Articles from North Wales Koi Club

Koi Thefts a Problem in 2010?

dave — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:40:39 +0000

With the ever increasing problem of Koi thefts, with thieves using more devious ways of finding potential targets, Google Earth and Google Street View. Koi keepers should be looking at ways of protecting their Koi not only with better security around their Home and pond, but with identification of the Koi if they happen to be stolen.

Micro chipping has been around for a while, which is an effective way of identifying Koi but this can be invasive to the Koi having a microchip inserted beneath the skin with the possibility of infection.
Now a new technique has been developed, were Koi can be fingerprinted using their unique DNA, as has been done for dogs and cats.
A similar price to that of getting a pet micro chipped, but is less invasive, less stressful and provides irrefutable evidence that cannot be tampered with, as to the ownership of the pet.
The DNA samples can be securely stored and will always remain the property of the Koi owner. Details will be stored onto a database and the owner will be provided with a unique sample ID number. Therefore if the fish should ever get stolen, they can provide the police with this number and should DNA evidence ever be required to prove ownership, this will provide irrefutable evidence in identifying their Koi should it be stolen and later found and especially in cases where there is dispute over ownership the sample will be sent to the appropriate authority on the owners behalf. The sample will be securely stored and will be available to the police or investigating authority upon demand.
A DNA sample, in the form of a non-invasive mouth swab or scale, which will be purified and treated for storage for up to 30 years, and entered onto a database.

Watch this Space for more details.

NWKC 2010 - 2011 Grow and Show Competition

dave — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:52:10 +0000

This years G&S Competition will be Exclusive Sankes from Richdon Koi, the koi are now in quarantine at Richdon Koi, and by all accounts are very good quality. The club have secured 24 Koi and at the present time 21 have been sold, the spare 3 if not sold by selection day will be used for Club raffle Koi, or if any other members would like to view and purchase 1 of the remaining Koi they can still enter the Competition.

Update - 18th April -The selection has taken place.

Here are photo’s of the Koi that were available for selection, the quality was Excellent even for the Members that were last to choose.
The Koi were then taken away by their new owners to Grown and Nutured for the next 12 months, when they will then be re-photographed and judged by Richard Jones of Richdon Koi.

And some close ups of Koi that were selected

Dave Wilson
NWKC Secretary.

NWKC 2009 - 2010 Grow and Show Competition

dave — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:43:40 +0000

The koi last year were Richdon Koi supplied Chagoi from Marudo, good luck to those who have taken part.
I hope everyone has been growing their Chagoi’s over the last Winter, these Koi will be photographed and judged later on this year.
By all accounts there are some quite sizeable Chagoi’s, so it will interesting to compare them to the ones from the same shipment that have been grown on at Richdon Koi apparently some of these are getting on towards 27ins in length.

Spring Health Care

dave — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:38:10 +0000

Spring care for your Koi
After the long cold winter for your Koi, getting your pond up and running in the spring can help your Koi come out of their dormant state successfully. Spring can be one of the worst times of the year for Koi, there are so many things to deal with. There are the water temperatures that have more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. Every pond will cool down and warm up at a different rate. The size of the pond, the surface area of the pond, the amount of shading around the pond is a few factors affect the ponds temperature fluctuations. I tend to keep my pond covers on till the night time temperatures have stabilised. An important tool for your pond is a thermometer, to monitor the water temperature.
If you are lucky enough to have a pond heating system, you can also use it to keep those temperature fluctuations in check.
Health Problems.
Check all Koi for health problems that may have occurred during the long hard winter (sores on the body, ulcers, wounds and damage etc). Look for any signs of distress, like an ulcer or if your Koi isn’t swimming right. A simple knock or cut can easily flare up into an ulcer, if not treated soon enough.
After the long cold Winter
As the water warms up you will need to keep an eye out for Parasites especially if temps are not stable. I will usually scrape my koi once my pond hits 13º C, as I will be able to safely treat at this temp should I find any Parasites.
Although the Koi may have seemed healthy going into winter, there is always a chance that they were carrying a low number of parasites. When the koi is dormant their immune system is at its lowest, also is the parasite activity. As the temperature starts to rise the parasites will become active before the Koi’s immune system is fully functional. If parasites are present it’s important to diagnose and treat as soon as possible. Many treatments for parasites have to be added when the water temp has reached 10º C. Knowing what you need to treat for, allow you to be ready to treat as soon as the water reaches temperature. By taking care of any problems early on, the parasite numbers will be at their lowest and there is minimum stress on the koi.
Koi Microscopy.
Having a microscope and learning how to identify parasites is very useful tool for every Koi-keeper. Having this knowledge allows the Koi-keeper to react quickly when a problem develops. When parasites are dealt with in a timely manner, the resulting effect the parasite has on the koi can be minimal.
When to start feeding the Koi in spring.
A good rule of thumb is: If the Koi are begging for food at the surface of the water, they are probably hungry and have decided for themselves that it is time to start eating. It is a good idea to use a Koi food that is high in wheat germ, as it is easy to digest.
The feeding rate of the koi should correspond with the growth of the bacteria in the filtration system. The way to track this progress is by doing water testing. Testing for Ammonia, Nitrite and pH will tell you if the filter is able to handle the waste load of the koi. If the testing is showing Ammonia, or Nitrite in the results, less feeding should be done until the bacteria count increases. By the end of spring the filter should be fully running and the koi will be ready for a more digestible diet of a high protein food. The best thing that you can do for your Koi is supplying them with adequate Oxygen and making sure they have as little stress as possible.
Filter Maintenance.
Help keep the waste load at a minimum for the filter as it starting to mature, you will want to manually remove (Hoover) any debris that may have collected in the pond over winter.
Do not neglect your weekly filter maintenance and water changes.
When the pond has reached a temperature in the range 15°C -16°C a liquid filter start would be a good idea to boost the biological bacteria in the filters.
Being patient and by allowing your pond to slowly start up in spring and being aware of any potential problems the pond might have as it comes out of winter, will help your koi successfully get ready for the summer season ahead.

NWKC 2009 Pond of the Year Competition

dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:25:48 +0000

During this last Summer, Dave Wilson has been visiting members ponds, Photographing the ponds and gardens for this competition.
At the last monthly meeting, the members voted on what they deemed to be the NWKC 2009 Pond of the Year.
A slide show was presented first, and then printed photographs were available for closer examination. Each member was given a slip of paper to vote their First, Second and Third Choice. The results were compiled and adjudicated by Colin Jones.
The results are as follows:

In First Place - 2009 Pond of the Year Competition: Martin and Mags Rocliffe.
With their superb Garden and Pond. Well done Martin and Mags.

In Second Place - 2009 Pond of the year Competition: Dave and Sue Wilson.
A new pond build in an superb setting. Well done Dave and Sue.

In Third Place -2009 Pond of the Year Competition: Phil and Cynthia Lunt.
A nice pond in a lovely garden, well done Phil and Cynthia.

Thanks to everyone who took part, the photographs that are featured here and also all the others that were taken throughout the Summer will be used in compiling the NWKC 2010 Calendar, if you require a Calendar for next year get in touch with the Club Secretary who is taking orders now, get your orders in soon and you will not be dissapointed.

Hope you have enjoyed the Ponds and Gardens.

Dave Wilson
NWKC Membership Sec.

NWKC 2008 -2009 Grow and Show Competition Results.

dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:13:17 +0000

At the last club meeting a slide show was presented with the results of the 2008-2009 Grow and Show competition, also on the night the club members voted for the 2009 Club Champion from these Grow and Show koi.
The Koi had been previously judged by Richard Jones of Richdon Koi, who had supplied the Exclusive Kohaku in the Spring of 2008.

The prize for the Koi with the best Body Shape and Quality, was awarded to Koi No 12 owned by Ken and Jean Williams, although the Koi had not put on a massive amount of growth, the quality of the skin was quite amazing.
Well done to Ken and Jean.

Grow and Show Koi No 12. June 2008 Size 18cm - September 2009 Size 35cm

The prize for the Koi with the best Growth Achievement was awarded to Koi No 11 owned by Ian Mooney and Sue Roberts, this Koi had put on significant growth and Body Shape and will be a real presence in the pond.
Well done to Ian and Sue.

Grow and Show Koi No 11. June 2008 Size 19cm - September 2009 Size 51cm

The next award was for Club Champion which was voted for on the night by the club members, this was quite a close run thing and the eventual winner was Koi No 9 owned by Graham and Trish Giles, this koi has grown nicely over the previous 12 months with quite an unique pattern was the favourite of the club members.
Well done to Graham and Trish.

Grow and Show Koi 9. June 2008 Size 19cm - September 2009 Size 47cm

A big thank you to Richard Jones of Richdon Koi for supplying the Koi and also judging them,
to Dave Wilson for taking the time to photograph the Koi, and not least to the Members who took part.

NWKC 2009

Are your Koi losing their Sparkle

dave — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:20:16 +0000

Are your koi losing their colour?

When koi are first harvested from the mud ponds, their colours are vibrant. After time in a hobbyists pond their colours sometimes look to be fading.
Koi are only able to exhibit pigments if they receive them in their diet. Pigment cells in the skin store carotenoids relative to the colour of the cell, e,g red pigment cell will store Red, Black pigment cell stores Black …..
In the mud pond environment, koi obtain carotenoids by browsing on natural fauna and flora, this is not possible in a filtered koi pond, so carotenoids must be provided in the diet that we feed.

Just look at this ‘Dainichi Kohaku’ straight from the mud pond ‘Autumn 2007′

Some koi foods contain the pigments canthaxanthin, astaxanthin that koi can store in their colour cells, other foods include spirulina, paprika and marigold.

Water Chemistry
Your pond water may lead to fading colours on your koi, due to the bio-action of your filters the pond water will tend to become more acidic, minerals are used up within the pond by the koi and other pond organisms. Normal water changes will help to certain extent.
Poor water quality can also give the impression lack of colour, because the koi will secret excess mucous as a protection, but this could also mean there is presence of parasites, a skin scape or water test should identify the cause.

But is there anything we can do to help?
Some studies have shown that koi kept in Hard Water (High KH) skin colouration is enhanced, especially white and black pigments.
So how can we attain this High mineralised pond? Skin quality can be enhanced by regular use of a high quality Montmorillonite Clay that will re-mineralise the pond water.

Genetics
A koi’s genetic make-up will determine the quality of the pigmentation and skin. The koi that tend to develop deep and vivid colours as they mature, and which also retain them, usually are of a higher grade and price.
A bit like expensive motor cars, they have many layers of paint!!!

Are our Ponds becoming more Acidic?

dave — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:37:38 +0000

Low pH
It has been noticed lately that pond keepers are having lower pH readings. What is the cause of this?

One theory is that now we have better control of Blanket Weed in our ponds, due to more efficient product’s to eradicate it.
The weed that was present in the pond would be continually dieing and regrowing, the dying weed would decompose and give off Ammonia, this would raise the pH.

Also new ponds tend to have high pH until the filters are mature (New Pond Syndrome).

In a mature pond the pH will fluctuate throughout the Day, the reasons are: Koi give off Carbon Dioxide from their gills which easily mixes with the water to form Carbonic Acid which lowers pH, a pond with Blanket Weed or other Plant life will take up the Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen during the daytime, which will cause the pH to rise. During the night the plants will take up Oxygen and release Carbon Dioxide dropping the pH overnight.
That is why it is so important to have lots of Air in the pond in the Summer which will drive off the unwanted Carbon Dioxide, maintaining the pH.

The Ideal pH Range for Koi is 7.5 to 8.3

Carbonate Hardness
Another aspect of the pH in the pond, is buffering capacity of the water. This is controlled by KH (carbonate hardness).
This is an area where many people get confused. One of the reasons the term alkaline is avoided a bit and the term Basic is used for the pH scale is because this reading is measuring the alkalinity of the water. It is not the same as alkaline.

The alkalinity is a measurement of the waters buffering ability, or its ability to absorb and neutralize acid. Clearly the more alkalinity or the higher the Carbonate Hardness of the water the less likely you will incur pH swings in the water. It is therefore important to get this figure reasonably high to stabilize the water.

Ways to raise the pH (KH)

Aerate the water, driving off the carbon dioxide (CO2)
Filter over coral or limestone
Add rocks containing limestone to the filters
Use a commercial alkaline buffer

Many Koi keepers use a bag of crushed Oyster or Cockle Shells, suspended in a bag in one of the filter bays. This will need replenishing after a time, because of the effects of Carbonic Acid.
This is a massive and interesting subject, but it has been said before Koi Keeping is merely Keeping Water.

Happy Water Keeping.

Koi Photographic Competition 2008 Results

dave — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:00:42 +0000

Photo Show 2008

On Tuesday night 4th November, many of the NWKS members gathered for the annual Photo Show awards night at the Farmer’s Arms’, Rhuallt. Throughout September & October Dave S Wilson had been ’snapping away’ at koi from 13 separate ponds. In total 46 fish were photographed, totalling nearly 200 meters worth of Baby, Adult and Jumbo Koi !

Over the past few years NWKS has been lucky enough to establish close ties with several companies involved with Koi keeping.

Evolution Aqua
Richdon Koi
Koi Magazine
Koi Carp Magazine

Once again our commercial friends came up trumps by donating prizes for our Photo Show, so a big Thank you to them all.

Evolution Aqua (Mike Shaw) donated two Airtech 90 air pumps and 4 tubs of EA Show and EA Health foods which were awarded to the First places & Runners up in the Adult Gosanke and Adult Non Gosanke categories as well as Grand Champion.

Richard and Donna Jones from Richdon Koi offered several tubs of their superb Nutrikoi Paste, Performance and Growth Koi foods which were awarded to the Baby, Jumbo and Novelty Koi classes.

Koi Magazine provided annual subscriptions to their magazine for the Winners of the “Chairman’s Choice” section.

Koi Carp Magazine provided the Winner and Runner up of the NWKS Friendship Award 12 months subscription to the magazine.

Our competition was judged by Greg Sutton who people may know as a moderator from the www.koihelp.co.uk bulletin board. Greg has a wealth of knowledge about Koi health, varieties and judging. Despite the distance from Greg’s home in the Midlands to N Wales he insisted on being there on the night to present the awards and provide helpful summaries & advice. A superb effort and much appreciated.

The evening went off fantastically, with the usual banter and good humour from the audience aimed mainly at the Master of Ceremonies (i.e. Me!) and some of the Winners.

Some of the winning koi were of a size and quality that many of us only dream of, and were perhaps out of the price range of many hobbyists. Interestingly though, many of our winning Koi and the Runners up from the smaller size categories were from the ‘Bargain basement’ tanks of various Koi dealers. It just goes to prove that a Koi costing around £50 can be brought on to a size and quality that can win prizes at club level. I fully expect to see some of the placed Baby and Adult koi winning the NWKS Jumbo or GC in the future.
Congratulations and “da iawn” for our winners and a huge North Wales Koi Society “Diolch yn fawr” Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support.

Martin Rocliffe
Chairman NWKS

Grand Champion 74cm Kohaku owned by Colin Jones

Gosanke Champion 45cm Showa owned by Dave S.Wilson.

Non Gosanke Champion 47cm Shiro Utsuri owned by Dave(jock)Wilson.

Baby Champion 33cm Kohaku owned by Colin Jones

Jumbo Champion 66cm Shiro Utsuri owned by Colin Jones

Club Champion 47cm Showa owned by Dave S.Wilson

Novelty Koi 37cm Doistu Sanke owned by Martin Rocliffe.

Chairmans Choice Gosanke 51cm Kohaku owned by Steve Rogers

Chairmans Choice non Gosanke 50cm Kujaku owned by Robert Ford.

NWKC 2008-2009 Grow and Show Selection Day

dave — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:17:51 +0000

The NWKS Grow and Show (G&S) Selection Day; thankfully the meticulous planning paid off.

On Saturday 21st, Dave S Wilson and Ian Mooney drove down to Richdon Koi and collected our

16 Exclusive Kohaku

They also came away with various Dry Goods for other club members and one or two Koi for themselves. By the time Dave & Ian arrived at my house on Saturday afternoon, the Quarantine tank was ready and waiting, along with several large bowls of purified and aerated water for replenishing the QT throughout the weekend. I’d also spent the morning cooking my (infamous) North Wales Koi “Kurry” and “Khilli Kon Karne” ready for the hungry hordes on Sunday.



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Many thanks to Richard of Richdon Koi

In addition to thanking Dave and Ian, a word of thanks must go to Richard Jones (owner of Richdon Koi) who had painstakingly picked out our 16 Kohaku, (plus a couple of ’spares’ to choose from just in case).

Such was Richard’s enthusiasm for the NWKS G&S he has “Insisted” on judging the competition for us when we measure and photo the Kohaku next year. What a star!

Sunday 22nd 2008

Sunday 22nd arrived and the gale force winds and occasional light showers could not dampen the enthusiasm of some nineteen club members who attended the NWKS Grow & Show. After tucking into the Nosh (Chicken Curry, Chilli, Rice, Pasta & Salad) and downing a few Beers the G&S Picking started in earnest .

Dave and Ian were doing a superb job of netting, bowling, measuring & photographing the Koi. Colin Jones and Dave Evans assisted with the recording and photography and yours truly was the official “Bag man”, with Poly Bags and rubbers bands flying everywhere!
Such was the efficiency and professionalism of this ‘well oiled G&S machine’ that even a power cut caused by the strong winds could not stop them!

Soon all the Kohaku had been viewed, selected, bagged and were on their way to their new homes. One or two members were not able to attend on the day, but I’m pleased to say that they will not be disappointed with their Koi that were picked at the end of the day by the Committee members.
The remaining 16th Kohaku will stay in my QT for growing on & will be a raffle prize later in the year. Certainly worth buying a ticket for.

Everyone one seemed to enjoyed the day, and I look forward to seeing how your Koi turn out. I’d like to personally thank Dave S Wilson, Ian Mooney, Colin Jones and Dave Evans for their efforts on the day, and in the run up to the G&S. Let me know if you have any comments (Good or Bad) about the G&S as we’d like to build on this event and ensure the continued success and growth of the NWKS.

Martin Rocliffe
NWKC Chairman.