From the President to the N. F.K C. Members:

To all the members who attended the meeting , “ Thank You”. To the members who missed the meeting we hope to see you in the future. I would like to thank Dave & Sherri Brown for hosting the meeting.

The demonstration Dave Brown presented to the members was quite interesting to all who attended. Thank you Dave Brown.

The topics that were discussed and voted on went smoothly. The participation by the members gave me a great feeling. To me, this is what the club is about. The club needs input from all members to help keep it on track. I feel we have started with a big step toward the goals the board has set for the club. I hope the attending members noticed how well the board worked together at the meeting. There was a lot of work done by the board in preparing for the topics we discussed. A special thanks to the policy and procedure committee chaired by Jan Brown. What a great job they did.

I can say what a real treat it was to me to see everyone enjoying themselves. The pat on the back at the end of the meeting by some members really meant a lot to me. It was a great lift to the board after the work we all put in to this first meeting. Without them it would not have been possible. Thank You.

I want to say a special “Thank You” to Dan & Barbara Wehby for becoming the young fish show co-chairmen. I’m confident it will be a great event.

Let's not forget that the “All Florida Koi And Pond Show” is coming up in March. This is the 5^th annual show that our club has been a part of. At this time we don’t have enough volunteers signed up. This show, like any show, needs volunteers to make it happen. We need some type of a commitment from the members to help out with the show. If all you can do is a couple of hours, that will do just fine. Any kind of assist will do. The date’s for

A. F. K. A. P. S. are: March 21^st for setup; 9am start time. The 22^nd for vendor setup. 23^rd&24^th for show dates. The 24^th for break down starting around 2pm. Running the show also will need help. So during the show you could go to the welcome desk and ask them what you could do to help out. Thank You for what any of you can do to help.

Don’t forget your chair for the next meeting and any kind of dish for the dinner after the meeting. Till we meet again, Tim

 Secretary's   Report By Todo

Tim called the meeting to order at 2:07 and announced his intention to start the meetings on time in the future. He introduced the new officers and called on Jan Brown for the treasurer’s report. Next came the issue of increasing dues from $25 to $30 for double memberships and $15 to $20 for single memberships. The reasons for the increase such as postage were discussed by the members and voted in.

Closely related to the dues is the club budget for 2002. Jan and Tim explained how the money needed to run the club has increased from roughly $2000 to $10,000 in recent years. Specific points discussed were the inclusion of an honorarium for guest speakers as well as the income v. outgo of normal club functions. Sandee wanted to know if Friendship Awards were included in the budget. Tim said that the plan was to buy six such awards and they would come from the awards budget. The budget was approved.

Next came discussion of the Policies and Procedures document presented by the board. Jan explained that the by-laws call for such P&P to cover how the club manages itself. Shirly Stone had a concern about the clubs inventory list. Chuck & Betty Muehe and Anne Miller suggested the appointment of an equipment manager. This recommendation was take for consideration by the board.. Tina Stogsdill had questions about club show rules. Tim answered that the rules were to be written by the show chairman with approval by the board and the membership. The P&P were approved as read with the understanding that they would be revisited in six months.

Tim introduced Sherry Brown as the new At-Large board member, a position created by the by- laws and outlined in P&P. Members were asked to start bringing their own chairs to the meetings. Suggestion was made that the club get a microphone and speaker setup.

An AFKAPS video was shown along with discussion about how many volunteers are needed to put on the show. More information about the show can be had a www.AFKAPS.com.

Dave Brown delivered an informative presentation on how to build a UV light at home. Attendance: 35 members and guests. Meeting ended at 2:58

The United Colors of Nishikigoi By Dr. David Pool, Tetra Reprint courtesy of Nishikigoi International via Cascade Koi & Goldfish Club, via AKCA

The coloration and patterns of a Koi are in many cases, the thing that attracts people into the hobby of Koi keeping. These same two factors are also very important in determining the quality and therefore value of any particular fish.

Yet our understanding of fish and, particularly Koi, coloration is still and inexact science, which is plagued by theories, old wives tales and relatively few facts.

My aim here is to provide an overview Koi coloration and in doing so help to explain some of the mysterious changes you may have noticed in your own fish.

What makes color?  The coloration of a Koi is produced by three color pigments which are contained within cells called chromataphores. The three pigments are Erythrin (red), Melanin (black) and Xanthin (yellow), each of which occurs, in different chromataphores. Complementing the color pigment are irridocytes which can be best described as tiny reflective spheres within the skin.

All of the colors we see on our Koi are a mixture of these components. For example orange is a combination of red and yellow chromataphores; brown is a mixture of black and yellow and red is just the red chromataphores. If there are no chromataphores present the Koi will appear white due to the irridocytes However, the position of the irridocytes within the skin affects its reflective properties. If they are on the surface of the scales the Kai will have a silvery appearance. If they are in the lower layers of the skin the fish will have a mat color.

In certain cases, the irridocytes can combine with the chromataphores to produce reflective colors (e.g. gold on the surface). Blue is an unusual color in that it is a result of deep lying black pigment with irridocytes in the middle of layers of the skin. The irriclocytes interfere with the light to give a blue color.

Destiny of color:  The chromatophores may be positioned on the surface of the skin (above the scales), immediately under the scales or deep in the skin. If the chromataphores are very dense the coloration will also appear dense, with the chromataphores on the surface of the skin blocking those below. However, the position of the chromataphores affects the 'stability' of the color. The chromataphores on the surface of the skin will often produce unstable coloration due to them being removed or spreading as the fish ages. Those deep in the skin are more stable and less likely to break up. The ideal is to have the some, dense color pigment in all layers of the skin. This results in both a dense and stable color.

Where does the color come from?

Koi cannot synthesize their own color pigment therefore they have to consume it. In wild conditions the color pigments would originate from eating algae, shrimps, snails etc, In the confines of a Koi pond there is insufficient of these different organisms to satisfy the Kai's requirements, therefore it is important to feed color-enhancing foods. As with all Koi feeds, it is important that the color enhancing food given is of high 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 Koi, the chromatophores would not be filled with pigment and the Koi will look pale or poorly colored. This can result in a Koi of high potential quality only looking mediocre. Feeding a color food would greatly enhance the appearance of such a Koi - but could not make a poor Koi great.

When the chromataphores are filled with pigment, the excess is passed through the Koi in the feces. It is possible to get white areas of the koi becoming pink due to a temporary build up of Erythrin. This pigment is not in a chromataphores and will quickly disappear as soon as the amount of color food given is reduced.

Aging:  Each Koi is born with a fixed number of chromotaphores which remains relatively constant throughout its life. As the Koi ages and grows, these chromataphores, have to cover a larger area of skin therefore there is a tendency for the coloration to become paler (due to the chromataphores becoming less dense) or to fragment. This helps to explain why many stunning young Koi are not as attractive when they are slightly larger. Buying young fish from a known *high quality bloodline" usually means you are buying fish with more dense chromataphores, which results in the color remaining even when the Koi has grown.

In some varieties (e.g. Sanke and Showa) it is common for the pattern to change considerably as the fish grows due to the surface color fragmenting and revealing a deeper different color. When your Koi become very old they tend to become paler and in some cases turn white. This is the equivalent of our hair turning gray and cannot be reversed.

Changing Color: 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 Koi being the color of the cell) or it is concentrated in one small spot in the center (resulting in the background color showing through - usually pale or dark). The distribution of this pigment is affected by a number of different factors including:

Water Quality:  Different water quality conditions can have a major impact on the coloration of the Koi. Raised levels of pollutants (e.g. ammonia, nitrite or nitrate) will cause the pigment to contract, resulting in the Koi losing its color. 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 Color: 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 Koi contract the pigment to make themselves as, pale as possible. The opposite occurs when the Koi is next to a dark background, which is why blue vats are used at Koi shows to ensure each Koi looks at its best.

Treatments: Salt is often added to Koi ponds as a treatment or to control nitrite toxicity, however, it causes the pigment to concentrate resulting in poorer coloration. The same is true for antibiotics, whether added to the water or injected and malachite green based remedies.

Algae: Koi (and goldfish) which have lived in an algae rich, green pond often appear intensely colored due to the color pigment spreading in the chromataphores. This effect can be recreated without the "green water' by using Tetra Pond Koi Vital.

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

This list could be continued, but hopefully some of the examples my help to explain color changes in your Koi which you have observed. Unfortunately these things don't happen in isolation, making it very difficult to ascertain exactly what caused the coloration of your Koi, this can only be remedied by more people making more accurate records of the coloration of their Koi and what happens when conditions change.

Koi-keepers have livestock? By Todo

When we think of livestock we think of farms, ranches or poultry ghettos. Our elementary school memories elicit visions of a rural family up before dawn watering the herd, slopping the hogs and letting the horses out to pasture. One thought that does not come quickly is the same family heading out for a week at Disney World. After all, leaving the critters could be disastrous and getting someone to tend the flock for days on end might be difficult.

Let’s leave our bedraggled rural brethren and visit a stereotypical neophyte urban koi keeper.

“Tell me good fish fancier, do you keep livestock?” We ask.

“Of course not,” he replies. “We have a cat, two dogs and the koi.”

“Then what do you do with your animals when you head out for that week in the Great Smoky Mountains?”

“My sister takes the cat and we board the dogs.”

“And the fish?”

“Ahhh...”

And now we have hit it. The farthest thing from the new ponders mind in the days of “Hey Martha, let’s have a pond” is that having fish means having livestock. Our goldfish and koi have value which must be protected and tended daily. We do not have the barns, combines and milking machines, but there are a host of mechanical devices that provide the living environment for our fish. Granting that vacations are an integral part of our lifestyle, let us examine some solutions to leaving our fish at home.

The first that comes to mind is join a goldfish or koi club. This resource can not be over expressed. Ponds are complicated arrangements of water, pumps, and filters. Who better to look in on your pond than someone who understands this web.

Failing the first solution the next best way is the same trick the farm family uses, find a friend, neighbor or Uncle Joe’s family to come over every day and feed the fish. If this is your method, you are well advised to give your pond-sitter an extensive tour of your setup, including notes, diagrams and the phone number of whoever you call when things go wrong.

There are mechanical feeders you can buy to keep the food coming, but to date there are no robotic minders for your pond’s apparatus. Hence, leaving your fish to tend themselves is a dire gamble.

Koi, hormones & growth Chris On Koi Series

Conclusions: Low stocking densities can help minimise bacterial and viral disease problems. It is presumed that the fewer the fish in the water the less the concentration of pheromone present that suppress the immune system.

The lower the stocking density the lower the bacterial load on the pond. The offending pheromone can be removed with proper chemical and physical techniques.