Hating Kio Three Years Worldwide News-Death, Beating, Robbery

Flooded by the Puyallup River east of Tacoma,WA
Photo By koiphen.com

Exotic Koi Washed Away Tacoma, Washington

News Report 1

Information from: KING-TV, http://www.king5.com/ and The Seattle Times Company

April, 2009

One of the properties flooded by the Puyallup River east of Tacoma is a business that raised koi (koy), the colorful exotic fish.

TACOMA, Wash. —

KING-TV reports thousands of fish were washed out of ponds at Hoshoi Koi.

An employee of the business, Ryan Daniels, says some of the fish were valuable breeders that had been kept for years.

Baseball Bat Attack Leads To Arrests
Photo By spokesman.com

Men Arrested, Koi Beaten to Death with Baseball Bat

News Report 2

     by: By staff writers

    From: News Core

    June 03, 2010 7:47AM

TWO young men suspects were arrested today in connection with the beating deaths of dozens of Koi fish on a California college campus.

Two men were captured on surveillance cameras beating the fish with baseball bats yesterday, KTXL-TV in Sacramento reported.

At least 13 fish were killed and several others injured in the attack at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. Several of the injured Koi remained in their pond today, KTXL reported.

Waterfall The Zilker Botanical Garden- Austin, Texas
Photo By places2explore.wordpress.com

Robbery Champion Koi Carp-Zilker Botanical Garden Rocks Flanders

 

News Report 3

By Roddy Thomson (AFP) – Sep 4, 2011

DENDERMONDE, Belgium — Police in Belgium admit they are clueless as they hunt thieves targeting prized Japanese koi carp -- ornamental fish that sell for many thousands of euros yet are practically UN-insurable.

Champion Flemish growers with long and painful experience as victims fear ever-more costly security to protect these creatures -- beloved by wealthy Japanese and Asian fanatics -- that, left in peace, can live to 100 years or more and eat their way to the size of a small pig.

"It's the financial crisis," Veerle Jakobs of Nippon Koi Garden, a Japanese-themed estate near Antwerp holding up to 6,000 fish in high season, told AFP from her site near one of Europe's biggest ports.

Traders have reported a sudden series of koi robberies in Flanders in recent weeks, and two separate police districts are collaborating on live investigations.

A source who could not be identified said Interpol has been called in.

But lost koi stock is only part of the story.

Those who have devoted their lives to raising these Technicolor-dreamlike fish warn that the crimes -- and regular, but botched, raids they blame on economic hard times -- also pose a new threat to the carps' health.

There is at least a two-decade history of industrial espionage -- theft and poisoning by experienced, organized gangs is an accepted pitfall of the trade.

But local knowledge that Flanders is a center of excellence for decorative fish beloved by specialist collectors also provides a new motive -- and creates fresh challenges for owners.

"They took 50 fish from my tank, but I'll never see them again," Herman Belon told AFP after his koi were stolen this month in Sint Niklaas, in western Flanders.

He reckons they are already on display in Japanese restaurants that won't know where they came from. The flesh is considered too dry to eat, but the manager of the high-end La Table Du Dragon in Brussels, who has at least 60 koi on display, was shocked when AFP told him about the robberies.

Millions of eggs produce koi fish sorted by Japanese breeders within weeks, and again, like champion studs, at two-years-old.

The very best, judged for their aesthetic qualities, acquire significant value as display items. Among aficionados, koi are considered moving works of art akin to a Picasso, with the world-record price being 350,000 euros ($500,000).

The biggest dealers in Flanders know how Belon, whom they characterize as an amateur collector, feels.

"They've stolen my fish here before, and poisoned my ponds -- criminal gangs working to order," said Jakobs. "But now I think it's just someone who wants a luxury product but doesn't have the money."

She said the thefts "usually happened in the run-up to a big trade show."

"Once we found our koi at a show one year later. Every fish is individual -- but when the police compared the photos, they said the black stripe wasn't the same size so they couldn't do anything!

"You never get anything back," Jakobs sighed. "You can't insure the fish unless at a massive premium, one third of their value. Materials, equipment, staff, yes -- but not the fish themselves."

Lloyds of London confirmed to AFP that there are only a select few policies on the market.

Another veteran of the trade, Annie Van Alboom of Paradise of Japanese Koi near western Ghent, showed AFP two prize specimen.

One is a priceless 37-year-old European Jumbo champion Chagoi 103 centimeters long (more than 40 inches). The other, under heavy security, already sold for 50,000 euros ($72,000) to a Brussels millionaire, she said.

"Ten years ago, thieves stole 17 and then the next year another 38 -- 75,000 euros worth on that occasion," she told AFP.

"My father-in-law had a heart attack and died when we discovered the second robbery. They got one year in jail and were out in six months.

"It's been going on all through the 20 years I've been here," she said.

Van Alboom has invested in state-of-the-art laser alarm systems, and twice a day braves a nightmare chamber of flies and excrement to make sure an underground water purification system keeps working.

She and her sons are now suspicious of visitors, and calls the thieves "opportunist". "People still want luxury items, but they can't pay for them as easily now," she said.

Van Alboom also worries how amateur thieves treat the koi.

"When I bring mine back from Japan, it's a two-day journey, very stressful," she said. "I leave them in quarantine for 40 days. Sometimes they lie on the bottom of the pond looking dead for up to a week, and don't even eat."

The thieves carry only bin bags full of water, "no oxygen".

"They pull out the first one with a big net on a long pole -- so the others are terrified. Stress releases poison, and causes real damage to their long-term health," she explained. "This crime is particularly cruel."

British Veterinary Association agrees

Its animal welfare foundation has offered advice for ornamental fish keepers, and a spokeswoman detailed recommendations on water quality, plant proximity and diet, as well as diseases from skin lesions to protruding scales.

They worry that the uninitiated may be tempted to release damaged koi into the wild -- "illegal, and dangerous for the environment."

In the beautiful city of Dendermonde near Ghent, deputy district attorney Jurgen Coppens told AFP he is treating Belon's case seriously and said koi thieves could risk "five to 10 years in jail".

"There is another case also being investigated in the next precinct," he said, unable to confirm any direct link.

"We haven't any leads," he admitted, "but the minute value is stolen, we don't care if it's fish, jewellery or a grand piano."

 
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Tobi-Koi Fry

Tobi-Koi Fry- Photo By en.wikipedia.org


Tobi

What is tobi defined-Tobi: (Toe-Bee) jump; in koi fry it refers to koi that jump in size by eating their siblings. It is very important to remove these tobi koi when sorting fry from a spawn and placing the tobi in separate aquarium; keep the tobi do not destroy the tobi.

Anyone who breeds koi knows about tobi. In other species these are often called "shooters". Koi fry can and do also occur in goldfish spawns; these are the fry that grow to juvenile size at break neck speed and they are noted for eating their smaller siblings. Most koi breeders assume tobi koi do not have the refined characteristics the breeder is looking for, however this is wives tail most  koi fry do in fact are generically the same as their smaller koi fry siblings.

What Causes Tobie's? The Answer We Don’t Know: but here’s what we do know.

The primary belief all tobies are not worth keeping and must be destroyed this is mistake Tobi is generically the same to their smaller koi fry siblings, so what explains tobi koi versa same spawn smaller fry siblings.

Behavior killing or eating siblings is well documented in the animal world. Life in the wild or breeding environment can be so brutal, sometimes animals are forced to do terrible things to ensure their survival. Cannibalism and infanticide are well known in many species, but perhaps the most disturbing cases are those of baby animals killing their siblings, sometimes moments after they are born or in the uterus of their mother like the sand tiger shark! Here is a list of just a few species that start their lives as ruthless fratricides or cannibals.

• Golden Eagle

• Bald Eagle

• Spotted Hyena

• Praying Mantis

• Snowy Egret

• Tiger Salamander

• Common Cuckoo

• Great Spotted Cuckoo

• Queen Honey Bee

• Copidomopsis Floridanum Wasp

• Sand Tiger Shark while still in their mother’s uterus

• Tobi Koi

• Hamsters,

• Rats,

• Squirrels,

• Bats,

• Seals

• Sea lions,

• Otters,

• Polar bears

• Grizzly bears,

• Lions,

• Tigers,

• Chimpanzees,

• Bearded vulture,

• Northern goshawk,

• Nazca boobies,

• Black Eagle,

Species, like koi fish, eat their own young. For example, egg-eating is rampant among male and female koi fish breeding or guarding egg nests. Researchers have found that while the nests often contain eggs sired by other dads, the fish aren’t terribly discriminating in the eggs they munch, which means they’re often eating their own koi fry.

It may be worthwhile to the koi fry fish, experts suggest, because the nutrients supplied by the eggs improves their odds of producing viable eggs and offspring in the future, which increases their lifetime reproductive fitness. Alternatively, the practice may perpetuate because it has a “neutral” effect, neither harming nor helping the lifetime reproductive success of the animal. Egg-eating may simply be a behavior that can occasionally come in handy.

Genetics:

Tobi koi and tobi goldfish carry in their genetic code remnants of everything that come before. A top-notch pair of gosanke or ranchu carries all the genetic material needed to make the ancestral common carp or crucian carp from which they were derived through selective breeding. Koi fry also have all the genetic material needed to recreate the incremental steps in their evolution. In the offspring from a pair of sanke you will find kohaku, higoi and perhaps even a magoi. A group of ryukin offspring may include tobi individuals with characteristics of wakin and common goldfish.

The more ancestral forms are always more hardy. Koi left to their own devices and allowed to breed indiscriminately for many generations, a population of koi will revert back to something resembling the ancestral common carp and goldfish will revert back to something resembling a crucian carp. In a group of sibling fry, those with a more latent genetic make-up will be just a little bit stronger and faster giving them a slight advantage when it comes time to eat or avoid a predator.

But, in the world of koi fish fry, a slight advantage can become amplified many fold. There is a snowball effect. A fry that gets just a little bit bigger than its siblings is better able to capture and compete for food so it grows faster; the larger the size disparity, the bigger the advantage. So, over just a few weeks time an tobi individual that is just slightly larger could be to the serendipity effect.

Tobi are larger than their koi fry siblings becomes ten times larger than its siblings. At some point, the size disparity becomes so great that the larger individual can eat its siblings providing it with a new limitless food supply. The a process that starts from an initial state of small insignificance and builds upon itself, becoming larger and perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous (a vicious circle, a "spiral of decline"), though it might be beneficial instead (a virtuous circle).

Serendipity Effect

How can some tobi be excellent examples of highly refined koi or g goldfish and show no signs of being a latent ancestral form? I think it is because there is the serendipity effect and factors at work as well.

Imagine a group of larvae which have absorbed their yolk sack and are ready to begin feeding. Perhaps some arrive at this stage a few hours ahead of the rest because they were spawned first or their position on the koi fry spawning substrate was a fraction of a degree warmer then the rest, or because of some other factor. The larvae instinctively dart at a moving food particle. Some times they catch it and sometimes they miss.

They are growing extremely rapidly and catching one or two extra choice food morsels can make a difference in that growth rate. Some individuals are just lucky and are able to get a tiny bit ahead of their siblings. As described above, a very small advantage can quickly snowball into a large advantage. An individual with no innate genetic advantage can become a tobi just through serendipity effect.

Other Koi Fry Observations

In some batches of koi fry the size distribution is large and there is an unusually large number of koi fry tobies In other batches the size distribution is narrow and the siblings look almost identical. In general, the better the fry are fed the less variation there will be in their size. If abundant live food can be kept in front of the fry at all times while maintaining good water quality, there is a much lower incidence ofkoi fry tobies.

Under the best of conditions the growth of fry is phenomenal and most of the population (except for those with serious deformities) has the potential to grow at the rate of koi fry. The best way to minimize the number of tobies is to provide better nutrition and husbandry.

The biggest and best koi and goldfish will have had the best nutrition and water quality their entire lives. Periods of less than optimal conditions can have long-term effects. In extreme cases, we say that the fish is stunted.

The younger the koi fish, the more severe and lasting the effect of poor nutrition and water quality. Tobi are considered by most to be undesirables. If they are genetic throw-backs then they probably are undesirable. However, you should be on the look-out for those  koi fry fish which have both the genetic potential to meet your selection criteria and the serendipity factor  to have gotten off to a fast start in life and become a superb genetics or genes.

 

It is always a good idea to separate tobi if you can; especially if they have become large enough to be cannibals. Never automatically assume this koi fry has no potential; you would be wrong; just remember the tobies are bigger, stronger and are generically the same as their baby brothers and sisters.

  

Sexing Koi, Breeding Koi, Spawning Koi, Raising Koi Eggs and Koi Fry

Sexing koi- Photo By nishikigoi-info.com

By Chiltern Koi Club

Sexing Koi Fish

Females, especially in season are far more rounded than male fish which tend to be slim at all times. The pectoral fins of male fish tend to be larger and more pointed than those of female fish, but this is by no means always the case.

During the breeding season, male fish can display a rough surface to the gill plates, again however, not always. To be sure, net the chosen fish and apply gentle pressure along the lower abdomen wall with your thumb and forefinger towards the vent. Male fish show signs of milt from the vent, whereas females in season will provide eggs! This operation should however be performed with great care so as not to injure the fish. 

I find the only sure way to sex fish is to watch the fish. The ones that lay eggs are female, the ones that chase are the males

Pairing

This is always initially a process of trial and error. Always pair like varieties if you are trying to produce a certain variety. For example, if you are trying to breed kohakus, use kohaku male and female fish. Crossing a kohaku and sanke/showa is acceptable, crossing a kohaku and a Yamabuki for instance will probably produce only ghost and black koi.

Remember that male genes tend to be dominant in any pairing.  Always select adult fish only to ensure successful spawning. Once you have found a pairing that gives some good fish – keep it. If you find a pairing that produces show winners, give me a ring I'll buy them!!


Preparation
Separate males and females at least one month before you intend to spawn the fish.  Provide a reasonably small pond – ideal 2 x 3 x 1 meter deep  Or use a spawning net in your main pond.  Don’t feed the parent fish for a few days before you expect the fish to spawn.

Prepare your growing on pond(s) by seeding them with chicken manure or (if you are worried about your koi catching salmonella!) use leaf mold to encourage the production of infusoria and daphnia which the koi fry will need in abundance from day one.

Spawning

Spawning usually takes place 1 – 3 days after introducing male(s) to the female(s). It can take place at any time of day or night, unfortunately, typically spawning seems to happen around two am (about the same time as most babies are born!).  Spawning can be triggered by temperature changes, change in water conditions, introducing new fish or barometric pressure changes (i.e. thunder.)

Water Conditions

Koi will spawn when the water temperature reaches around 18 Deg +. As always, you need to ensure prime water conditions with zero   ammonia or other pollutants present.  I have found that the addition of Refresh or similar clay products to the water can to get them going ! To achieve and maintain the necessary water temperatures early in the season (late May) it is a good idea to provide heated conditions so that you can achieve a spawning as early as possible to maximize the length of the growing season.

Spawning media

I recommend using purpose made spawning ropes. These are soft and easy to handle.  Don’t use blanket weed – it is too difficult to collect the eggs without damaging them. A good quantity of media is required to collect all the eggs and encourage spawning.

Remove eggs as soon as they are laid to prevent parents eating them. This is obviously easy to do if you have used spawning ropes. Move eggs on ropes to vat or separate tank for hatching. This should contain water of approximately the same temperature as the spawning pond and should be well oxygenated. It does not however need to be filtered. Eggs introduced straight into growing on ponds are vulnerable to predators such as snails, tadpoles and dragon fly larvae etc. Having worked so hard to achieve the spawning in the first place, don't use them as a food source for the local pond wild life!

 

Handling Fry

Once the fry have hatched, after about 4-5 days, depending on temperature you will need to move them to the growing on ponds. Fry can be moved even when a few days old using plastic bags or fine mesh net. Handle with care however since they are easily damaged.


Culling

Now comes the tricky part. To cull fry successfully you must:

• know the parent stocks;  

• have extremely good eyesight; 

• have experience;  

• and there are a few basic principles that should be followed; 

• watch out for Tobi they will eat and feast on their smaller siblings;  

For example, Utsuris and Showas should produce black fry. Whites and reds develop. You should destroy any fry which are not black. With kohaku /Sanke fry will tend to be orange or orange and white. Any pure white or black should be culled.

If you are breeding patterned fish you should generally speaking destroy all plain colored fry.   I find that the fry need to be at least 6-8 weeks old before I can see what I am doing!  The Japanese breeders start culling generally at 4 weeks.

As the fish get larger, cull out any with deformities, missing fins, two heads etc.  Ideally you should cull several times in the season, but in practical terms I find that Herons and Kingfishers do more culling than I do!.  Culling is clearly important to reduce numbers to ensure that the fish that you want reach a reasonable size by the end of the season.


Feeding

The fry need an ample supply of live, natural food if they are to survive and grow quickly. Providing the proper growing on pond environment is the surest way to provide a good supply of daphnia and infusoria, on which the fry will develop. Whilst tempting. no dry or artificial food should be given to fry for at least six to eight weeks – it can damage the gills and is also likely to pollute the growing on pond. Any slight build up of ammonia or nitrite will kill fry very quickly indeed.

Growing 

Fry normally reach between 2 and 4 inches by mid October assuming spawning in early June. Factors which will affect growth rates are: - temperature, food supply, volume of fish and variety. If you don't cull, you may end up with a lot more babies, but they will be very much smaller than desired. Also of course, your food source will be depleted that much faster.

Unfortunately Runts and plain fish grow quickest !. Showa, Utsuri, Kohaku and Sanke seem to be slowest. Another reason why culling is so important.

The growing on environment is also important since baby koi don’t grow well in man made filtered ponds because of a lack of natural food and are vulnerable to pollutants in water especially nitrite.

   
  
 
 
 

Koi Forums-Resource For you

Koi Group Photo By en.wikipedia.org

http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/main-forum/
Note-publish magazine/ large forum/ active

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/
Large forum very active

http://www.gardenpondforum.com/
Good size forum active and deals primarily with pond plant

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/koiponds/
Smaller forum appears to be active-personally I like smaller forums

http://www.koikeeperunleashed.com/forum/
This forum has live support and it is big and very active

http://www.extremekoi.co.uk/
This forum has product reviews and is very active

http://www.pondkoi.com/forum/index.php
This forum deals with pond plant care-actually I really like this forum it is active

http://www.koifreaks.mobi/
This is really not forum it is more like a place where you could purchase koi photographs and art

http://www.koi2day.com/forum/
Good size forum active located in Australia

http://www.pondkoi.com/forum/index.php?board=11.0
Active forum seems very responsive

http://ukkrazykoi.com/
Super active forum with it appears lots of experts

SPKC Koi Forum
Smaller forum it is active

http://club-nishikigoi.phpbb3pro.com/viewforum.php?f=5
Smaller forum but super active

Butterfly Koi-New Butterfly Koi Domestically Bred

New Butterfly Koi Domestically Bred-Ogkoi.com

Butterfly Koi, Longfin Koi, or Dragon Carp are a type of ornamental fish notable for their elongated finnage. The fish are a breed of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, which includes numerous wild carp races as well as domesticated koi ("Nishikigoi").

Butterfly Koi originated in the mid-20th century as a result of an effort to increase the hardiness of traditional koi. Japanese breeders interbred wild Indonesian Longfin river carp with traditional koi. The resulting fish had longer fins, long barbells, pompom nostrils, and were hardier than koi. These were known in Japan as "onagaoi" or "hire naga koi", or translated in English "long tail koi". Randy LeFever, the son of Wyatt LeFever, a noted breeder of koi, is credited with suggesting they looked like butterflies, a trait for which the breed is named. They are also sometimes referred to as Dragon Koi.

Nishikigoi Judging

Butterfly koi, viewed from above

Butterfly koi cannot be judged using the traditional criteria of used for koi judging. The standard criteria used in these events has evolved over many years, and they are specifically tailored to rate the characteristics of koi. According to an article in KOI USA magazine, the following characteristics are largely the basis for the unsuitability of butterfly koi in traditional competition.

Conformation - The ideal shape of a koi has been set by tradition to be generously oval. By contrast, butterfly koi are naturally more slender. This difference is amplified by the fact that traditional koi judging is done from a top-down viewing angle.

Relationship Of Fin To Body – The ratio of fin-to-body is an important scoring criteria in nishikigoi competitions. By design, Longfin embody a ratio that exceeds the standards applied to nishikigoi by 500 to 1000 percent.

Pattern Differences - Great energy has been given to developing butterfly koi versions of traditional koi patterns, (eg: kohaku, sanke, showa, utsuri and ogon). Butterfly koi, however, exhibit these patterns in a slightly different way.

For these reasons, Japan’s airinkai (an organization that sanctions Japanese nishikigoi hobbyist competitions) have disallowed butterfly koi from competitive judging for many years, although their American counterpart the American Koi Club Association (AKCA) has (as of June, 2006) reportedly created new standards for judging butterfly koi at future AKCA competitions if you are showing thw butterfly koi show only females.

Popularity

Butterfly koi are strongly disliked by many keepers of traditional koi who view the breed as inferior to koi. This polarization of traditional keepers may be the reason why some koi retailers do not sell butterfly koi, and why many of Japan’s famous and most prestigious breeders do not breed butterfly koi today. They are largely unpopular in Europe and Asia, but are popular in the United States where they are more readily available. The popularity of these fish in the United States has earned them the nickname American Koi.

Health, maintenance and longevity

Traditional Japanese garden with koi

The common carp is a hardy fish, and koi retain that durability. Koi are cold-water fish, but benefit from being kept in the 15-25 °C (59-77°F) range, and do not react well to long, cold, winter temperatures; their immune systems "turn off" below 10°C. Koi ponds usually have a meter or more of depth in areas of the world that become warm during the summer, whereas in areas that have harsher winters, ponds generally have a minimum of 1.5 meters (4½ feet). Specific pond construction has evolved by koi keepers intent on raising show-quality koi.

Koi's bright colors put them at a severe disadvantage against predators; a white-skinned Kohaku is a visual dinner bell against the dark green of a pond. Herons, kingfishers, otters, raccoons, cats, foxes, badgers and hedgehogs are all capable of emptying a pond of its fish. A well-designed outdoor pond will have areas too deep for herons to stand, overhangs high enough above the water that mammals cannot reach in, and shade trees overhead to block the view of aerial passers-by. It may prove necessary to string nets or wires above the surface. A pond usually includes a pump and filtration system to keep the water clear.

Koi are an omnivorous fish, and will eat a wide variety of foods, including peas, lettuce, lemons and watermelon. Koi food is designed not only to be nutritionally balanced, but also to float so as to encourage them to come to the surface. When they are eating, it is possible to check koi for parasites and ulcers.

Koi will recognize the persons feeding them and gather around them at feeding times. They can be trained to take food from one's hand. In the winter, their digestive systems slow nearly to a halt, and they eat very little, perhaps no more than nibbles of algae from the bottom. Care should be taken by hobbyists that proper oxygenation and off-gassing occurs over the winter months in small water ponds, so they do not perish.

Their appetites will not come back until the water becomes warm in the spring. When the temperature drops below 50°F (10°C), feeding, particularly with protein, is halted or the food can spoil in their stomachs, causing sickness and death.

One famous scarlet koi, named "Hanako" (c. 1751 – July 7, 1977) was owned by several individuals, the last of whom was Dr. Komei Koshihara. Hanako was supposedly 226 years old upon her death, based on examining one of her scales in 1966. Koi "maximum longevity" is listed as 47 years old.

Breeding

Koi Outdoor Koi Pond

Like most fish, koi reproduce through spawning in which a female lays a vast number of eggs and one or more males fertilize them. Nurturing the resulting offspring (referred to as "fry") is a tricky and tedious job, usually done only by professionals. Although a koi breeder may carefully select the parents they wish based on their desired characteristics, the resulting fry will nonetheless exhibit a wide range of color and quality.

Koi will produce thousands of offspring from a single spawning. However, unlike cattle, purebred dogs, or more relevantly, goldfish, the large majority of these offspring, even from the best champion-grade koi, will not be acceptable as nishikigoi (they have no interesting colors) or may even be genetically defective. These unacceptable offspring are culled at various stages of development based on the breeder's expert eye and closely guarded trade techniques. Culled fry are usually destroyed or used as feeder fish (mostly used for feeding arowana due to the belief it will enhance its color), while older culls, within their first year between 3" to 6" long (also called "Tosai"), are often sold as lower-grade, pond-quality koi.

The semirandomized result of the koi's reproductive process has both advantages and disadvantages for the breeder. While it requires diligent oversight to narrow down the favorable result the breeder wants, it also makes possible the development of new varieties of koi within relatively few generations.

In the wild

Koi have been accidentally or deliberately released into the wild in every continent except Antarctica. They quickly revert to the natural coloration of common carp within a few generations. In many areas, they are considered an invasive species and pests. They greatly increase the turbidity of the water because they are constantly stirring up the substrate.

This makes waterways unattractive, reduces the abundance of aquatic plants, and can render the water unsuitable for swimming or drinking, even by livestock. In some countries, koi have caused so much damage to waterways that vast amounts of money and effort have been spent trying to eradicate them, largely unsuccessfully.

By Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What Do Koi Eat

What Do Koi Eat

Koi are gregarious eaters. This means that they eat a lot for their relative size, relative to other fish species. Koi can typically consume 2% of body weight per day even when fully grown which for a fish is doing pretty well.

They are omnivorous and they have grinding teeth at the back of their mouths. They are not piscivorous in that they do not eat other fish but they will eat small crustaceans, worms, larvae and the like that they like to dig up in the mud in their natural environment. They are natural bottom feeders although in Koi ponds they learn to surface feed very quickly.

Koi will also consume a large quantity of vegetable matter such as algae and plants as anyone who has had unprotected plants in their pond will attest. But pretty much anything and everything that they can get into their mouths, Koi will eat.

As such their diet is highly varied in the wild, allowing them access to a wide range of habitats and contributing to the successful propagation of the species into just about every water course in the world. It has in fact also contributed to the black listing of the species in many nations in the world, ours included. In South Africa, cyprinus carpio has been listed as an invasive species, with Koi requiring specialist regulation overseen by an industry body in order for it to be sold.

Koi are thus relatively easy animals to feed. Herein lies potential danger however because as an aquatic life form the Koi's natural source of food lies within the aquatic eco-system. This means that the protein (amino acid profile), carbohydrate, fats and oils, mineral profile etc of the food you feed your Koi should reflect this.

Koi will adapt to eating dog food pellets if this is all they receive. However, this is not a long term solution as gaps in the nutritional profile requirements of a Koi will manifest themselves in deficiencies within the animal itself that will result in a long term compromise of the overall health of the Koi. In other words, there may be small trace elements and essential amino acids and lipids that are missing that cause the Koi to develop abnormalities. These can sometimes be seen physically on the Koi and can manifest as bad body shapes, lumps in the Koi, poor color, poor luster, lethargy, tumors, cancers and all manner of physical ailments that we may or may not be able to diagnose.

The important word is thus 'balance'. Whatever you feed your Koi it needs to be along term nutritionally balanced Koi specific food. It is not a trout food modified to suit Koi - this cannot and does not work. It is not a Tilapia feed, similarly modified. It is also not green and red pellets comprised of wood shavings bound together by glue!

A good quality Koi food is expensive. But it is necessary to maintain the long term health of your pets. And don't necessarily believe the labels on the side of the bag. We have seen too many times a food, reputable brands included, that report a 36% protein count, only to reflect a 12% content upon analysis! There is NO legal requirement in South Africa to back claims on a label when it comes to Koi food, and unscrupulous vendors take advantage of this fact blatantly.

A good quality Koi food should cost a bit. This is because the quality of the ingredients going into the food need to meet a certain minimum standard. As sad as it maybe, price is a great indication of what you are getting in your food. A bit of basic research online (you're doing it right now) will also tell you very quickly which foods to consider, and which to avoid like the plague!

Of course, as the importers of Hikari we have a vested interest in promoting Hikari Koi food. We make money like this - it is an important revenue stream for our business. We make no bones about it, and nor we claim Hikari to be a cheap food. It is not. What it is is the world's best fish food manufacturer, particularly when it comes to Koi. It has no equal and that is the sole reason we chose this brand to import above any other. You cannot get better, and when it comes to our Koi we Never, Ever compromise in providing them, and you, with nothing less than the very best.





 

Koi Varieties for Sale

Koi Variety

Kikokiryu New Kio Variety

Selecting Asagi/Shusui 

Selecting Kohaku

Selecting Sanke

Selecting Showa

Selecting Utsuri

Selecting Asagi

Selecting Bekko

Selecting Young Hikari Mono

Selecting Young Kohaku

Selecting Young Koromo

Selecting Sanke

Selecting Showa

Selecting Tancho

Selecting Young Utsurimono

How Transfer Koi Into Aquarium or Pond

Bagging Koi After Purchase Australia Koi Auction

By R. D. Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett

When you're confident that your new koi are healthy after three-week quarantine, you can finally introduce your new koi to their new aquatic citadel, whether it's an aquarium or pond. Koi can go directly from quarantine tub to pond  only if the pH values and temperatures are close (0.2 range for pH, and a 5 degree Fahrenheit difference for temperature).

If you're using an outside pond, keep in mind that the water must be 70 degrees F or higher. Adding a new fish to a too-cold pond shuts down the fish's immune system exactly when he needs it the most. If the water isn't warm enough, leave your koi in its quarantine tub until warmer weather arrives.

Koi Shipped To You

1. The pond temperature is likely to be different from your quarantine tub's temperature. Take a few precautions to avoid stressing or shocking your fish:

2. Turn off the heater in the quarantine tub and let the tub reach room temperature overnight.

3. You want less than a 10-degree difference between pond and tub temperatures so your fish aren't shocked.

4. The next morning, if the tub and pond temperatures are more than 5 degrees apart, you need to bag and float your koi in the pond.

5. Use your koi net to bowl your koi (take the handle extension off your net if you're inside).

6. Pour the bowl into a waiting and partially submerged poly bag or lift your koi into the bag. You want just enough water in the bag to cover the fish so the bag isn't too heavy. Rubber-band the bag closed and lift the bag out of the tub.

7. Carry the bag to your aquarium or pond, ease it into the water, and let it float for 20 minutes to equalize the temperatures and keep eye on the bag do not allow the bag to heat up from the sun

8. Open the bag, lift out your koi, and release it.

Millons Koi Killed October 23rd - a Day to Remember-by Mamoru Kodama, Japan

Above was once a mud pond When the earthquake hit the
earth cracked open and all the water and koi were lost

Dear Big Fans of Japanese "Nishikigoi"

On October 23rd, big earthquakes struck the home of Nishikigoi in Niigata prefecture and killed 39 people (as of November 5th). Some 84,000 people are in shelters including all of Nishikigoi producers. As one of Japanese Nishikigoi dealers lived with the producers and their Nishikigoi for over 40 years, I want to ask your support to help them.

Please read my report (below) as well as other pages of this site www.save nishikigoi.net showing you the real story occurred in the home of Nishikigoi. Please (again, please) help us protect Japan's very important heritage. Please support the Nishikigoi producers who have been protecting and growing Japanese Nishikigoi over 200 years.

Yours sincerely,

Mamoru Kodama Chair of Nishikigoi Protection Network

REPORT

At 17:56 pm on October 23rd in 2004, a 6.8-magnitude quake centered only about 80 meters (262 feet) beneath the Earth's surface in the Yamakoshi Village, Koshi-County, Niigata prefecture in Japan rocked the area, ripping through roadways and rattling buildings.

About 84,000 people who lived within 30 km (18.7 miles) away from the Yamakoshi Village and Ojiya City are still temporary shelters: in gyms at public schools or at their automobiles, because of the fear that hundreds of aftershocks continued to jolt the area even after two weeks of the biggest quake.

I assume that you keep Nishikigoi from Japan. If so, there are more than 95 percents possibilities that they were born in Yamakoshi or Ojiya area in Niigata. In other words, the skillful producers grew your Nishikigoi were suffered by the worst earthquake. I have worked with the producers in Ojiya City as well as Yamakoshi Village in the past 40 years as a Nishikigoi dealer.

On October 23rd, I was in Yamakoshi Village on business, however, around the time, it was my fortunate that I was out of the center of the quake, which had an intensity of 7 on the Japanese earthquake scale. When I went back to the area, I lost any of my words because of the astonished disaster and the sight of misery.

My other home town, Yamakoshi, was completely cut off after its only road was torn away in a landslide that upended homes and Koi ponds. Most of the ponds in which the beautiful Nishikigoi were grown up were disappeared. I suppose that this disaster had widely released into all over the world and you know it happened far away from your place. However, I would like to you to take this matter more seriously because it took placed at your precious Nishikigoi's hometown.

There were about 650 Nishikigoi producers in the mountain village. They were completely isolated because roads were ripped in half and overpasses fell from the force of the quakes right after the first big earthquake took place at 17:56 pm on 23rd.

Unfortunately, it killed about 30 people in the area. On 24th, all of residents were rescued by helicopters of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Your Koi's family members in Japan, parent Kois and sibling Kois were discharged from the landslide that upended Koi Ponds. It was nightmare that Yamakoshi Village and Ojiya City which has been proud of the origin of the artistic beauty of Nishikigoi and gives the perfect Nishikigoi to the worshipers all over the world, lost most of the precious Koi at the quake.

Nobody could find any ways to against the disaster which changed all of their daily lives at a moment. However, after a week later, I saw that some of the producers were back to their village on foot and were working at the destroyed Koi ponds that they abandoned for a week.

Apparently, they might lose their lives under the critical condition. The area was still isolated and none could predict when large aftershocks rock all sudden. It was their sincere mission to last the origin of Nishikigoi to the future.

 

As the Japanese Self-Defense Forces did for the residents, they hired helicopters to bring out the survivor Koi to the secure place. The numbers are very small if you compared to the original numbers of the parent Koi. However, the best quality Nishikigoi was not annihilated by the disaster.

I would like to send this message to all Nishikigoi fans. The birthplace of Nishikigoi, Ojiya City and Yamakoshi Village managed to survive. As long as the respectable bravery producers work for the Nishikigoi, the area shall be recovered and enjoy a large natural fortune of Nishikigoi again.

I would greatly appreciate for your warm understanding to the critical situation and kind support for Nishikigoi in Niigata to make the recovery as soon as possible. Your kind encouragements surely give a big power to the people; who have been struggled to overcome their despondencies.

Editor’s Note: This article reprinted from

www.savenishikigoi.net