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Nov 2000 Selected Articles |
President's Corner - President |
Office of Sec. - Anne |
Caught In The Net by Todo |
Once again the time for the Fall Show has arrived. Months of preparation for the event will come together for the show and banquet. I hope that everyone will plan to attend the show to support the attending vendors and to cheer on your fellow club members who have entered their prize Koi for competition. We are getting some nice items in that will be available for raffle.
We have several dealers that will be at the show with Koi for sale, which include Koi Mom, -Jon Lockerman, - Aqua Doc, - Blackwater Creek and Koi by Keirin. Steve with Koi by Keirin is planning to arrive mid afternoon on Friday to have fish available for a Private Sale starting at 5:00pm November 3. Rod Lawton will also have a vendor space with pond supplies, and a Club Plant Sale headed by Gene & Tina Stogsdill.
We are putting together some seminars to be held on Saturday under the Gazebo the schedule and topic will be posted at the show site on Saturday morning. Currently we have Fred Leib giving one on plumbing and on Koi Classification, Todo Todorsky will conduct one on constructing an above ground pond, and we are working on a few other possibilities.
There will not be a regular Club meeting for the month of November, the show will take the place of that meeting. Our next regular meeting will be in December, which will be our Christmas Party and the election of officers for next year.
Please contact Jim Roberts if you would like to nominate a club member for one of the positions.
We are planning to continue the gift exchange for those that would like to participate. Gifts should be a newly purchased item between $10.00 and not exceeding $20.00. Again you do not have to bring a gift to attend the December meeting.
The show is a major event for the club and I hope everyone will attend. While at the show if you would like to help in some capacity, please check with members at the Welcome table or other posted positions to see if anyone would like a break. Your help will be greatly appreciated!
I look forward to seeing you at the show! Charlie
Office of the Secretary by: Anne
Thank you Kay and Steve Collins for hosting our chilly October meeting. The Collins pond is just inside the front-screened porch.Wooden walkways lead to the front and back doors over the pond, providing shade for the Koi as well as access to their home. All who attended had a wonderful time and enjoyed both the view of the lake behind the house, the pond, and the good food.
Time to sign up to be a Fish Show volunteer. Please call one of
the board members and let us know where you can help. We need help at the Information/help
tent, and with tank setup and brake down. We will be setting up the tanks Friday starting
at 8 AM, and brake down Sunday starting at 10 AM. If you are not able to arrive at the
start of any schedule, please come
when you can and help. The show will start Saturday at 9 AM and all fish must be at the
show and in the tanks by then to be included in the show. This show is a yearly event for
us to both show off our fish and hopefully educate and interest other people in our
beloved Koi. Attendance: 37
This month’s interview was done by e-mail, and the interviewee is Burt Ballou, judge for the NFKC show to be held Nov.4, 2000 at Town Square Park in Orange Park, Fl. Burt was asked all the usual questions that have been asked of our own members. You may be surprised at the similarities to some of our own members’ answers.
Burt is a member of two clubs: The ZNA Orange County Koi Club and the Southern California Koi Club. When asked how he got into Koi Keeping, Burt replied, "I was building a goldfish pond and I mentioned it to a friend who said, ‘No, no, you want to have a koi pond’". This was back in 1967, and Burt had no idea what koi were. So his friend, Seiji Kaneshiro, invited Burt to his shop (he owned a koi dealership in Gardena) and introduced Burt to koi. Seiji gave Burt a 3" Shusui and helped him redesign his goldfish pond to a koi pond. And the rest............is history!
To add to the interest here, Seiji Kaneshiro was the creator of the So.Cal. Koi Club, the first Koi Club outside of Japan. And Burt still has that Shusui in his large pond. The fish was measured in 1992 at 31 1/2".
When asked about his fish, Burt tells that his oldest is the Shusui that was born in 1967. He has about 110 fish in his 3 ponds. His largest are a 10 year old Chagoi and a 26 or 27 year old Karasu (a predominantly black koi - Kawarimono group). His fish are divided by size. The smallest pond is about 800 gallons and acts as the quarantine and growing pond for fish up to 11". Once the fish are over 11" they graduate to a 3800 gallon pond. That’s where they remain until they reach 18". Over 18" fish are moved to the 22,500 gallon pond.
In response to a question about his ponds, Burt replied that he has updraft barrel filters on all 3 ponds which he states he prefers because they give exceptional water clarity. (These filters are in the new AKCA filter guides.) Burt also says that he uses no UV lights on any pond he has designed or built (currently numbering over 300). And he uses sequence and wave pumps on all 3 ponds. He also says that when he can afford them he will have wave pumps on all ponds because they are "clearly more efficient".
When asked about a funny, sad, or interesting story Burt told of his first encounter with Aeromonas "hole in the side". He had koi for 17 years before this occurred. He didn’t know what to do or how to treat it, and his friend Seiji had passed away by then. So he started calling around to see who knew what to do for these fish. He finally got in touch with Bertrelle Caswell, past AKCA Chair and KOI USA Editor. She referred him to Phil Ishizu, the past Science Editor of KOI USA. Phil spent hours helping Burt and he was able to save 85 of his 89 koi. Burt tried to pay Phil for all his time, but Phil refused and asked instead that Burt join a Koi Club and help people in the club. Burt joined immediately and has had no regrets. In fact he says he has met the greatest bunch of people through koi.
Burt’s advice to new Koi Keepers? Avoid his own experience, join a Koi Club before building a pond. Be patient, and don’t rush into the hobby.
Though I don’t know of anyone here in NFKC who has been involved with Koi for quite as long as Burt, we have many similar stories. And I, for one, look forward to the post-judging commentary from which I always learn something new about looking at and enjoying these beautiful fish.
Caught In The Net By Todo : Whip Up A Whiskey Barrel Pond by Gail Barnhill of The Tucson Watergardeners
Often when people see my whiskey barrel ponds they ask how did you get them to hold water? Wellll - I figured if they once held whiskey or wine, they ought to be able to hold water! When you buy whiskey barrels they are usually about ¼ to ½ full of water. This is to keep the oak staves from drying out, shrinking and falling apart. However when you get them home they won't hold water any higher than they were at the nursery, so you have to make them watertight in some way. Real whiskey/wine barrels cost about $20 to $30. You can also purchase a barrel liner for an additional $25 or so. Some of these liners are even made with a "lip" that will allow water to spill from one barrel to another. Another alternative, is to purchase the heaviest mil black plastic you can find, fit it inside the barrel, cutting the top edge about 3" higher than the top of the barrel, turning this edge down between the barrel and liner and staple gun it t the barrel. This will last about a year, then you may find that the water has seeped between the plastic and the wood and done the job of swelling closed the staves for you. You can then remove the plastic if you wish. The way I condition them is as follows: What you will need: Black plastic trash bag Black hose tape (found in the auto section - it sticks to wet surfaces) …or duct tape Staple gun Water Hyacinths (after a couple of weeks) First, split a large black plastic trash bag lengthwise and wrap it around the barrel with the outside edge near the top metal rung on the barrel and the rest of the bag tucked over the top edge into the barrel. Next, tape the plastic onto the top metal rung, staple the other edge of the bag to the inside of the barrel. Fill the barrel with water. The black plastic will stretch and fill with water seeping between the top of the loose staves - it will look like an inflated black inner tube around the top outside of the barrel. That's fine 'cuz it will hold water/mosture against the staves, causing them to swell tight. This, of course, takes several days to a couple of weeks of filling and letting it slowly seep and swell. When the plastic doesn't swell and inflate right away and the water level remains constant, you can remove the plastic . Now add 5 or 6 Water Hyacinth plants. The City of San Diego uses this plant to enhance the cleaning of its effluent water - and it will clean up the whisky-smelling water in about a week! After the alcohol smell has disappeared from the water, add a few feeder goldfish. If they die quickly but with smiles on their faces, you haven't quite gotten all the alcohol out of the water yet. If they survive - you've got yourself a pond! A small water lily, a water iris or dwarf (or minature) umbrella grass for height, and some small floating plants like Azolla or Frog Bit happily fill a barrel pond. You needn't filter this small pond at all - in fact I have one in full sun and it's crystal clear year round. You may add a small waterpump to aerate the water (beneficial for fish, especially in the summer and at night) and a decorative "spitter" critter for the sound of moving water. If you don't add fish, put a Mosquito Dunk in this pond to kill the larve before they can hatch (available at many nurseries and hardware stores). These are not harmful to either fish, pets or people. If you do want to keep fish in this pond, keep it to just 3 or 4 small goldfish. Do not feed them, as they will eat bugs and larvae as well as keep the sides of the barrel algae trimmed short.
Words of Advice from Joe White
Practice Good Pond Husbandry
Avoid overcrowding; Avoid overfeeding; Routinely clean settlement and brush chambers; Avoid overcleaning the bio colony; Keep the bottom free of fish wastes and trash
Observe the Pond
Look for scum or excessive bubbles on the surface; Water should look clear and sparkling; Despite what you may have heard, clear water is usually a good sign, whereas green water may be the harbinger of bad things to come
Observe the Fish
Fish should be swimming normally throughout the pond; Look for isolated ish or fish that are not eating normally; Look for fish that are congregated near the waterfall or return water piping at the surface; Question excessive flashing; Notice condition of scales and any change in coloration
Have a mini-Exxon Valdes in your pond?
Over the last few months there have been reports of oil in ponds from older, submersible water pumps. Some pumps contain oil. When the seal on this type of pump fails, you get oil in your pond.
The first thing to do is not to panic. Shut off and remove the pump, if possible. If not, then isolate the source of oil in any way possible, within the limits of your plumbing scheme. Next remove the oil from the pond. Do not remove the fish. All this will do is get oil in their gills and skin.
The simplest way to remove oil is to gently and slowly overflow the pond. Oil floats, and it will come off first. Catch the oil and discard. You can also use paper or rags to soak up the oil, or skim it of a little at a time. Whichever method you use, don’t splash the water. The idea is to remove the oil without mixing it into your pond water, and to keep it away from your fish.
President's Corner - President |
Office of Sec. - Anne |
Caught In The Net by Todo |