Of the three ‘parts’ that go to make up the term of ‘Koi Keeping’ – this is my weakest part. I consider myself to be ‘reasonably proficient’ in these matters.
This is a VITAL part of our hobby, no matter how ‘state-of-the-art’ a system may be, it must be maintained properly because, without this attention, it will perform no better than any typical garden pond.
History - The first specialist Koi foods were imported into the UK from Japan in late 1974 by the late Malcolm Hardy who had an ornamental and tropical fish outlet in London named Aquatic Nurseries. I believe his son Neil is still involved in very rare tropical species of fish today.
Today, there are obvious concerns regarding the need to quarantine new
stocks before placing them in our main ponds. We see outlets
advertising the fact that they have been deemed ‘Bio-Secure’ – either
by their own Dealer’s Association or by the governing authorities of
the UK who are responsible for giving such statements.
There are several items of equipment as well as some important chemicals and other accessories required if one is to keep Nishikigoi successfully today and I will detail all of these in this part of my website. Before I continue, I am assuming that you already have a good pond system together with your own collection of Koi.
As mentioned earlier, the greater majority of my own learning’s on all matters Koi, including pond filtration, have come directly from the Koi breeders of Japan after numerous visits made over many years. There is no doubt at all in my mind that they produce the finest Koi in the world and continue to improve upon their quality with each passing year.
I cannot emphasise just how important the addition of very heavy aeration is to a modern-day Koi pond filtration system where it should be added both to the pond itself and to the biological filtration stages.
Despite what many may profess, Koi are not a true cold water species as are Golden Orfe, Sturgeon, Goldfish and some other species of native fish that dwell in garden ponds.
Many readers around other parts of the world may not be aware of
this but most parts of Europe are now having their worst winter since
1981-2. I remember that winter very clearly as I was working all of
Christmas day and finally found a perfect way to seal butyl rubber
sheet to a bottom drain for the first time without any trace of leaks.
It was bitterly cold and sheet ice was everywhere - even inside the
unit I was working in.
The pages below were printed in the BKKS ‘KOI ‘80’ National Show programme but they started to be produced annually by the society around 1974 as guidelines for members. Yes, things have changed today, but those were the dark ages when few knew anything at all, if the truth was known at the time.