Just a few brief words to welcome all our new members. Welcome to the Southern Arizona Koi Association known to many as SAKA. We hope you grow in knowledge and gain many new ideas on koi and ponds.

Pond 2000 is still holding water, (good thing). By the time of our next meeting there will be fish swimming in the water. The filter system is cleaned out and ready to be coated inside. The filter media is on its way. The skimmer, which makes the stream, is almost complete. Plants are doing well. Pump works and the venture works. A sight to behold. Praise the Lord!!!!

"Stars by Starlight" is in full swing. The ponds are ready, fish are ready. Ticket sales are in progress. How exciting. The Tour Committee is doing an awesome job. Keep up the good work.

The SAKA "Koi 2000" show and action is now taking shape. The committee being forward will soon be meeting. This year again should be one of our best shows ever. It's not to early to be thinking about reservations for the second weekend in November.

All budgets need to be in at this meeting, April 30, 2000. We need to be sure we meet our operation expenses.

I would like to thank all those wonderful Koi enthusiast for everything they do each day to make our ponds and fish so wonderful.

Bob Panter

SAKA President

Contact:

Cheryl Briggs (417) 862-0176 or

Linda Siler (417) 883-2399

A) Ozark Fisheries in Stoutland Missouri. 300 acres devoted to the production of Koi, Fancy Goldfish and Common Goldfish.

B) Site-seeing tour. Precious Moments Chapel and Art Gallery.

C) Vendor's Booths open at 1:00 PM

Speakers Line Up

Helen Nash - How to Construct a Pond to Keep Water Plants

Paula Biles - Water Plants, repotting and dividing

Granville Watson - Manufactured Bacteria - do they really work

Ben Chu - Designing a Japanese Garden

Dr Erik Johnson - Medications and their Treatments

Jeff Spillars - How to maintain Water Quality and Correct if necessary

Ray Abel - How to select Koi from Infancy to Maturity

Bob Bon Girorno - Biological Filtration

Dr Conrad Kleinholtz - Which System is Best for You.

Joe Cuny - How to Properly Set up a Koi Pond ad Establish Water Quality

Rob Hildreth - Working with a Microscope in Treating Parasites

Dr Bill Sadler - Koi Nutrition: How to read the labels.

Dr Eric Johnson - How to set up a Quarantine Tank and Maintain it.

Pond Tour - 6 special ponds. Buses will leave the hotel at 8AM and return by 2PM.

Take some extra time to tour beautiful Springfield. Springfield is located in southwest Missouri and is nestled on top of the Ozaark Mountain Plateau in the heart of the Ozark Mountains. It's within a 500-mile radius of nearly 50% of the United States population. It is also within a 100-mile radius of more than 7500 miles of shoreline along accessible lakes, floatable streams, overwhelmed with the beauty of the area. Springfield has something to offer to everyone.

If you are a conservation enthusiast, you will love all the nature trails, caves, gardens and of course, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. The Springfield Nature Center is just one place where you can enjoy a variety of hiking trails of all lengths in and out of the woods, across streams, ad beside Lake Springfield.

Fantastic Caverns takes you mile and a half deep into one the nation's largest and most beautiful caves, but instead of walking, you will be riding in a jeep-drawn tram. This is only one of the many, many caves in the Ozarks, which are open to the Publics.

Our Japanese Stroll Garden is quickly becoming tourist attraction in its own right. The 7 1/2 acres include three large ponds and a waterfall and you can also see the water garden built and maintained by the Springfield Watergardenn Society the host chapter.

These are just a few of the activities that you can do in Springfield will attend the 19^th Annual Associated Koi Clubs of America Seminar.

Ten Reasons why you might want to attend the 2000 AKCA Seminar Springfield, Missouri. The Seminar will be held June 28 — July 2, 2000.

10. It is not a 110-degree's outside.

9. It's in the Midwest, Baby

8. Is it about time you went to one, it is not going to get much closer unless we host it.

7. Showa's, Kuhaku's, Snake's, Bekko's, Utsuri's, Tancho's, Asagi's, Shusui, Gin Rin's, Kawarimono's and many more. Do I need to say more?

6. Where else can you go for a weekend and talk koi all weekend and people won't think your a Showa?

5. They even take VISA or MasterCard

4. Lot's of free stuff (at least a suitcase full or more

3. It is a lot cheaper if you pay for it by May 20th.

2. Where else can you see over sixty Vendors to give you an idea how to take money out of your pocket. (Fish, filters, new pond, etc.)

1. You will be able to meet and renew old friendships with people that are as or more Koi Koichi than you are

Yes Virginia, that is a Blue Heron

Approximately two months ago there was an excellent article on herons in one of the newsletters from fellow koi keepers throughout the nation. I carefully set it aside in a safe place to reprint here. And as with many safe places, it is so safe that I cannot find it in time for the deadline. Having just begun to experience a visit from the herons myself, here is what I have gleaned from experience and from talking to others.

The local blue heron is a large persistent bird who can apparently sense a koi pond with expensive fish in it from dozens of miles away. Those ponds near a

natural habitat for herons are most likely to become lunch spots unless provisions are taken by the pond keeper.

There are no failsafe methods of keeping herons (or raccoons or neighborhood cats or any other natural predator from your pond except by building a "pond

room" which will resemble an indoor swimming pool. Highly impractical for most of us, we need to take other precautions.

Takemi Adachi of California Koi Farm who breeds koi as a profession strings fishing line across his breeding and fry ponds in a widely spaced grid. With bits

of dangly strips - mylar works well to flutter in the wind, this serves both to scare off the herons and to provide a mesh that they cannot fly through without

catching their wings. As the greatest danger to fish is when they are small enough to fit down a bird throat and those ponds are full of fingerlings and fry, this seems to work well for him. Even with the young fish flocking to the locations where the food is dispensed (Takemi dispenses food through tubes as we would pour in water due to the sheer volume of which he has to feed each day) his system of fishing line and mylar seems to work well. While we owners wish to view our fish and do the feeding by hand, we can construct a gazebo type cover over the pond with something of the same results. A lath type cover achieves not only protection for the fish, but it also filters the sun enough that the persistent algae growth is easier to keep under control.

This is not to say that if you have a cover over your pond you will not have herons visit. There are many stories of the herons flying in under the cover and

stopping for lunch and flying back out. But what the herons cannot see they are less likely to feast on.

Which is another way of saying that that thick pea soup algae in your pond is beneficial to your koi in more ways than simply a breeding ground for fry. It

gives the koi somewhere to hide in. Of course, we as pond keepers would rather achieve the same results with a good growth of waterlily leaves or water

hyacinth clusters. Covering the pond -- whether it is with shade cloth, gazebo or plants -- keeps the pond temperature more stable and provides additional

protection for the koi.

The first line of defense, however, against any predators is pond design. Straight vertical sides with a drop of at least 3 feet is ideal. Deeper is better. A pond built to simulate a shallow beach entry into it will invite predators of any kind -- local cats, raccoons, herons, small children -- to go wading. You've trained your fish to eat out of your hand, remember? They are curious and will come seeking food from those invaders as likely as not and get caught in the shallows.

For those extra shallow ponds there have been some good results with a low voltage wire run along the outside edge of the pond. The raccoon or heron

stepping against it will get a mild shock and is more than likely to leave. Such wires are available at many pet stores, used for deterrents against dogs and

gardens and wandering cats on fence tops. The down side of the wire is remembering to turn it off before you go kneeling at the edge of the pond. And the

possibility that the wire could get blown or knocked into the water. With a good GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) this lessens the potential for fatally shocking your fish should the wire get into the water. And you do have GFI's on all the wires anywhere near your pond, don't you?

Another solution for the herons, cats and anything moving is the "Scarecrow" device available at pond suppliers. The "Scarecrow" is, very simply, an impulse

sprinkler connected up to a motion detector. When the motion detector senses movement -- the heron landing -- the sprinkler goes off. Batteries or wiring and a water source are necessary, but the solution is quite elegant and environmentally friendly and won't damage the neighbor's cat. It will, however, give you a good soaking should you go out with a flashlight in the middle of the night to check on the pond and forget to turn it off. Ask someone who has one for their experiences.

Large dogs sometimes help keeping herons away. Sometimes the herons make friends with the dogs.

One of the newest solutions I have heard about involves crows. Literal crows, the black birds that farmers hate. Apparently crows are quite territorial and will

chase off the herons. A crow will not bother your fish but will defend his water source and his free meal of corn you have provided from invading herons. And

maybe cats. The crows in my neighborhood tend to yield to sparrows and the ever vicious hummingbird, however. Perhaps I do not have enough crows. My neighborhood is more suburban than rural and the songbirds tend to defend their free lunch.

One thing I have noticed with my heron is pond orientation. The heron came to my water lily pond which is oriented east/west. My koi pond has older, larger

fish well protected by the enclosure of an outside aviary. Most of the fish are too large for the bird unless he was to simply stab them instead of grab them. So

he came to the lily pond which had large shibunkin goldfish just right size to fit his throat. I think he ate all four. But what he did was to stand on the north side

of the pond. I have since moved the water lily pots all to the north side of the pond so he no longer has a clear shot from that side. Logic says he will move to another side, except that he instinctively is not going to stand on the side of the pond where his shadow will be cast onto the water. Our fish may come to the sound of our voice, but our shadow says "predator" in some recesses of their genes. Protect that northern side out far enough the heron cannot stand on the edge and grab and your fish will be safe(r). The heron seems to be gone now. I suspect he was on his way north or east during spring growth. (Do herons migrate?) But then I am at work most daylight hours and it was only Spring break that I got to see him.

What are your creative solutions for herons and raccoons? Is there any solution for raccoons uprooting water plants other than enclosing the water plants? I live in far too urban an area to have anything other than skunks. Skunks root in the lawns for grubs and spray the dog but they have no interest in the fish. Minor blessings, I suppose.

Herons after your koi? Grow the koi big. Construct the pond right. Give the koi plenty of hiding places. And convince your big dog the koi, not the heron, are

his buddies.

Koi (Cyprinus carpio) have been kept as ornamental pets for over one thousand years. Today, the fish are more popular than ever, with hundreds of domestic Koi farms producing millions of specimens yearly. The market for Koi (and Garden ponds) is rapidly expanding, and the concept of water features in the yard, to include the Koi and Goldfish that often live in them, is approaching national "fad" status. Of greatest importance for the clinician to realize is the relative

'worth' of these 'ornamental' fishes. A single specimen can easily be worth, and insured for, over $250,000. Imported specimens rarely sell for less than $25 each, and most owners keep many more than one specimen in the pond. The significance of this to the clinician is that calls that involve Koi and ornamental goldfish are in earnest, and carry great reward, but perhaps unexpected liability as well. The veterinarian should not go into these clinical settings un informed of the impact of Koi on the owners' pocket book, and for better or for worse, on yours! One of the most disastrous times of year for Koi owners is the springtime.

This article attempts to detail the phenomenon of springtime losses and

what the Veterinarian can do to intervene in this event. Ulcer Disease refers to a depressed condition experienced by the fish and the appearance of sores on the bodies of infected specimens. The sores are universally ventrally located, and are caused by several factors.

~ Lack of nutritional support over the previous several months of winter.

This translates into a lack of protein, carbohydrate and vitamin intake,

particularly ascorbic acid intake, which has been linked to disease resistance in work done by Lovell. ~ Accumulation of detritus/mulm in the filter and on the pond bottom, which may also contribute to high nitrate concentrations in the pond. Aeromonas and Pseudomonas bacteria find such conditions most fortuitous for growth and spread.

~ Cold water suppresses the immune system of Koi, and the parasites that so often predispose fish to Ulcer disease may be active and efficient at temperatures below that which can support the Koi immune response.

~ Parasites such as Gyrodactyliid flukes can carry Aeromonas bacteria on

their haptens/hooks. When the parasite damages the integument of the fish,

the bacteria can invade the subcutaneous tissues and cause Ulcer formation.

~ Chilodonella and Costia, among others, cause enough damage through their own activities, but they also create lesions that allow bacterial invasion. Their actions also place the fish under additional stress and can kill the fish with or without the invasion of ulcer-causing bacteria. More on parasites later.

The pathogen is, usually, a single bacterial agent, however, it is a

multi- factorial situation that permits and promotes mortality. Aeromonas bacteria are considered ubiquitous in freshwater environments. They gain entrance to the specimens through defects in the integument that may be either traumatic, or parasitic in origin. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that the bacteria can enter the fish through a damaged

intestinal mucosa, as in cases of extreme cold, when the fishes' intestinal lining may be damaged, allowing a portal of entry for the pathogen.

Aeromonas bacteria should be suspected in any case of apparent bacterial

infection in warm water ornamental fishes, as it is over represented in

cases of bacterial infection in these pet-species. Different considerations would be made in the instance of catfishes or tilapia raised in ponds for food. As gram-negative bacteria, they respond to many of the same drugs we use to treat these bacteria in small mammalian medicine.

Other bacteria that can cause similar lesions include:

All of these, with the possible exception of Mycobacterial infections, tend to respond to the treatments itemized in the chart of injectable drugs.

One of the first things the clinician should do is test the water for a

variety of accumulated metabolites including Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

The pH of the system should be checked to be sure it is congruent with the

needs of the fish. (A pH of 6.8 up to 8.0 is ideal.) Ammonia should be

this manuscript. However, I will offer this bit of personal advice: In almost every instance of parasitism, I recommend the use of sodium chloride, plain table salt, non iodized. There are indeed some parasites that resist this

treatment and merit the use of other drugs, to include Formalin, Malachite

green, Dimilin, Potassium Permanganate and copper. There will be formulary

entries to detail the specific uses, cautions, and dose-rates of these

compounds. Specific resistance: Oodinium is resistant to Salt, and requires copper or formalin treatments. Care should be exercised using formalin in Oodinium cases as the integument of the fish is often very badly eroded by the

pathogen, and absorption of the formalin may be enhanced, fatally so.

Copper could be used at levels approaching 0.2 p.p.m and recovery can be expected for those fish not too badly covered. Flukes often resist salt, and may require the application of Fenthion or Malathion at 0.25 to 0.50 p.p.m every 3 days to span a 14-21 day treatment period. Droncit (Praziquantel) may be used at 3 p.p.m for flukes, as well

as Formalin at 25-50 ppm with a water change after 120 minutes. Argulus, (Fish Lice) and Lernea elegans (Anchor Worm) require the use of an organophosphate insecticide or Dimilin, a gyrase growth inhibitor, see Koivet index list.

Once water quality has been tested and ensured, and parasites have been

diagnosed and treatment is underway, the final consideration as a cause for Ulcer disease can be addressed: Namely, husbandry failures in the management of the fish. The clinician should note whether the pond and filter are clean and kept that way. Accumulated debris on the bottom contributes to deteriorating eater

quality and may support the growth of pathogens for fish. Some parasites,

namely Epistylis, Scyphidia, Glossatella and Trichodina, seem to thrive in, and depend on, the presence of decaying debris in the immediate environment.

After addressing the super-imposed health problems and hazards faced by

the fish, we can concentrate on the specific treatments of the Ulcers themselves, which, at its core, involves the administration of antibiotics. (See chart of injectable antimicrobials)

Ancillary treatments which used alone may not be effective, but combined with the antibiotic therapies can greatly influence the success of treatment, include: Raising system temperatures, large water changes and cleaning of the system filters and pond bottom, as well as the supplemental feeding of ascorbic acid enhanced feeds. Other modalities include the administration of antibiotic fortified feeds, the swabbing of wounds created by the bacteria, and the topical

application of anti microbial lotions such as Panolog. Injections, and the other, ancillary measures will be discussed below. Injection of Antibiotics in Ornamental fish:

Injection of antimicrobials in ornamental fish affords the most effective means of providing the drugs to the fish. The intra peritoneal route, in

particular, affords rapid and safe absorption of the drugs, and is the

safest route. Injection of antibiotics should be stressed to the owner

when the client wants the most rapid recovery of the fish, and when the

fish is worth the necessary investment.

1) Tincture of Iodine 2%

2) Tincture of Iodine 7% USP

3) Mercurochrome

4) Panolog

Care should be taken that caustic drugs be retained from running in under

the gill cover, to prevent the gills from being cauterized, particularly the Iodine’s. My personal preference is the Tincture 7%, which I use only

once or twice, because over use can result in caustic burns, once the disinfecting and coagulative benefits have been had. The feeding of anti microbial fortified foods has great application in fishes that:

1) Will eat

2) Do not merit injection, but have been exposed to the bacteria and the

predisposing factors of Ulcer disease epidemics.

Fortified foods may be obtained from the Pet Stores, several brands exist that contain effective drugs, yet perhaps in concentrations below the level that might be effective.Romet B feed may be obtained from several sources. Romet feed is simply a catfish or trout chow that has been fortified with Trimethoprim Sulfa, widely regarded as one of the best and safest antimicrobials for use in fish. tetracycline can also be formulated in feed, but unfortunately, many strains of Aeromonas bacteria are resistant to this drug.

Feed the antibiotic enriched feed for 14 days at a minimum. Much longer

schedules can be kept with no untoward effect. Heat should not be under estimated in the saving of fish lives. These koi,

as they languor in the cold, springtime pond, can be stimulated in terms

of their own immune response if removed to a warmed holding vat. Be sure to recommend the vat be covered, to prevent the fish from jumping out.

Temperatures should be raised to 74-78 degrees for best results, being

sure to monitor the fish for signs of respiratory embarrassment, as the

warmer water carries less dissolved oxygen, as a rule.

Finally, supplementing the fish with extra ascorbic acid, by injection, or

preferably in the diet, (grapefruit!) may be of utility in saving the fish lives. Lovell, (1968) showed that fish fed 150mg/kg ascorbic acid in the

feed survived Aeromonas bacterial infection 34% better than their

sufficient and deficient control study replicates. Sources of vitamin C in

a readily consumed form include Turnip greens, Grapefruit, Spinach, tomatoes, and most dark green vegetables, including weighted and submerged

broccoli heads. One can easily see, reading through this hopefully helpful treatise on a singular disease entity, how there is an intertwined set of factors to be

understood. Surely, omission of any one component of this phenomenon can

undermine the success of treatment entirely. Such is the case, for example, when water quality is ignored, despite the fact that injections have been dutifully started.

The following article is an email exchange between Jack McNeary and a respondent on an internet bulletin board. Portions of the exchange that were unrelated to the biological filter topic were omitted.

Question

I am a little confused !!!! Some of the older books talk about the bio-filter being half the surface area of the pond I assume that was to have vegetative matter use the nitrates created Also 02 only goes so deep with out separate air stones or equivalent. Is that why the depth does not matter much? If the above is true than the surface area of the filter with bio-balls, beads, filter mat, plastic forks, brushes, Spring-Flow, etc. is not important as long as aerobic respiration is going on. If I am on the right track than how much surface area of the media (beads, brushes etc.) does one need to provide for a pond per 1000 gallons. I guess I am a little skeptical about the advertisement that says "this is good for up to 5000 gallons and only measures about 2 ft x 2 ft Any comments that will enlighten me I will appreciate.- jack mcneary

The issues Jack raised relative to the sizing of a filter refer to biological filtration. The relationships he described were true up through the late 1970's when

all blo-filters were gravel beds. There are at least two reasons the relationships Jack describe are two dimensional (square feet of filter needed per square feet of pond). Jack hit on one of them; if a gravel bed biofilter is too deep, the available oxygen is used before water reaches the lower portion of the bed and

nitrification can not occur, As a simplification, you can think of nitrification as an oxidation process where bacteria attach oxygen to the nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) to make nitrite (N02) and finally nitrate (N03). If there is no oxygen available, the process

Response

First, there are several types of filtration, the most common in Koi-keeping being biological filtration and solids filtration. Biological filtration refers to nitrification processes whereby dissolved ammonia is converted to nitrite and nitrite is converted to less toxic nitrate. Solids filtration is the physical removal of particulate matter, usually through gravitational sedimentation and/or mechanical screening. There are interactions between nitrification and solids removal as much of the solids are organic matter in the process of decaying or mineralizing into inorganic material such as ammonia. If you remove the organic solids, you lessen the amount of nitrification which is needed to convert ammonia.

The issues Jack raised relative to the sizing of a filter refer to biological filtration. The relationships he described were true up through the late 1970's when all blo-filters were gravel beds. There are at least two reasons the relationships Jack describe are two dimensional (square feet of filter needed per square feet of

pond). Jack hit on one of them; if a gravel bed biofilter is too deep, the available oxygen is used before water reaches the lower portion of the bed and

nitrification can not occur, As a simplification, you can think of nitrification as an oxidation process where bacteria attach oxygen to the nitrogen in ammonia (NH3) to make nitrite (N02) and finally nitrate (N03). If there is no oxygen available, the process cannot occur.

The other reason the old relationships are two dimensional is that gravel biofilter beds channelize. As solids and bacteria biomass builds up in the gravel bed, the interstitial pores between gravel particles begin to fill up, clog and hinder water movement around the rocks. To accommodate the same flow, the water

velocity must then increase in the passageways which are still open. This process continues until there are very few passageways open and these passageways are kept open by the very high water velocity moving through them. The process is usually called channelization. In the old days. we would try to decrease channelization and the footprint of a gravel biofilter (square feet of fil-ter per unit volume of system) by making a tall fil- ter housing with several layers o f gravel separated by a retaining plates and open space. Some individuals like Bill learned to break up channelization in gravel filters without digging the for the most part, the situation changed with the advent of buoyant media, fluidized beds, etc. Not only do these new biofilter technologies make media easy to clean, they make it easy to break up channelization.

The proper way to size a biofilter is to use a given amount of media surface area (the combined area of the surface of each media particle) for each unit measure

of ammonia being added to (or produced in) the system. There are known relationships between the amount of nitrifying bacteria (as expressed by the amount of suitable surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow on) and the nitrogen oxidation rate at a given temperature. The filter media (be it rocks or beads or sand or whatever) is simply a surface for nitrifying bacteria to grow on. If oxygenated water is kept flowing evenly past all the exposed surfaces, and the temperature and other environmental parameters are adequate for nitrification. then you should be able to calculate how much surface is needed for your ammonia load. It is actually a little more involved than this because the ammonia concentration influences the ammonia conversion rate of bacteria, but all this comes out in the wash under steady state conditions.

You can determine how much surface area is available for growth of nitrifying bacteria by determining the surface area of an individual media particle (bead,

rock, whatever) and determining the number of particles per unit volume of packed media material. For polyethylene beads, this is 400 square feet of surface

area per cubic foot of packed media. For half-inch river gravel, is something like 150 square feet of surface area per cubic foot of packed media. [NOTE: We

are talking about the combined surface areas of each media particle, not the footprint of square-foot area of the filter bed discussed by Jack in the original post.

You can determine the amount of ammonia you must convert if you are feeding the pond at a relatively constant rate. You can calculate the amount of ammonia which will be released (produced) under steady state conditions by knowing the rate at which feed is added, the protein content (almost all the nitrogen is contained in the protein) and the molecular weight of ammonia (remember NH3). There are a few other sources of nitrogen like the ammonia dissolved in rain water, and a few other nitrogen losses like ammonia volatilization to the atmosphere, but these can be ignored in this application.

Under ideal conditions and feeding typical Koi food at a constant feeding rate of one pound per day, you will need at least 450 square feet of available surface for nitrifying bacteria to convert ammonia as fast as it is produced. Do not use these figures as a rule-of-thumb. Conditions are never ideal for long and with this combination of feeding rate and surface area there will be enough back ground ammonia to maintain a pretty heavy phytoplankton population (green

water).

If you want a rule-of-thumb, have at least 1000 square feet of surface area for nitrify-ing bacteria for each pound of feed being added daily. Thus, a bead filter

(with 400 square feet per cubic foot) would need about 2.5 cubic feet of bead media per pound of feed added per day while a gravel filter (with 150 square feet

per cubic foot) would need about 6.7 cubic feet of media. However, there are other surfaces available for colo-nization of nitrifying bacteria besides the media in the biofilter. These include part of all of the pond walls and bottom, plants, containers. even some sus-pended solids particles. Thus, a pond 26 ft x 26 ft x 3 ft

deep should have enough exposed surfaces for nitrifying bacteria to assimilate one pound of feed per day without a biological filter.

The sizing specifications which say a filter is good for a pond of a particular volume can work only when talking in generalities based on some typical fish

density and feeding rate. Likewise, saying a fil-ter is good for a certain feeding rate would have to assume the pond bottom and walls do not contribute to nitrification surface area. Given these complica-tions, we are not likely to see the "standard" change any time soon. Most people do not know how much feed

they will/do apply now, much less how much they could be feeding in a couple of years when the pond and fish are mature. You guys are right, when a biofilter

manufacturer says their unit is good for a pond of a certain volume, it is bunk. Now you know why.

There’s basically 3 types of ornamental ponds – The Water Garden, The Goldfish Pond and The Koi Pond. The Water Garden which has only water and plants (and maybe a frog or two) is low-maintenance and intended to accent the beauty of the plantings only. The GoldfishPond, also relatively low-maintenance, needs aeration, water, plants and a small filtration system. The Koi Pond requires exellent water

quality. The need for adequate and extention filtration is a must.

Many landscapers and homeowners built their koi and goldfish ponds on the premise that filtration isn’t necessary – that all that is necessary is plants. HOGWASH! When fish are involved, filtration is a pre-requisite. The amount of filtration depends on the quantity and

size of the fish.

Plants do help clarify pond water and nitrifying bacteria does grow all over the pond. Is this sufficient? NO – not if a lot of fish are involved.

Fish do 2 things. One, they give off ammonia through their gills and in their waste. Two, they eat all the time. When you put fish in a pond,

you have created a cess pool. Food goes into your fish and sewage comes out.

In captivity, the more your fish eat the larger his digestive system becomes so he retains less of his food, creating more waste. There has to be a method of removing the fish poop as well as other organics that have settled to the bottom of the pond. Thus, the need for a filter.

Also, the less foreign matter in your pond the less nitrates to feed algae - an added benefit.

High organic loads consume oxygen and are a haven for bad bacteria such as aeramonas and pseudomonas. Goldfish tend to be hardier than koi and can survive in poorer water quality. To build a koi pond with proper filtration is an art in itself. That’s why it’s very important that whoever builds your pond, if you are wanting a true koi pond, consults with or is a koi pond professional.

Proper filtration is certainly necessary. The only debatible question is how much?. Good bacteria is needed to complete the cycle of changing ammonia into a useful and harmless state. Good bacteria is housed in filter material.

A Pump Pre-Filter catches the solids before they go into the pump where a load of debris can do a lot of damage. Some people confuse a pump pre-filter with a bio-filter. A pre-filter does nothing more than filter the large debris from the water before it travels into your pump. Idoes house some good bacteria but not enough, in most cases, to do the job.

A Bio-Filter houses the majority of your good bacteria. The filter material must have plenty of dissolved oxygen and proper waterflow. A bio-filter outside the pond is preferable because it’s easier to clean and maintain.

So, if you’re considering upgrading your existing filter system or you’ve discovered you don’t have one and probably need one then come by and discuss your unique situation with us. We will be happy to recommend the proper filter for your pond.

From Premier Edition of What's Up, Doc?, September, 1998 © Copyright 1998, The Pond Doc's Water Garden Center. All rights Reserved.

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Newsletter Editor

Tom Ayers

AKCA Representative

Debbie Tibbetts

Membership Director

Mike Siemens

Raffle Chairperson

2000 Show Chairperson

2000 Pond Tour Chairperson

Brent Vankoevering

April 30, 2000

Club Meeting, 4:00 pm

Mike & Sarah Siemens

May 5 & 6, 2000

Jewels of the Night

Pond Tour 2000, 7:30pm

May 19, 2000

Mt View Koi Fish & Aquatic Plants

Dainichi, Matsunosuke & Chinoda Excellent Show Quality Fish for Sale

May 21, 2000

Club Meeting

Brent Vankoevering &

Melissa Friesenborg

June 25, 2000

Club Meeting

Bob & Darlene Pantner

June 28 - July 2, 2000

19^th Annual AKCA Seminar

Springfield, MO

July 23, 2000

Annual Picnic & Club Meeting

Mt View Koi Fish & Aquatic Plants

Kurt & Lisa Ogren

August 27, 2000

Club Meeting

Dennis & Kathy Leonard

September 10, 2000

Tucson WaterGardeners

Pond Tour 2000

September 24, 2000

Club Meeting

Rancho del Koi

Tom & Sherry Morin

October 22, 2000

Club Meeting

Bill & Angie Merodias

November 10-12, 2000

21st SAKA Koi Show

Kino Sports Park

December 9, 2000

Xmas Party

Tom & Lynne Ayers

The Pond Committee are looking for a few good people to help each of the host ponds or be a group leader on the "Jewels of the Night" Pond Tour. Also if the pond owner can make the meeting April 30^th, at Mike Siemens house to meet everybody that will be working with you and receive your materials for the tour.

Southern Arizona Koi Association

_______ Renewal

_______ New Member

Name: _____________________________

Address: ___________________________

City: __________________________ State: ________

Zip:_______________________________

Phone #: ___________________________

Today’s Date: _______________________

# of Koi ___________________________

Years Keeping Koi: __________________

Pond size: __________________________

Mail to:

10. Learn to call your fish by their Japanese name.

9. Discover how to build a good pond the first time.

8. What do koi really eat??

7. 10% discount at participating merchants

6. Learn how to nurse sick koi back to health.

5. Fellowship & Friendship with other koi hobbyists.

4. One can learn a lot from experienced koi keepers.

3. Monthly education meetings @ members’ homes ( out their ponds)

2. Show your Beautiful Nishikigoi (Koi)

#1 reason

Over 100 years combined koi keeping experience to draw upon to help members solve problems.

 Annual Pond Tour & Koi Show to share our hobby with the community.

An accepting, warm environment in which we all further our understanding of koi and keeping koi