that he had no idea what that fish was worth and he would have to see it to give it a value, but it could be worth thousands. After almost passing out, she asked him what the cheapest 15 inch fish would cost.. He replied that if he were to sell her the worst of his cheapest domestic 15-inch Koi the price would be $150 plus shipping. This was still way beyond the poor woman's means. In the end they all compramised on 3 five inch fish to make up for the lost 15 inch fish. The mother got hold of the parents of the other two kids to help defer the cost and took her son to the back yard patio again. This time Rod didn't even have to be in the back yard to hear the crack of a belt meeting the tender buttocks of a young fisherman who now knows the difference between Koi and bass.

Where'd the Color Come From, By Terry Cusick

Did you ever wonder how the ancestors to the goldfish and koi evolved into such colorful fish? After all, these fish were and still are between a silvery gray to olive brown in color. It turns out that these wild fish are born with four different kinds of pigment cells called chromatophores. These four chromatophores are melanin (black), xanthin (yellow), lipochrome (orange), and erythrin (red). Their wild color mostly comes from the black and yellow pigment cells. A common mutation of these wild carp is to be born without the black which gives the fish a golden color. It was no doubt this mutation that first started humans keeping these fish. However, goldfish and koi come in a lot more colors than black, yellow, orange, and red. All the other colors are based on these 4 colors, it just depends on the concentration of color pigment cells and how close the cells are located to the surface of the fish’s dermal layer. For example blue is the black pigment in low concentrations and deep in the dermal layer. The lack of any chromataphores results in white. There is one other thing that slightly modifies these colors and that is the reflexivity of the fish. The reflexivity of the fish comes from the position of the irridocytes within the skin. The irridocytes are tiny reflective spheres. If the irridocytes are on the surface of the scales the fish is said to have a metallic finish or what the Japanese call "hikari". If the irridocytes are deeper in the dermal layer, the fish is said to have a mat finish or what the Japanese call "kawari".

Often as a fish ages their colors will change. This is especially true with koi. The reason is due to the fact that each fish is born with a fixed number of chromatophores which remains relatively constant throughout its life. As the fish grows, these chromatophores have to cover a larger area of skin. If the chromatophores are thin, for instance, just covering the surface of the skin, a young fish will look like they have strong color in a particular area. However, as the fish grows, the color in that area spreads and appears to breakup revealing the underlying color. Sometime, when the pigments are just on the surface of the skin, they will disappear altogether. A fine example of this is a young goldfish with a light colored underside and a black back like a Panda Goldfish. All the black will disappear by the time the fish is three years old. Conversely, if the chromatophores are present in all the layers of the skin, on the surface of the skin (above the scales), immediately under the scales and deep in the skin, as the fish grows, the color will continue to appear dense and will be stable. At this point you maybe asking yourself "How do you know whether a young fish has thick or thin color?". The answer is "you don’t". Knowing the parents helps and this is why koi from good bloodlines bring premium prices over koi of questionable background.

There are conditions that will temporarily effect the color of your fish. To understand how this temporary change happens, you need to understand the chromatophore. A chromatophore is a branched cell, within which the color pigment can be moved. The two extremes are that the pigment spreads though out the entire cell which results in the fish having great color or it is concentrated in one small spot in the center resulting in the loss of color in the fish. Some of the conditions that effect this concentration are:

Raised levels of pollutants (e.g. ammonia, nitrite or nitrate) will cause the pigment to contract.

pH and hardness affect coloration differently, red pigment tends to spread in softer, more acidic water, whereas black pigment spreads in harder more alkaline water and vice versa.

Background colors - Although it is difficult to merge into the background when you are a red and white Koi, they do try to do so. Against a pale background the fish contract the pigment to make themselves as, pale as possible. The opposite occurs when the fish is next to a dark background, which is why blue vats are used at Koi shows to ensure each Koi looks its best.

Salt added to the water causes the pigment to concentrate.

Medications like antibiotics, whether added to the water or injected and malachite green based remedies negatively effect color.

Temperature - At high summer temperatures pigments contract; at cool autumn and winter values they expand resulting in the fish looking at their best in the cooler months of the year.

Finally, what can you do to improve the color of your fish? That is other then avoid the aforementioned conditions. What you feed them. Fish cannot synthesize their own color pigment and therefore they have to consume it. Therefore it is important to feed color-enhancing foods. As with all Koi feeds, it is important that the color enhancing food given be of the highest quality to ensure that the pigments are in a form that the fish can absorb into its body. If color foods are not given to your fish, the chromatophores would not be filled with pigment and the Koi will look pale or poorly colored. This can result in a fish of high potential quality only looking mediocre. Feeding a color food would greatly enhance the appearance of such a fish - but could not make a poor fish great. You can not give your fish too much color food for when the chromatophores are filled with pigment, the excess is passed through the feces. It is possible to get white areas of the fish to become pink due to a temporary build up of rythrin. This pigment is not in a chromatophore and will quickly disappear as soon as the amount of color food given is reduced.

So the next time you’re watching your fish swimming around, think about its color and what you can do to enhance it. Good Luck!