Christmas Greetings to all and a safe, Joyous Holiday Season.

With Christmas just around the corner so is SAKA's Annual Christmas party. Come one, Come all to a Merry Good time. Don't forget that present to exchange. The fun will just begin. Can't wait for the arrival of Sanke Santa. So you better be good for goodness sake.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and everyone of you. The SAKA 20^th Annual Koi Show and Auction was the best ever. All your hard work was the successes of the show. Thanks again. Special thanks to all of the Vendors for bringing everything to share and sell and answering a lot of questions.

The President's pond has now become Project 2000. Everything is in the yard waiting for completion. Soon Please!!!

I do hope each and everyone of you has a blessed and joyous Holiday Season. Giving and sharing is something very special this time of year. Being with family and friends, brothers and sisters, Mom's Dad's, etc makes holiday times so very special. With the coming of the new Milleniun I thank God for Family and friends like you. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Sincerely

Bob Panter

Bob Panter

SAKA President

One of the Hottest Shows around.

AQUA Ultraviolet

AKCA Book Store

California Koi Farms

W. Lim Coy & Lim’s Quality Koi

Mountain View Koi & Plants

Ponds, Plants. & More

Quality Koi Company, Inc

Rancho Del Koi

Also I would like to thank all the people and companies that donated merchandise to the raffle, which was a big success. These were:

Anonymous

Eclectic Café

Ecological Laboratories Inc

Enviro-Reps International

Fishy Pharisaical

Janzen Wahl Group

Pan Intercorp

Rancho Del Koi

Suburban Water Gardens

Sequence Pump

I felt that we had an excellent Judging team of:

Doug Dahl, Head Judge

Steve Drake, Assistant Judge

Larry Gill, Assistant Judge

Steve Childers, Candidate Judge

Steve Childers was drafted at the last minute after we found out how many fish were entered into the show. Thanks for the help Steve. I feel I should tell you that Steve had two fish in the show. He had never seen one of these fish and the other a Kohaku he had only seen for a couple of minutes, and it was 5 inches smaller. He judged this one. The fish was stressed when he judged it. We told him an hour later when we figured out that he had judged his own fish. He turned bright red. In Steve's defense he had been told earlier that none of his fish was registered. What they didn't know was that his fish were in another person's tank.

In the following pages and next month we will be showing you pictures of Awards dinner, set-up of the show, breakfast at Debby Tibbetts, dinner at Molina's Midway, raffle & lecture, and of clean-up. In next months issue I will try to print more of the winners, and a list of all the winners in both open and novice. Hope you enjoy this issue.

Holiday Party

The holiday party this year will be at the Brent Vankoevering & Melisa Friesborg home. This year we will be doing a PotLuck and a gift exchange. A rumor says that Sanke Santa will be come and visiting us that night. We have been awful good and just got done putting on a great 20^th Annual Koi Show.

The divisions of items to bring are as follows:

A-G Derserts

H-L Side Dish

M-Z Main Dish

The Club will provide the sodas.

The Show

Where do I put this stuff?

Let's put this stuff in here.

Any thing else left?

How do you put this thing together?

Fireman Tom

Is there enough water in this one?

Are you sure you know how to do this?

Where does this pole go?

Slowly getting their.

Keep going Mike

Are we done yet?

I bet I don't win a thing.

Do we have any more fish to log in?

Is everything ready for the judges?

Should we get one more fish for the show?

The game plan, we are going to pick the best fish, right!

Sell those raffle tickets?

Still looking for that last fish.

The Water Experts

Boy is this a great fish!!

Is my fish a winner! Is it!

Now that what you look for in a fish.

I got a great one over here too!

Here is another great fish.

Ok, Lets get this in their.

No! No! I just found the Baby Champ!

Do we have a Grand Champion?

Yes we do! A Grand Champion.

We are done!

Yes we are.

Boy!! What a day!

Did we win anything??

Did we win anything?

And the winner are!!

Great Show Folks!!!!

F.Y.I.

From Doc Johnson, the Koivet

Fish can survive, cold temperatures, as evidenced by Comet Goldfish and Koi living through winters under six inches of ice, so why, then, does a drop in temperature that does not even freeze the water result in mortality?

Simple: The survival of fish under ice is dependent upon a gradual change to these colder water temperatures. While temperatures are dropping, the fish is beginning to produce small quantities Of life-giving cold water enzymes. These enzymes provide vital energy and support for cold water activity, including respiration, and cardiac function. As the water gets colder and colder, fewer and fewer warm water enzymes are made, arid more and more of the cold water enzymes are produced. Finally, the, fish is adapted to cold waters. Indeed, if thrust into warm water them, the fish would perish as its enzyme systems degraded in the heat of the warmer system, If the animal is chilled twenty or more degrees too quickly, no cold water iso-enzymes exist to provide energy for respiratory and cardiac function, and so these systems fail. Fish that are in cold-shock are lateral, lifeless, eyes are fixed and pupils are, constricted. The body becomes stiff, and the respirations are fewer than one per minute. This fish can only be saved by the administration of warmed (room temp to 80 decrees) Dexamethasone, and placement in a cooler or vat in the original Gold pond water, but the application of an aquarium heater will gradually raise temperatures. A temperature of 50 decrees should be sought as soon as possible,, with slower climbs in temperature being made. over the next day or so. Other cold water health problems include the cellular death of the epithelium making up the fin-tips, invasion of damaged intestinal linings by Aeromonas and other bacterium, and also certain psychrophilic bacteria may find chilled specimens an easy target. There, is some wisdom in employing a heating system, but be sure to support, the temperature over 62 degrees. or better to let it fall to 35 degrees. By holding the temperature in the, low fifties, it is possible to allow parasites to flourish while the immune System of the Koi silently sleeping.

Wintering Over Koi in A Show Tank and Other Tidbits About Show Tanks You Might Find Helpful

by Ray Washington, Pearls of Paradise

reprint from Koi USA

Many hobbyists like to move their Koi indoors during the winter in order to reduce stress and continue the growing season. Many hobby ts use their show tanks for this purpose placing the tanks in their garage or basement.

Most basements have bare concrete floors. Placing the tank directly on the

bare concrete inhibits the tank's ability to retain heat as the concrete will retain a temperature of 55F or less, drawing heat out of the tank. To

avoid this, place insulation on the concrete directly under the tank. Any

foam insulation of 3/4" thickness will work, or you can use a bubble-type

insulation known as Reflecix, like we do. It is available at most hardware

stores and has a very good "R" value. You can also insulate the outside of

the tank by wrapping a long piece of Reflecix around the tank, followed by a single layer of vinyl, lacing it shut with rope or shock cord. This holds

the insulation tight against the tank. This type of bubble insulation is

easily rolled into a tube for storage.

HEATING THE SHOW TANK

There are two main ways to heat your show tank. You can use a 1.4-kilowatt, inline spa heater located on the out-flow side of your centrifugal pump, or use numerous aquarium heaters. We do not recommend piping in a side line off your home water heater it is too hard to regulate the tank's temperature. It may necessitate consistent dechlorination of the water, and may require the plumbing of an overflow line from the tank. If you use aquarium heaters just be sure that the heaters are placed inside the filter to prevent them from getting broken by the active Koi.

As a benefit, since you will be heating the water, you can place several

hyacinths in the filter tub, as long as a grow light is used. Hyacinth roots

must be kept in water of 60 F, or above, to get them to survive the winter, and they require a minimum of light. They won't grow through the winter, but they will survive, giving you starts for next spring.

FILTERING THE SHOW TANK

Filtering the show tank can be accomplished using one or more 55 gallon barrel filters. If you use mesh for the filter media, do not wrap it tightly inside the barrel. Wrap it loosely to allow increased water flow and surface area for bacterial growth. The biggest mistake in using mesh as a filter media is wrapping it tightly inside the barrel. This cuts down the surface

area for the bacteria to grow and necessitates frequent cleaning, destroying the bacteria. Remember though, do not pump more than 5 gallons per minute through a 55 gallon barrel filter any faster and the water moves through too fast for the bacteria to feed off the ammonia, nitrates, etc. resulting in only mechanical filtration of the water.

COVERING THE TANK

Tank net covers are widely available and recommended when keeping fish inside. We use a black colored, delta weave, polyester net to prevent the fish from jumping out. The delta weave prevents catching scales, and has enough stretch to allow even the largest Koi to "hit" the net without damaging the net orm pulling it off The net is made with a vinyl

sleeve which "grabs" the vinyl of the tank, and a shock cord is provided

inside the sleeve to tighten the net down even further. Black netting is

used to increase your ability to view your fish, as trying to focus through

a white or light- colored net creates a vertigo effect! Falling into your

tank is not recommended, so if you buy your own net get a black one!

STARTING UP THE SYSTEM

When starting the system up,remember that the filter is void of bacteria and the Koi will have to gradually be brought up to the optimum eating temperature. To help "set" the system, the following steps should be followed:

* 1. Once the tank is up and the system plumbed and ready to go, be sure to dechlorinate if you are not using well water.

* 2. If you use well water, run the system for at least 24 hours prior to

placing your Koi or goldfish into the tank. Well water contains virtually no oxygen, so rolling the water for 24 hours is necessary.

* 3. Adding a stress eliminaton such as Holdex or Ship-Right (these are Jungle brand products) to the water before placing your Koi or goldfish in the tank is highly recommended. Holdex has electrolyte additives which help the Koi/goldfish absorb fresh water (dehydration is a common effect of stress). Ship-Right and Holdex both have slime coat builders, but Ship-Right actually bonds oxygen in the water, helping to reduce the effects of stress on your Koi once they are moved. Each are effective, do not need to be used together, and contain dechlorinators.

* 4. Once the fish are placed in the tank, slowly begin raising the water temperature over a 7 - 14) day period. If the water temperature change is more than 30 degrees, it may take longer, but two weeks should be more than adequate regardless of the temperature difference of youroutside pond and the show tank. Do not feed your fish for at least 10 days - your filter has no bacteria, and will need time to begin growing off the fish wastes. Feeding right away will overload the system and just create polluted water.

* 5. Finally, be sure and test your water weekly. This may seem like a

lot of testing, but the lack of algae growth and other factors will necessitate a closer watch on your filtration system than you may be used to with your exterior pond.

MISCELLANEOUS HELPFUL HINTS

Many of the following hints fall under too many categories to list them all

separately, so we have thrown them all in together.

* 1. When setting up your show tank, it is extremely helpful to wax the black polypipe with lemon pledge or any other brand of wax furniture polish. This will make it slip easily through the upper ring.

* 2. When hooking up an exterior pump to a show tank, use a "collector tube" on the inside. A collector tube is a 9" tube with numerous holesthat will screw into the 1 1/2" drain plug. This will keep your Koi o goldfish from being sucked up against the drain plug, while allowing sufficient flow to the pump! "Collector tubes" can be bought from most pool supply stores, or Koi supply dealers.

* 3. Simple Green is a good, biodegradable, non-toxic cleaner for cleaning your show tank, transport tank, pond liner, etc. It is readily

available at most hardware or drug stores. We have been using it for years with no adverse effects.

* 4. Because show tanks are made from "fish friendly" liners, there is n mildew, fungus or algae inhibitor in the vinyl. If your club has stored your tanks slightly wet, you can expect mildew to grow and slightly stain the tank. If the mildew is fairly recent, soaking the tank in bleach will usually remove the stain (do not forget to rinse the tank and clean with a non-toxic cleaner such as Simple Green after bleaching the tank). We are currently testing new cleaners specifically made for removing mold and mildew from vinyl. If the bleaching does not work, give us a call and we will let you know which products worked.

* 5. Vulkem sealant is one of the best sealants when patching a liner. It sticks to practically anything and can even be applied under water. It is made of 100% polyurethane, which is totally fish friendly. It retains its pliability for many years and can even be used in place of plumber's tape! Most hardware stores carry it (it comes in a tube for use in a caulking gun), but ask for it at the contractor's desk as it usually is not left out where the public can get it, it's messy stuff! If you get it on your clothes, you can't get it out! ff you get it on your hands, use M.E.M. (paint stores carry this) to get it off. It is a wonderful sealant, but it can be messy.

* 6. When plumbing a drain to your pond, use a "vortex" style. This creates a whirlpool inside the drain to help lift the heavier wastes where the suction from the pump can grab them and pull them into the filter.

Kawarigoi Kornor

The Dates

Koi Club of San Diego

Del Mar Fairgrounds

13^th Annual Koi Show

February 5 & 6, 2000

Phoenix, AZ

February 25 - 27, 2000

19^th Annual AKCA Seminar

Springfield, MO

June 28 - July 2, 2000

New Members

Trever Collman

Floyd & Joan Holliday

Fish of the Month

KUMONRYU

The following article was written by Joel Burkard/Pan Intercorp and previously published in PONDSCAPES magazine All rights reserved Joel Burkard/Pan Intercorp 1995

http://members.aa.net/~koi/encyclo/kumon.html

The Kumonryu is a Doitsu (German) koi that has a jet black pattern that emerges like billowing black clouds against a white background. The black pattern is variable and unstable, disappearing with changes in the water temperature, reappearing sometimes as a completely different pattern.

The name Kumonryu is derived from a legend that tells of a dragon (Ryu) transforming into a cloud and racing through the sky. The Kumonryu is said to have been developed by breeding a Shusui with a Matsukawa Bakke.

The category of KAWARIMONO , literally "different things", contains virtually all of the koi that do not fit into any of the other category. As new breeds are developed, they usually start out in this KAWARIMONO category. When the breed or variety becomes stabilized, it is sometimes awarded a new category of it's own in order to give it the recognition it deserves.

The Kumonryu was fully recognized in 1994 with a category of it's own at the All Japan Combined Nishikigoi show. The Kumonryu, which means "Nine Crested Dragon", is a most fascinating koi in that it's sumi (black) is basically unstable and can appear or disappear without any warning. The Kumonryu is of the Doitsu (German) lineage, and has either large mirror scales along the dorsal and lateral line ,or no scales at all. It's snow white base with jet black sumi patterns sometimes remind us of Killer Whales.

Because the sumi is unstable, the Kumonryu's pattern can change at the drop of a hat, from all white, to completely black, with every imaginable variation in between. Although it is still uncertain what exactly causes the changes, contributing factors can be: water temperature, water change, water quality, ph change, diet, sexual maturity, stress and so on and so forth.

The ever changing nature of the pattern is probably what makes this koi such a joy to own. When the sumi pattern is under the white waiting to emerge, it can give the skin a bluish hue. I have seen Kumonryu with patterns that changed so slowly that they seemed almost stable, and others that underwent radical changes within the course of a few weeks.

When selecting a Kumonryu for your pond, concentrate on finding a koi with good body confirmation and pay attention to deformities of the tail and pectoral fins which often occur in this variety. It should be noted here that Judges will often overlook minor irregularities of the pectoral fins in Kumonryu. In view of the fluid nature of the pattern, it is more important to pay more attention to the depth and quality of the sumi. Ask your dealer what bloodline he usually has in stock or can recommend, as bloodline is ultimately the single most determining factor in any koi development.

Grand champion

Runner-up Champion

Mature Champion

Male Baby

Champion Champion

Young Champion

Novice Champion

Runner-up Novice Champion

Long Fin Champion

AKCA Award

More Coming in January!