Grand Champion All Japan Koi Show 2011

Kohaku Koi from Sakai of Hiroshima took top honors once again at this years All Japan Combined Koi Show in  Jan 29th / 30th 2011. This Kohaku fish winning Grand Champion.At 90 centimeters this Kohaku displays massive body conformation that is strong from her head through the torso, right into the thick tail tube and sharp Odome.

How To Bulid Pre-Cycling A Filter

Biological filters rely on Nitrifying bacteria to strip the toxins that Koi produce out of the water and then oxidize them into virtually harmless byproducts. Since all bacteria are a living organism, it needs two basic things, food and shelter. Their shelter is your biological filter and their food is the Ammonia that Koi excrete.

How to Select Water Garden Pump

There are several things to consider in order to make a good decision for a pump purchase. The first thing is to determine your required flow rate. You will want your minimum flow rate to be at least half of your pond volume (Pond Volume Calculator). For example if you have a pond that contains 2,000 gallons of water Aqua UV Unitsthen you will want to pump at least 1,000 gallons per hour (gph). This is a starting point.

The Evolution from Tategoi to Show Koi

The name "tategoi" is a term that is used to describe a koi that has yet to reach its full potential, a koi that is not yet "finished".It is relatively easy for most hobbyists to select or evaluate a "finished" koi that is in its prime, but the real challenge in koi keeping, and the true test of a koi keeper's skill, is in selecting and successfully finishing a tategoi. In this series, we hope to shed some light the on mystery of koi development.

Ultraviolet Sterilizers For Koi Pond

UV Sterilization is the safest method of preventing and eliminating problems in an aquarium, or pond. UV will not kill a parasite on the fish, but parasites go through a free floating stage, at which point they are eliminated. Additionally, corals and fish can and do carry bacteria which can infect and spread throughout the tank, killing other inhabitants.

Quarantine Koi Fish

New Koi Fish can be carrying parasites, and in rare cases systemic infections (internal problems) and although the Japanese breeders and koi dealers in the U.K. normally treat fish when they first arrive, there is no guarantee that problems will not occur after you have purchased your koi. The induced stress of their long journey, and radically different water quality can inhibit the immune system response in newly arrived koi fish. This can lead to parasite attacks , and ultimately bacterial infections.

However, we should bear in mind that the vast majority of koi are strong and healthy when they are first harvested in Japan, and are not riddled with parasites or infection.  Most problems occur because of the induced stress of up to 24 hours in a plastic bag during transit to the U.K, and because of substantially differing water conditions, in particular pH and general hardness.

During the journey, your new koi has almost certainly been subjected to water temperature changes of 15 deg. C over a 24 hour period which adds to the stress problem.

Therefore, rather than treating problems after they occur, we need to get the koi 'comfortable' in their new environment as quickly as possible, to ensure that their own immune system is working properly, so that they can fight of any potential problems without human intervention.

Many people run into self induced problems when quarantining new fish simply because they are unaware of the level of aftercare required for their new purchase and assume their new Koi will look after itself. The single most common cause of problems in our view is quarantining fish in a vat or pond which is too small.

There is a well publicised view that a quarantine facility of between 250 - 500 gallons is adequate for quarantine purposes. This may be the case if you only have 4 or 5 small koi to quarantine, but not for anything else.

In our view your quarantine facility should be minimum 1000 gallons with temperature control and a mature filter. Setting up you quarantine facility 3 weeks before the fish are due to arrive is asking for trouble.

Do's and Don'ts Quarantine Koi Fish

1. Do have your quarantine facility ready for the job, the larger the better with a mature filter.
2. Do carry out regular water changes.
3. Do monitor for ammonia and nitrite regularly.
4. Do take scrapes to ensure an appropriate treatment regime.
5. Do observe your new koi's behaviour
6. Do provide adequate aeration.
7.Don't quarantine your new prize 26" koi in 500 gallons of water!
8. Don't use chemicals on your new arrivals until they have settled in.
9. Don't use dips - they are very stressful and not particularly effective.
10.Don't quarantine single fish - koi are gregarious and are happiest with company.
11.Don't use chemicals indiscriminately - use an appropriate remedy for the specific problem encountered.
12.Don't subject your koi to fluctuating temperatures or other water parameters.
13. Don't overfeed the Koi, - once per day @ 17 deg C is quite adequate.

We recommend the following quarantine regime
1. Adequate facility, mature filter, temperature controlled.
2. Five days before new fish arrive dose quarantine pond with chloramine T or Virkon S to disinfect and reduce bacteria count.
3. Carry out 10-20% water change immediately prior to arrival of new stocks.
4. Introduce new fish and allow to settle in for minimum 3 days. During this period, use only salt at 0.5 oz per gallon and or Elbagin as a supportive treatment to help koi overcome stress. No other chemicals.
5 Take scrapes of selected koi and check for parasites.
6. Apply appropriate parasite treatment if required.
7. Maintain adequate aeration through the period of treatment.
8. Retake scrapes at the end of your parasite treatment. and re-dose if necessary.
9. Dose pond with chloramine T to reduce bacteria count.
10. Continue to carry out regular (at least every 5 days) 10% water changes.
11. Monitor for ammonia and nitrite readings regularly.
12. Maintain a stable temperature. (17.5 deg C or 64 deg F is recommended)


Source:
http://www.koicarp.org.uk/quarantine.htm