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What is in your Koi pond water? Water quality can be affected by both copper and chlorine; read what you should look for and do if a problem. A filter system that has yet to catch on in the US is discussed – Ozone; learn what it is and how it works. We continue the series of Breeders in Japan, Koi Anatomy and Goldfish Standards. And more please take a look.
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Mid~AtlanticMid~Atlantic KoiThe Magazine of the Mid-Atlantic Koi Club June 2015
Mid-Atlantic Koi Deadlinesfor Articles, Meeting Announcements and Ads
July Issue Deadline: June 1Available Online: July 1
August Issue Deadline: July 1Available Online: August 1
The Membership Magazine of the Mid-Atlantic Koi Club
Volume 28, Number 10 June 2015
Pond SpotlightPage 21
Photo LindaMontgomery
President’s Message . . . . . . . .4MAKC Health Hotline Volunteers . . . . . . . . .4From the Editor’s Desk . . . . .6Sunshine Column . . . . . . . . .45Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . .46F..A..S..T Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
—MAKC News
Mid~Atlantic Koi
—Upcoming Events
Central Chapter Meetings . . . . . . . . .47Long Island Chapter Meetings . . . . .47Saugerties Chapter Meetings . . . . . .47South Chapter Meetings . . . . . . . . . .47
Beginner’s Corner - Chlorine . . . . . . . . .7
MAKC Corporate Members . . . . . . . . . .8
Introducing Narita Koi Farms Japan . . .9Courtesy of Hikari USA
Koi Anatomy – Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Spike Cover , California
Pond Spotlight: Bill and Linda Montgomery . . . . . . . . .21
Linda Montgomery, Oregon
Copper Toxicity in Ponds . . . . . . . . . . .24Meyer Jordan
Evolution of a Koi Keeper: One Man’s Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Steve Childers, AKJA Judge
Versatile Plants from Your Water Garden to Your Landscape . . . . .32
Lisa Burns, Backyard Getaway
Fish Nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Ed Keene, DCAS
Ozone and Its Uses in Koi Keeping . . .37Malcolm Green, England
Fan Tail Fish Goldfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42American Goldfish Association
On the Road to a Koi Event . . . . . . . . . .46
Picture to Share -Horoscope . . . . . . . . .50
MAKC Membership Application . . . . .51
MAKC Ballot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Page 2 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Page 4 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
P r e s i d e n t ’ sM e s s a g e
by Joann [email protected]
It is election month for the new2015/2106 Executive Committee! We will be emailing the ballots to allClub members. This way anyone whocannot attend the Annual meeting in
Long Island on Sunday June 14, 2015 at Club member’s Bernie Szer’s home can stillparticipate in the election process. We areonly as strong as our members!
Sunday, June 8, 1986, the first meeting of theMid-Atlantic Koi Club (MAKC) was held atJohn and Helen File's home in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. On June 8, 2016 MAKC willbe 30 years old! This makes us one of theoldest running Koi clubs on the east coast and it will be our diamond jubileeanniversary!
To celebrate this we are going to have a Koi Show in 2016 at Quality Koi, in Carneys Point, NJ. We are in the early stages of planning and when more information becomes available we will notify everyone.
Joann
MAKC Health Hotline Volunteers
Tom Burton Middletown, NJ 732-671-7045Jan & Bill Fogle Wayne, PA 610-687-3105Terri Janas Ashburn, VA 703-729-2988 Jeff Nicholson Odenton, MD 301-912-1928
All members have microscopes and healthbooks. In the event of a recorded message,please suggest a time when you're home toreceive a return call or when you'd like to call back.
Please remember that advice is given basedon your input–the ultimate responsibilityand treatment must remain with you.
MAKC Balloton Page 52
Be sure to vote for your club’s leadership andremember we always appreciate your help.
MAKC’s website has been updated. Have you
taken a look yet?
www.makc.com
Raffle August 16thReef Radiance has generously donated aSeneye Pond Monitor and Web Server withWIFI Module to the Club and we are going toraffle the whole system, a $429.00 value!
The raffle tickets are $10.00 each and thedrawing will be held on Sunday, August 16,2015 at the Saugerties Chapter meeting.
http://reefradiance.com/seneye.html
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 5
Production: Cindy Graham, NextUp Creations
MAKC Home Page: http://www.makc.com
MAKC Executive CommitteePresident
Joann Mead (845) 389-5712 [email protected]
Vice-President
Herb Ehrich (845) 247-7105 [email protected]
Secretary
Looking for a Volunteer
Treasurer
Anthony Vitale (516) 420-0740 [email protected]
Central Chapter Vice-President
Bruce Damme (302) 598-8431 [email protected]
Long Island Chapter Vice-President
Bruce Levine (516) 735-2644 [email protected]
Saugerties (NY) Chapter Vice-President
Herb Ehrich (845) 247-7105 [email protected]
South Chapter Vice-PresidentAlan Mickelson (301) 332-7042 [email protected]
S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e sMembership
Richard Douglass (845) 723-4373 [email protected]
MAKC Sales
Looking for a Volunteer
MAKC Notice Group Manager
Michael Snyder (301) 762-2059 [email protected]
WebMasterSarah Johnson (732) 567-6678 [email protected]
E x e c u t i v e B o a r d A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e
Joe Zuritsky (215) 575-4001 [email protected]
Eric Wilson (443) 203-6486 [email protected]
Mid-Atlantic Koi is the magazine of theMid-Atlantic Koi Club. Material isselected for its interest to Koi keepers.MAKC accepts no responsibility foraccuracy of content. Reproduction ofuncopyrighted articles is permitted aslong as this magazine is credited as the source.
Mid-Atlantic Koi MagazineEditor, Carolyn Weise (239) 573-6650 x105 [email protected]
Advertising Editor, Joann Mead (845) 389-5712 [email protected]
Meeting/Events Editor, Carolyn Weise (239) 573-6650 x105 [email protected]
FAST Ads Editor, Joann Mead ( 845) 389-5712 [email protected]
Remember toRenew YourMembership
Don’t Wait – Do it Today.
Renewal form you can print out is on page 51.
This issue illustrates just howfascinating and intricate the Koihobby can be. In last month’s issue,we enjoyed Herb Ehrich’s journeyinto the hobby and viewed Barry
Hixson’s lovely pond. This month we have truestories from Steve Childers and LindaMontgomery as they share what they havelearned about Koi keeping.
Malcolm Green discusses his venture intoadding ozone filtration to his two ponds, whichis fascinating. Being only human, I want toexperience everything in the hobby and onlywant the best for myfish. Maybeozone could benext, whoknows? If youare not up forozone yet, maybeadding moreplants to yourpond or stream is
the answer to balancing the system. Wherethere’s a will, there’s a way.
Please patronize our sponsors and advertisers.One day we may even have a printed magazineagain. Show them you care. And send me yourthoughts, your questions and your photos to share.
Enjoy your June issue, enjoy your pond and getthe most out of your Koi!
Yours in Koi!Carolyn
Page 6 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
From the Editor’s Deskby Carolyn [email protected]
Ozone System Installed in Florida
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 7
Wanted – Your Questions
Please email your questions [email protected].
Water that has set in an open container for aweek or just for a couple days if aerated, isnormally safe to use or better yet, pre-treat tapwater with one of the commercial chemicalproducts such as sodium thiosulfate.
Most Frequent Koi deaths by chlorine occurwhen the pond owner refills their pond or tankduring a water change with chlorinated waterand allows the system to overfill. An example ofthis is leaving a hose running and forgetting toshut it off. This seems to happen to mosteveryone sometime during their term as a Koi hobbyist.
This same overfilling process can kill goodbacteria inside filters if left running during therefilling process. When refilling, it is advisable toset an alarm or to use a water metering devicethat allows only a selected amount of water topass before shutting the water supply off.
If you have overfilled, add de-chlorinator as soonas possible in an attempt to save the fish. Eventhough no fish die immediately as a result of overchlorinating, the after effect of damaged gillscaused by chlorine can cause fish to die later. !
Note: This column offers suggestions only; theultimate care of your pond and fish is up to you.
Remember any questions you have are welcome,Just send them in to the editor.
What will Chlorine do to my Koi?
Answer provided by Don Harrawood,Southwest Koi and Pond Association
MeasurementChlorine (Cl), measured in parts per million(ppm), is a gas which has been added to tapwater to control harmful bacteria. City providedtap water is normally found to have 0.5 to 3.0ppm, but higher surges are sometimes observed.Some city water supplies can still be found thateither do not require chlorination or may havethe chlorine removed before the water is distrib-uted. Chlorine would not be of concern to thosewho take their water directly from a private well.Droplet and pill test kits are available to test forchlorine. Recommended test kit range is 0 - 4 ppm. A chlorine test kit is not considerednecessary for the average pond once established.
Acceptable concentration 0f Chlorine: Zero (0)
EffectsChlorine is a quick killer in fairly low concentra-tions (less than 0.5 ppm). Even in very smallconcentrations, it burns the edges of the gillswith long term after effects. It also can be deadlyto the bio-converter bacteria.
TreatmentIn an open container, water will release about 1/4of the chlorine concentration per day to the air .
Beginner’s Corner – Chlorine (a Deadly Koi Killer)Ask a question and we will get you an answer.
Q.A.
Page 8 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
M A K C C o r p o r a t e M e m b e r s
Interested in becoming a Corporate Member?Interested in becoming a Corporate Member?Reasonable one time fee for the year Reasonable one time fee for the year –– includes a Business Card size ad in all issues in this section and on theincludes a Business Card size ad in all issues in this section and on the
MAKC website. MAKC website. Contact Joann Mead at 845-389-5712 or [email protected]
Quality Koi Company
Nisei Koi Farm
www.qualitykoi.com
www.mazuri.com
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 9
This time we interviewed Mr. RyukiNarita of Narita Koi Farms Japanwhich is one of the top dealers in thecountry. A large number of KoiNarita Koi Farms Japan have raised,
have been winners at various Koi shows in andout of the country. We hope to get some insightin to their superior Koi raising skills.
About Narita Koi Farms Japan
History and Business Background
Since they started their Nishikigoi business in1971 they have become an industry leader. Mr. Ryuki Narita, president of the firm, person-ally visits Koi breeders throughout the country inan effort to find the most promising Koi to addto their offering. He keeps a keen eye for promis-ing Koi, which when raised with the special carethey can provide, have the potential to trulyexcite Koi lovers when they first see them. Their
eye for promising Koi is so special that they havecome to be known as "Narita the connoisseur of Koi."
They have developed several Koi raising skills,which help them easily meet the variousdemands of even the most discriminating Koilovers. Furthermore, they have established aspecial bond with many of the leading Koibreeders that they are frequently allowed to seetheir secret Koi; those special Koi the breedersreserve for only their very best customers.
Narita Koi Farms Japan holds a Koi auction twicea year, each spring and fall, providing an occasion
Introducing Narita Koi Farms JapanCourtesy of Hikari USA
Page 10 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
for Koi breeders and Koi lovers to meet face toface. Many amateur Koi keepers enjoy bidding atauction while the breeders of the prized entrieswatch. The breeders also have an opportunity todiscuss the strong points of their Koi with the
potential buyers by personally answering theirquestions.
Narita Koi Farms Japan does not breed Koithemselves, but are rearing experts who can
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 11
The 37th Show, 2006
Breeder: Sakai Fish Farm
Owner: Mr. Martin Plows & Mr. Mark Crampton
This is the first Narita-raised Koi to win Grand Championship.
The 38th Show, 2007
Breeder: Dainichi Koi Farm
Owner: Mr. Katsuo Shibayama
This is the second consecutive year that aNarita-raised Koi won Grand Championship.
Narita Raised Grand Champions at the All Japan Koi Shows
Page 12 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
transform ordinary Koi in to award winners withgreat consistency. They work diligently tomaintain an adequate stock of Koi fromrenowned breeders so they can consistently offerexcellent quality Koi to their customers. Theycontinually strive to strike a good balancebetween the Koi breeders expectations and Koi lovers demands.
Koi Developmental Specialist and Dealer
The name of Narita Koi Farms Japan name isoften commonly mentioned at Koi shows. If aKoi breeder is the parent of a Koi, a company likeNarita Koi Farms Japan is the foster parent. Atthe 43rd All Japan Koi Show 2012, Narita Koi
Narita Raised Grand Champions at the All Japan Koi Shows
The 41st Show, 2010
Breeder: Dainichi Koi Farm
Owner: Mr. Masao Kato
A Niigata-born Koi wins at a Niigata held All Japan Koi Show.
The 43rd Show, 2012
Breeder: Dainichi Koi Farm
Owner: Mr. Jitsuro Takagi
Once again a Narita-raised Koi wins Grand Championship.
award. This line is a very useful and reliable foodwith predictable quality and efficient ingredients.You don't need to add any other nutrients to findsuccess. We use a number of the Saki-Hikari®varieties by blending them according to theseason. The exact ratio of the mixture for eachtime of year is part of our special expertise. !
Narita Koi Farm Co., LTD http://www.narita-koi.com
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 13
Farms Japan had morethan 230 Koi raised attheir facility on display.At this show they hadthe largest number ofentries and they sweptmost awards.
Future of KoiKeeping as a
Hobby
Q: Please let us knowyour vision as a Koidealer-rearer
We are pursuing ourmain business of main-taining a stock of promising Koi and tending tothem in order to win awards at Koi shows. At thesame time I am concerned that the value of Koiin the eyes of the judges has become cut anddried. I feel strongly that we should offer Koilovers a variety of Nishikigoi to allow them tomaximize their enjoyment and allow them tochoose their own way when deciding which fishto keep. We sell very reasonably priced Koi, aswell as high class Koi such as Gosanke and offermore than 70 other varieties. No Koi has thesame markings and each Koi lover can find a Koito fit their own unique taste. On the Internet weoffer Koi with very unique markings, whichalways sell well. We also want to convey thecharm of smaller-size Koi, which can be kept inregular home aquariums.
Daily feeding and putting our finishingtouches on the Koi
Q: Do you think what the Koi is fed has an effecton its ultimate development?
Yes, the food has a significant impact. I recom-mend the Saki-Hikari® series food for thoselooking to have a chance to win a Koi show
Page 16 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Lateral Line The lateral line runs along the side of the Koiabout midway down the side of the fish. Holes inthe scales lead to a canal beneath the surface thatcontains neuromast cells. Watermovement in any directionstriking the sides of the fish willcause the mucous in the canal tovibrate. These vibrations stimu-late the neuromast cells that arelinked to the periphery nervesystem and provide one the mosteffective perceptions for survival(flight reaction).
The lateral line is an importantlandmark. It is at approximatelythe same level as the spine, which has a bloodvessel that runs along the length of the spine justventral (underneath) to the spine and will beimportant for locating the blood vessel.
Olfaction The olfactory organs (used to smell) are locatedat the base of the nostrils called nares. Water doesnot flow to any other part of the body from thenares. They are exclusively used for olfaction(smelling), are paired and located between theeyes and the mouth. They are shaped like andcan be thought of as small U-tubes into whichwater enters through the leading or forward holeand exits through the rear port or opening. Justbehind the forward opening there is a flap of skin
that directs water into the forward opening ofthe nare as the Koi moves forward in the water.The movement of substances through the naresis aided by diffusion and by the motion of smallhairs-like structures (cilia) within the nares. Thefollowing illustration is slightly modified andreprinted with the kind permission of Koi Carp Magazine.
Taste:Taste buds are numerous in and around the lips,mouth and tips of the barbels. Koi have two pairsof barbels. Three hundred years ago they hadthree pairs.
Koi Anatomy – Part 3by Spike Cover , California
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 17
Page 18 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Internal Anatomy The internal organs are placed approximately asshown in the illustration page 17 (reproducedwith the kind permission of the authors of Living Jewels).
While it is generally accepted that Koi do nothave a stomach (a wide hollow organ that func-tions to mix food with mucus, acid and digestiveenzymes), the first portion of the gut is elasticand can be used to store food.
Bones Carp are Teleost fish which means literally “bonyskeleton” and carp are one of the boniest freshwater fishes. Fish bones are thin and light weightwith no bone marrow in the center. A lightweight skeleton is advantageous to an animalsthat needs to be buoyant to live in a water environment.
The Koi Skeleton drawing page 17 is taken fromthe Tetra Encyclopedia of Koi and reproducedwith the kind permission of Interpet PublishingLtd. It was redrawn from the book by Duncan Griffiths.
Muscle Generally two types of muscle exists in Teleostfish, white and dark muscle. The white muscle isthought to be for fast quick swimming and thedark muscle, located directly under the skin if forsustained swimming.
The clinical significance of these different typesof muscle is that there is much different drugkinetics when injections are made into them. It isgenerally accepted that red muscle is well vascu-larized (has a good blood supply), which wouldfacilitate absorption of medicines into the bloodfaster than white muscle, and sustain the releasesince the blood flow is likewise sustained in
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 19
comparison to white muscle which can create anoxygen debt and requires a recovery period.
Gills The gills are a complex system made up of bothbony and cartilaginous stiffened arches. Eachside of the fish has four gill arches. On theexterior side of the gill arch are the gill filaments,which are made up of lamallae and secondarylamellae structures, the latter being only 2µ thick.It is these structures that are responsible for theexchange of gases (O2/CO2) through the epithe-lial cells. The epithelial cells are the direct linkbetween the O2 in the water and the fish’s blood stream.
The illustrations, on this page, were reproducedwith the kind permission of Paul Maslin.
The gills also have specialized mucus-producingcells, and chloride cells which function in mucusproduction and osmoregulation, respectively.
Covering the gill arches on the outside of the fishis the operculum or gill cover. This is a multi-purpose part of the Koi’s anatomy with theprimary function being to help control thepressure of the water taken in through the mouthand passed along the gill filaments.
Also found on the gill arches, but more to theinside or anterior part of the arch, are the gillrakers which act as food filters. Clogged rakersare often the cause of flashing or head shaking asthe fish attempts to clear the gills of excess foodafter eating.
Read more about Koi anatomy in the next issue.!
Pond Spotlight: Bill and Linda Montgomeryby Linda Montgomery, Oregon
Readers have requested hearing aboutother members ponds, so I thought I could start it off by sharing mypond building experience. We havehad our pond for over 20 years now
but I can still remember how terribly clueless andtotally naïve we were in thinking that we weregoing to have many years of tranquility andrelaxation in our backyard paradise!
Now, I don’t mean to be negative but I don’tthink that a Koi pond can ever be described as
tranquil and relaxing…if you are not worriedabout some predator after your beautiful Koi,then you most likely are worried about a multi-tude of other issues; poor water quality, parasites,a disease outbreak, the strange behavior of yourKoi, a leak, upgrading your filter…and the listgoes on and on.
Koi ponds are definitely not for the weak of heartand certainly do separate the men from the boys!This does not mean that we would not have builta Koi pond if we had known what we were
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 21
getting into, in fact I (now notice that I said “I” not “we”) have never regretted getting intothis wonderful hobby. The fish are so beautifuland fun to watch, you are always learning newand interesting things , and you meet so manywonderful people. But I would really adviseanyone thinking of getting into the hobby toreally learn as much as possible and to become a member of a Koi club before building a pond.We started our pond well before we even knew of any Koi clubs and had no idea what we weregetting into…
It all started over 22 years ago, with Bill and Itaking a trip to Builders Square (a local buildingsupply business similar to Home Depot), to getsome plants for the yard. In the garden sectionthey had this wonderful display of pre-formed
garden pools andone black plastic3-step waterfall—and our ‘vision’of a backyardparadise materi-alized right infront of us…“Oh Bill,wouldn’t that bejust perfect forour yard!” Butbefore makingthe big $300.00move to purchaseour ideal water-feature, wedecided to readup and do a little(very little)research onexactly what wewere gettinginto…HA! Then‘the real world ofponding’ slappedus with all theother expenses
(and boy did these add up- $150.00-$200.00worth), we thought that as long as we were goingto spend this much money, why not make it alittle larger…”Oh Bill, wouldn’t it be fun to havea small pond with a little stream that goes intoanother pond?” Looking back I realize now thatthe poor boy really didn’t know what he wasgetting into, but then neither did I. If only wecould go back to those earlier times, when wewere both so blissfully clueless and so wonder-fully out of debt---we fondly refer to those timesas B.P. (Before Pond).
After that it just got crazier and crazier andbefore we knew it, our little backyard weekendproject evolved into taking bids from contractorsfor a large Koi pond, complete with filtration,U.V. Lights and a plant budget—and life as we
Page 22 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
knew it was forever changed! It took over threemonths to complete the pond and many moremonths to fill in the landscaping, but it was wellworth it. And of course we had lots of fun andour share of what-not-to-do experiences ingetting there so here is a list of our pond Dos andDon’ts:
#1. The obvious: Join a Koi Club and learn asmuch as possible before starting to build a pond.
#2. Know where your sewer line is, for if it canbe broken once, it can be broken twice inthe same day!
#3. Don’t trust your contractor-they are evil(except Tony, of course!). Do not leavethose guys alone for a minute or fall fortheir ploys to get rid of you for a couple ofhours…such a cheap trick! Mine even toldme to stop reading those books, that infor-mation is old…you don’t need a bottomdrain, or an out of pond pump, or askimmer, or even a pad for your pond linerfor that matter.
#4. Never think that you have enough rocks,and speaking of rocks never think that youcan’t drop a half-ton boulder on your pondliner…thank goodness the track hoe tookmost of the punishment!
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 23
#5. Never trust a water meter when filling yourpond…we didn’t figure out that the one weborrowed kept starting and stopping untilthe lower pond filled and we said “Thatcan’t be right, I know that it is more than4,000 gallons!” (our lower pond is ~10,000 gallons).
#6. And always remember, it’s not just a pond,it’s a lifestyle! Or as Bill always says “Whybuild a pond? Just dig a hole and throwyour wallet in!”
#7 You may not want to read anymore pondspotlights or you may decide to chuck thewhole idea!
But on an up-note…through all the headachesand problems in building a pond one factremains-when it is finished and your waterfinally clears, so you can actually see and enjoyyour fish, all that you went through to get to thatpoint seems insignificant. And in our case, if ithadn’t been for the Koi clubs and the specialpeople in them, I have no doubt that our pondwould not be functioning at all (or at least theKoi wouldn’t be!).
When we joined the Koi club (about half-waythrough our construction) we never imaginedmeeting such a wonderful group of giving andsharing people and we’ve made friends that weare sure will be with us the rest of our lives…ifthey can take us that long! !
Are Pond Ionizers Safe? You be the Judge
Certain manufacturers of Pond equipmentdecided to borrow a technology from theSwimming Pool industry and, with maybe someminor tweaks, promote it as an exciting break-through in controlling Pond algae. Presenting theIONIZER!
Through the controlled release of Copper, Zincand Silver ions into the pond’s water column,algae growth can be controlled and in many caseseliminated. This, on the surface, is great news forPondkeepers. No longer is it necessary to useexpensive and hard-to-correctly-measure chemi-cals. Just set the Ionizer to the desired level andalgae disappears.
Sounds great! However, there is more to beconsidered than just what the advertisementsclaim. What are the other potential and likelyresults from use of this device that the manufac-turers are not telling us?
Let’s look at some of the manufacturers’ claimsas regards Ionizers.
Company #1 Destroys Bacteria Kills AlgaeReduces chemical costEliminates chemical odorsReduces maintenanceEnvironmentally FriendlyCosts pennies per monthHelps reduce filtrationFish safeIncludes 2˝ T Fitting
Copper Toxicity in Pondsby Meyer Jordan
Company #2Safe for fish and plantsLow maintenanceClears water without the use of harsh
chemicalsEasily installed in any new or existing
water featureTreats ponds up to 25,000 gallonsLevel of mineralization is controlled by
the LED panelCast mineral anodes are self-cleaning1 year warranty
Company #3Drastically reduces pond maintenanceCrystal clear water without the use of
chemicalsEliminates unsightly water conditionsSimple to installSafe for fish and plantsNot toxic to animals that may drink from
the pondEnergy efficient (less than $ 1 a month in
electricity cost)Treats ponds up to 25,000 gallons
Understandably, the first concern of a Pond-keeper is whether a product or treatment is safefor fish. All three (3) of these manufacturersdeclare that the (proper) use of this device is safefor fish. Let’s take a closer look at this claim.
All Three (3) manufacturers include test stripsfor monitoring Copper levels with Two (2) of themanufacturers recommending maximumCopper levels at 0.25 mg/L and the remainingmanufacturer recommending 0.30 mg/L as themaximum level of Copper.
Page 24 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Copper is a heavy metal and in low concentra-tions can be toxic. In addition, like other heavymetals, such as Mercury, it is a bio-accumulate.This means that once it is ingested by anorganism it remains in that organism for anextended period of time, in many cases, for life.Any additional ingestion only increases the levelthat is already present in the organism untileventually a certain level of toxicity is reached.
For terrestrial organisms, this level is determinedprimarily by the ingestion of food and water, butfor aquatic organisms, if the Copper is in suspen-sion as ions, it may be ingested during the respi-ration process also, as is the case with fish,juvenile amphibians, certain insect larvae, trueaquatic invertebrates and bacteria as well as thetarget taxa of algae. In the case of fish, it causesincreased mucous production on the skin andthe gills where it eventually interferes with therespiration process by blocking the absorption of Oxygen.
In assessing the potential toxicity of anysubstance to any organism, two (2) distinct levelsmust be determined, acute (immediate shortterm) and chronic (long term). Heavy metalshave long been known to play an importantbeneficial and crucial role in animal and plantphysiology, but at levels so low that they areundetectable by standard testing.
Considerably greater attention has been given, inrecent years, to the effect of Heavy Metals andother chemical compounds on the environment.Research is ongoing in both the public andprivate sector. This research has resulted in someuniversally accepted toxicity levels as regardsHeavy Metals.
The focus here will be on Copper. Copper, afterMercury, is the most toxic of the Heavy Metals.Copper’s toxicity is greatly influenced by waterHardness and pH. As water Hardness and phincrease, the toxicity of Copper is reduced. Hereis an example of a couple of simple formulae that
are used to define the accepted level of Copper infresh water.
Maximum Copper levels (in micrograms) atany time—0.094(hardness)+2 (where waterHardness is reported as mg/L CaCO3.
30 day average Copper levels (in micro-grams)—0.04 average hardness (wherewater Hardness is reported as mg/LCaCO3.
(Environmental Protection Division, Ministryof Environment, Government of British Columbia)
Note - There are other formulas used by different government entities worldwide, but the final accepted levels of Copper vary by only afew micrograms.
Using these two (2) formulae, in water with aHardness of 120 ppm for example, we find therecommended Copper levels to be 13 micro-grams/L at any one time and the 30 day averageshould not exceed 5 micrograms/L Knowing thatone milligram equals 1000 micrograms, theseresults expressed in mg/L would be 0.013 mg/Land 0.05 mg/L. These results appear to be on theconservative side, but considering the fact thatsome aquatic organisms have a very low tolerance to Copper, these formulae are quite appropriate.
These are the Metal Safe Limit levels as definedin the Textbook of Fish Health: Copper0.014mg/l More toxic in soft water; Zinc exacer-bates toxicity; Combined both are dangerous;Zinc 0.01mg/l Synergistic with copper; 0.15mg/lIn hard Water; Cadmium 0.03mg/l; Chromium0.10mg/l; Lead 0.01mg/l In soft Water; 4.00mg/lIn hard Water; Silver 0.03mg/l (mg/l is the sameas ppm).
The author was unable to find any scientificallyset copper toxicity levels for Koi, but severalanecdotal sources were found that stated that Koibegin to show copper toxicity at 0.03 ppm along
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 25
with the copper toxicity level for Koi at 0.3 ppm.,which is at or extremely close to the Maximumlevels suggested by the manufacturers of thesedevices. It should be stressed that no scientificstudies were found that substantiated theselevels. In fact, one study reported that Koi frywere unaffected by Copper levels of 1.00 mg/L.
It is important, however, to know the signs andsymptoms of Copper toxicity in Koi. One of theearliest effects of too much copper is apparentfish hypoxia, the loss of ability to use oxygen.Common symptoms of initial acute toxicity arefish gasping, disoriented (ataxic) at the surface,due to copper's hemolytic (blood cell splitting)and mucus-producing effects. Copper is aproteinaceous precipitant; that is, it causes yourfish to produce more mucus. This may aid the inthe suffocation or sloughing off of parasites, butalso interferes with respiration through their skinand gills.
Of greater concern is the previously mentionedfact that all heavy metals are bio-accumulates.This accumulation leads to immunosuppression.Fish are often observed suffering from bacterialinfections for no apparent reason. Water quality isoptimum but low levels of copper and/or zinc arepresent. Metals are most toxic in low alkalinityand pH. This allows for a higher concentration ofmetal to remain dissolved. The accumulation overtime immunosuppresses the fish and allows thenormal pathogenic bacteria to gain the upperhand leading to ulceration and possiblesepticemia (bacteria in the bloodstream).
In eco-system ponds, along with the fish, thetoxicity of copper to all other aquatic organismsis of equal importance. Considerably more datais available on the effects of copper on freshwater fauna due to the fact that they are presentin every natural waterway and their numbers anddiversity are prime indicators of the health of anyaquatic eco-system.
Copper is extremely toxic to most invertebratesand the juvenile forms of most amphibians.
“Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) wereexposed to environmentally relevant concentra-tions of copper in water (control and 5, 25, and100 microg/L, as CuSO4) in a static renewalsystem for 154 d from posthatch stage to meta-morphosis. Tadpole survival, swimmingperformance, percent metamorphosis, time tometamorphosis, and survival during and timerequired for tail resorption were negativelyaffected in the 100-microg/L treatment.”-Adverse effects of chronic copper exposure inlarval northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens).Chen TH, Gross JA, Karasov WH.
Available toxicity data on amphibians indicatecopper 96 h LC50 values calculated in tadpolesranged from 0.04 to 5.38 mg/L. Studies of otheraquatic organisms show 96 h LC50 valuesranging from 0.06 to 6.68 mg/L.
Representative toxicity levels for some other fresh water organisms are - Most snails – 8 - 41 micrograms/L; Cladocerans (includingDaphnia) 5 - 213 micrograms/L; Amphipods 8 - 87 micrograms/L
Although the Mayfly is fairly sensitive to Copper,the majority of insects that have aquatic larvalstages are tolerant, most notable Damselflies andDragonflies, which are always expected visitors toany aquatic venue. These Odonates have theability to store heavy metals in their exoskeletonswhere it remains harmless.
The inhibition, reduction or elimination of anymember group of the aquatic food chain willhave negative effects on the overall health of theeco-system to a lesser or greater degree depend-ing on which species are residents of that partic-ular eco-system and their relative position in thefood web.. Nevertheless, any negative effect on anaquatic eco-system’s food chain and/or diversitywill have deleterious effects on the entire system.
The only organisms that have not been discussedare the bacteria, in particular, the nitrifying
Page 26 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
bacteria. The results of studies on the toxiceffects of Copper are quite surprising. Copperand Zinc appear to be the least toxic of themetals tested. Copper, at low levels, actually stim-ulates activity in Nitrobacter. At levels up to 0 50mg/L the Copper ion has no toxic effect onNitrobacter. Instead, the stimulatory effect isreadily apparent...Apparently. At 0 50 mg/LCopper has not reached the crossover pointwhere a chemical shows neither stimulatory norinhibitory effects. This, unfortunately, is not trueof Nitrosomonas. Growth of Nitrosomonas isgreatly inhibited (about 60%) by Copper concen-trations of 0.20 ppm.
Growth of Nitrosomonas europaea in batchand continuous culture (Skinner & Walker1960)
Copper was also found to be one of the mosttoxic metals to heterotrophic bacteria inaquatic environments.
Sadly, company #1 is partially correct inclaiming that their ionizer “destroysbacteria.”
In ConclusionBased on the above data, we arrive at these facts-
Ionizers can indeed control and, in someinstances, eliminate many species of algae.
Within the manufacturers’ suggested range ofuse, 0 – 25/30 mg/L, neither Koi or Goldfishshould exhibit any immediate effects ofCopper toxicity. It has been shown that Koifry can tolerate levels of 1.00 mg/L. Due tolack of any meaningful research, long term(chronic) effects are unknown.
Copper at low levels is extremely toxic toaquatic stages of most amphibians.
Most microorganisms exhibit toxic effects ofCopper at extremely low levels and, wheremortality does not occur, the effects arecompounded in second generations.
The effects of relatively low (.20 ppm) Copperlevels on one of the main species involvedin Nitrogen conversion has the potential tocause major problems in the form ofAmmonia spikes.
Considering the whole picture regarding theimpact that an Ionizer may have on an aquaticeco-system, this author has no intention ofavailing himself of its use. There are other effective and absolutely safe ways of controllingand/or eliminating algae. You, the reader, mayfeel differently. After all, it’s your Pond and your fish.
You be the judge! !
Update Nov. 29, 2012There has long been a dearth of informationregarding the toxicity level of Copper in Koi(Cyprinus carpio). Finally some figures are beingestablished by scientific research.
According to a recent research paper (Dietarytryptophan changes serum stress markers,enzyme activity, and ions concentration of wildcommon carp Cyprinus carpio exposed toambient copper
Fish Physiology and Biochemistry (2012) 38:1419-1426 , October 01, 2012
By Hoseini, Seyyed Morteza; Hosseini, SeyedAbbas;Soudagar, Mohammad), Carp exposed to10 mg/L Copper exhibited mortality rates of 21.7± 7.6 % at 120 hours and 61.7 ± 10.4 % at 168hours. Although this level of Copper is 40 timesthe (claimed) maximum levels generated byionizers, I feel that it is safe to infer, because Cu isa bio-accumulate, that depending on the usage(level settings and duration of these settings) ofionizers, that Koi/Carp would exhibit physiologi-cal and behavioral signs of toxicity much quickerthan was originally thought…months instead of years. Hopefully more definitive figures will be forthcoming. !
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 27
Well, let’s just go to the gardencenter and build a Koi pond!Most Koi keepers start out aswater gardeners; buy one ofthose books from the local
garden center that says building a pond is easierthan it looks. Lie number 1. It isn’t easy.
Digging cubic yards from the ground and wheelbarrowing it around is tough work. Hauling inrock for the edging is just as tough. After a trip tothe ER for cuts and back strain(s), you have anice little pond, complete with shelves for prettyplants. Now we attempt to add an electricaloutlet (more digging for the trench and we useburyable cable). Now we drop in the submersibleand bucket filter and plug it in. The waterfallisn’t what we pictured in our minds, not enoughflow even though the “expert” at the gardencenter said the pump was perfect for what wetold him we wanted. Oh well, time to go back tothe garden center for some plants anyway.
Back home with 3 lilies, another pump andbucket filter and some marginal plants, oh and acouple of goldfish and a funny little 6" fish withwhiskers. In they all go and it looks great, enoughwater over the waterfall, pretty plants and fish tofeed and look at.
Inside we go to get cleaned up. Just think, justover a couple of weeks and we have a pond! Aftercleaning up we go outside to feed our fish. Oh
Evolution of a Koi Keeper:One Man’s Journey
by Steve Childers, former Editor of KOI USA and cur-rent AKJA Judge
no! All 3 are “belly up”! We scoop up the 3 deadfish and place them in a bag and head back to thegarden center. The “expert” at the garden centerasks if we “de-chlorinated” the water? Huh, de-chlorinate? He sells us some powdery stuffand 3 more fish (2 goldfish and one of those 6˝ fish with “whiskers” labeled as “coy”). Homewe go, throw in some of that powdery stuff andplace the fish in the pond.
Next weekend we decide to do some plantingaround the pond. The first shovel of dirt and thewaterfall quits. Oops, should have used conduitto bury that electrical line! 3 more dead fishbecause no one told us to use a Ground FaultCircuit Interrupter (GFCI). Back to the gardencenter (Am I enjoying Koi keeping yet?).
After a couple of weeks the water turns green andthe new fish are nowhere to be seen. Back to thegarden center. Another cash outlay and I havethis magical concoction that the “expert” sayswill clear the pond up in a jiffy. The next day it’ssemi clear and I can see the fish.... a little.Another week and its green again. After about 6 more weeks and 4 more trips to the gardencenter for more of that magical concoction, thewater mystically clears over night. But now thewater over the waterfall has slowed to a trickle.Looking at the bottom of the pond, I see all ofthis “gunk” on the bottom and on the filter pads.The pads are easy to clean after we finally get thebuckets out of the pond.
Page 28 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Back to the garden center to find out how to getall of that “pond pudding” out of the bottom.The expert says to drain the pond and scoop itout. We drain the pond, and catch the fish andput them in a bucket. We scoop out the nastysmelling pond pudding (are we enjoying thepond yet?). After scrubbing all of that green stuff off of the sides (got to make sure its reallyclean) we refill the pond. Oh, don’t forget thatde-chlor stuff.
Another couple of weeks and the pond goes peagreen again, back to the garden center for thatclarifier stuff. Another 4 to 6 weeks and that clar-ifier stuff finally kicks in and the water is clear.Now we can see little things hanging from thesides and dorsal of the fish and that 6˝ fish withwhiskers is now 10˝ with a huge hole in its side.Back to the garden center to talk to the “expert”.He sells some medicated food and somemedicine to put in the pond that will kill the parasites.
A few weeks go by and the goldfish are fine butthe cute little fish with whiskers has died fromthe infection caused by the parasites.
Back to the garden center for another one ofthose cute little fish with whiskers called “coy.”
Fall is setting in and its time to clean the pondagain…another 5 inches of pond pudding hasbuilt up in the bottom and the filters and pumpsare clogged solid. The fish sit on the bottom allwinter and when spring begins to warm things alittle, we start feeding, not knowing that thewater temp is only 40 degrees still.
A few weeks go by and that cute little “coy” puffsup like a balloon and then dies. Taking it back tothe garden center the “expert” (it’s a new expertbecause the previous one went back to school theprevious spring). The new expert asks if the“coy” had been fed recently and what the watertemp was. After the answer, he explains that the
“coy” couldn’t digest the food in that cold ofwater and it died from an internal infection.Luckily a new shipment of “coy” have justarrived...from Japan! Although the price is 5times that of the previous “coy” (which have alldied), it is much prettier and out comes thecharge card.
After a few weeks, the water warms and turnsthat terrible pea green color again. Back to thegarden center for that clarifier stuff. This timeanother customer asks why that stuff is beingused. “To clear up the water, Duh”! With achuckle the other customer explains the filteringcycle time is about 6 weeks…time for the goodbacteria to grow and deal with the ammonia andnitrites/ nitrates. He further explains the benefitof a UV light. Out comes the charge card again!
After re-plumbing the pond for the UV light, it’stime to plug it in. The pumps shut down and theUV light doesn’t come on. After checking thebreakers, it’s determined that the breaker is only15 amps and the 2 pumps and UV exceed thatamount. Off to the hardware store for a 20 ampGFCI breaker. The assistant there stops to see ifhelp is needed. It’s determined that the wire sizefor the circuit isn’t big enough for a 20-ampcircuit so new wire (and conduit this time) areneeded. Out comes the charge card again.Another weekend is spent running new electricallines. Are we enjoying the pond yet?
Finally, a clear pond! Time for some more ofthose cute Japanese fish with whiskers called“coy.” But first, time to clean the filter pads andthe pond pudding from the bottom again. Whata stinky mess; perhaps there is something at thegarden center to vacuum this gunk up with. Backto the garden center and sure enough, there is apond vac and as long as we’re here, a few more ofthose cute little Japanese “coy” with whiskers.
Summer sets in and all of these “coy” aregrowing like weeds and its time to expand thepond. Back to the garden center for a bigger liner.
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 29
Page 30 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
While we’re there the expert sells us on a “beadfilter and a swimming pool pump,” explainingthat they are easier to clean. A couple of monthsof digging, plumbing, and re-landscaping go by.After a day or two, the bead filter clogs and it’stime to backwash.
Backwashing becomes a daily chore through thesummer and the pond bottom still has to bevacuumed once a month to keep the pondpudding at bay. The next time at the gardencenter there is a flyer about a “Koi Show” spon-sored by the local “Koi club”. The “expert” isasked what a “Koi” is and we feel stupid that theyare the same as “coy”. The “expert” suggests acouple of books to read, “Tetra KoiEncyclopedia,” for $24.95 and “Koi Kichi” for$110. We opt for the cheaper one and are thrilledreading it cover to cover.
A couple more weeks of back flushing the filtereveryday and it’s time to go see a Koi show. We
are awed at the beauty of the fish, just like theones in the book. Vendors are there and we optfor a couple more Koi…of course, more expen-sive, out comes the charge card. Information isobtained on the Koi club and we pay ourmembership, determined to get to the nextmeeting in 2 weeks.
About a week goes by and the new fish look sickand are “itching” on the bottom. The older fishare starting to do the same. By the time of theKoi club meeting, they all have sores and appearto be on death’s door.
Arriving at the club meeting at a member’shouse, we see a beautiful pond, about the samesize as ours except much deeper…. 4 – 6´compared to our 2 •••´. Although our water isclear, its nowhere near as clear as this pond. Westand in awe over it. We ask the owner how hekeeps his water so clear and he shows us hisfilters, a simple square sediment chamber,
additional chambers with matting, then a pump.After looking intently the question arises, “Howdoes the water get to the sediment chamber”? Helooks puzzled and says, “from the bottom drain”.“Huh, bottom drain, what’s that?” we ask. We goback to the pond and see in the bottom of thepond a dome and he produces that expensivebook “ Koi Kichi” from his library and shows mea diagram of his filtration system. We explain ourfish problems and being very kind he offers tocome and see the fish and pond the next day.
Being very polite upon his arrival, he asks for anet to catch the fish with. We don’t have one butoffer to drain the pond to catch them for him. Heproduces a net from his truck and another largeplastic storage box. We catch the fish and hesedates them one by one and gives them injec-tions, pointing out that 2 are beyond any hopeand offers to put them to sleep permanently. Healso takes some scrapes and looks under themicroscope that he has with him and identifies“gill flukes” as being the culprit. He turns mypond purple with something … Potassiumper…ate and says that should do the trick. If not,he has some other more expensive stuff. He againrecommends that expensive book. Are weenjoying the pond yet?
Later that day (after back flushing the filter), it’sback to the garden center for that expensivebook, “Koi Kichi.” We realize then, that we donot have a “Koi” pond, and also realize why wehave killed so many fish in just 2 short summers.Gee, have we enjoyed the pond yet?
Let’s see, for a start, if we had spent the extramoney on a good Koi book instead of a cheapbook on how to build a pond that said “It’s easierthan you think,” we could have had bottomdrain(s), settlement chambers (vortex), biochambers and an efficiency pool style pump. Wecould have dug it to a proper depth (at least 4´,preferably at least 6´), we wouldn’t have had to
expand it and made it bigger. We wouldn’t haveever had to clean the pond pudding off of thebottom or spent countless hours cleaning filterpads. We also wouldn’t have had to back flushfilters every day through the summer, but simplyopen a valve to discharge the vortex and all of thesediment. We wouldn’t have wasted our moneyon clarifiers that didn’t do anything. We wouldstill have all the money we wasted on all of thefish we killed. The hours spent could have beenspent “enjoying the Koi pond.”
If a person wants a water garden, great. Fill itwith plants and their pots that can scrape thesides of Koi. They breed bacteria and parasites,just waiting to attack Koi. They are too shallowfor Koi and the lack of bottom drains justmultiply all the rest of their problems for Koi. Ifsomeone wants a Koi pond, then read a goodbook, “Koi Kichi” being the best, plan on makingthe pond twice as large as what you think youwant because if you don’t you will wish you hadand its cheaper to do it right the first time.
When someone of knowledge makes a suggestionfor you, listen and learn. Don’t try and justifykeeping Koi in a bad pond, just remember whatyou learn and promise to do it right the nexttime, because eventually you’ll want to ENJOYYOUR POND instead of laboring over it. !
Author’s Note: The examples stated above are onlya portion of the true horror stories compiled overthe last 10 years from friends and myself.
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 31
Versatile Plants fromYour Water Gardento Your Landscapeby Lisa Burns, Backyard Getaway
Did you know some of your favoritegarden plants can be added to yourwater garden and that some of themost common water garden plantscan be planted in your landscape?
Here are some of my favorites that I use in both:
�Papyrus (Cyperus): This is one of the easiestplants to grow in a water garden & isusually the first plant a pond installer willput in your pond. It is a beautiful tall plantthat makes a nice backdrop for a tropicalgarden. Papyrus can be a bit over poweringin a pond, especially the Umbrella andEgyptian varieties. Papyrus spreads quicklyso you will need to keep an eye on it.
�Taro (Colocasia) or Elephant ear is anotherlarge plant with many varieties. BothColocasia & Alocasia will do well in theground or in the water. The key is to keepthem in very shallow water.
�Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittoniana) I usethis in my garden as a hedge and as a bogplant in my pond. They will spread quickly too.
�Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) has abeautiful red flower on top of a reddishgreen stalk.A nice touch of color for yourpond or garden, they will die back in
Page 32 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
cooler weather but come back easily the next season.
�Iris: There are over 260 species of Iris; manyare true aquatic plants while others can beused in both situations like the blue flag.Yellow flag Iris are often used in naturalponds for water purification. They are veryaggressive growers and can grow to 6' tall sobe careful in your water garden.
�Canna is one of my favorites with large broadleaves & bright yellow, orange, red and evenstriped flowers. Bengal tiger (stripedflower), Endeavor and flaccida workwonderfully in both the garden & water garden.
�Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) a lowbunching plant with lovely lavenderflowers. Also helps to repel biting bugs inyour garden.
�Butterfly ginger (Hydychium coronatium) is atall plant with large white flowers that smelllike ginger. They do well in full and partsun and are a wonderful addition to yourbutterfly garden.
�Hibiscus has many varieties that will workequally well in the garden and pond. Themarsh mallow has large pink flowers andloves moist soil.
�Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) is one of myfavorites. Tall black banded green stalks thatresemble a small bamboo. This is an aggres-sive spreader too & is best kept in a pot butcan also be used as a hedge or border.
�Crinum (Crinum sp) grows from a bulb is alsoknown as bog lily, spider lily or swamp lily.They do well in the garden but should bekept moist. They will not do well in colder climates.
�Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) is a funplant. It is called obedient plant becauseyou can move each flower on its stalk towhichever direction you like & it will stay.
�Chameleon plant (houttuynia cordata) lovelylow plant with color changing leaves. As theweather cools, the leaves turn a darkmaroon-purple. This is a nice plant for acontainer garden.
�Calla Lily (Zantedeschia) is a tender plant thatis hardy to zone 6. Some varieties do not dowell in the pond. The spotted leaf varietywith white flower does beautifully in watergarden or as a house plant. !
Lisa Burns of Backyard Getaway our website isbackyardgetaway.net.
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 33
Before we talk about specific fish foodsand the various ways they are offered,i.e. flake, pellet, frozen, etc., adiscussion of fish nutrition in generalis in order. Despite all of the scientific
research and books which have been publishedon this topic, there is a great deal of informationwe still do not know about fish nutrition.Scientists have only researched a couple dozenfish in great detail to determine their nutritionalrequirements. For the rest of the fish, they are inpart simply guessing.
Whenever fish are caught in the wild for scien-tific studies, the content of their stomach istested to determine what they have recentlyeaten. Therein lies a great deal of the problem.Scientists can only determine the most recentfoods taken in by the fish and cannot determineeverything they eat in nature. And to compoundmatters, different fish eat different things. All ofwhich makes it near impossible to determineexactly what their nutritional requirements are.However, by studying many, many fish over thecourse of time, scientists have come up with afairly good idea of the basic food requirementsfor many species of fish, although some cannotyet be determined. You will find many differenttypes of fish food available on the store shelvesand a good portion of them will be gearedtoward salt water or fresh water fish in general ora particular species of fish in particular. This isbased upon the scientific research being done. Ifyou have salt water fish, feed them only salt waterfoods. Likewise, feed fresh water fish only freshwater foods.
Well now, I suppose by now you are saying toyourself "if the scientists can't determine the best
Fish Nutritionby Ed Keene (DCAS) Adapted for Ponds by Carolyn Weise
nutritional foods for the type of fish I keep, howin the world can I?" Quite honestly, you can't.However, there are multiple things which youcan do in your attempt to feed your fish the bestof most everything they want - and the best newshere is that you do not even have to get your'scientist's degree'. Mayhaps, the best words ofadvice I can give you would be to feed as wide ofa variety of foods as possible including flakes,pellets, frozen, live, and homemade recipes.There are, however, several items to considerwhen it comes down to selecting foods.
When selecting fish food, read the labels on thecontainers and pay particular attention to thecontents. Among other things the label shouldlist the water, ash, protein, vitamin, and mineralcontents. Of these contents, the ash and watercontents are most important - actually, the lackthereof is most important! Ash will not bedigested by the fish nor will they gain any nutri-tion from it - in other words, it is a waste.Therefore, purchase food which has minimal ash content.
Water is also something you want to avoid. Justabout all flake and/or pellet foods are made withwater as one of their mixing ingredients and itcannot be eliminated during the manufacturingprocess. Obviously the water content is ofabsolutely no value, so select foods which have aminimal amount of water content. Dependingupon the fish you maintain, protein content isvery important. Just like you and I burn protein,fish burn protein too. Simply by swimmingaround and being active the fish burn protein.The more active they are, the more they burn.Some fish are generally less active. They burnprotein at a much slower rate, however, they
Page 34 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
It's as easy as A B C . . . Pond Basic Concepts . . .
burn it none-the-less. If your fish are of the moreactive variety, and the water temperature is right,you want to purchase foods which have thehighest protein content. Fish which are kept inwater with higher temperatures burn moreprotein and at a faster rate, while fish kept inlower temperatures burn less. If your fish is keptat the higher temperatures you should feed it asmuch protein as possible. One final note aboutprotein: If you are planning to breed your fish,high protein foods are highly recommended, as this will increase the quality of their reproductive output.
Many foods these days are made to includevitamins. All fish require vitamins of sometype(s), but not necessarily all vitamins whichare available. The two highly required vitaminswhich most fish need are vitamins C and D.Although the food labels might indicate they arevitamin enriched and/or list the vitamincontents, in most cases, that is not the vitaminlevel you actually receive in the food. Please don'tmisinterpret the previous statement. No one istrying to cheat you. The vitamin content stated ismore than likely very accurate, at least at the startof the manufacturing process. Unfortunately,much of the vitamin content is lost during theprocessing. Despite the loss, this type of food is better than one which does not have any vitamins.
The best way to give your fish vitamins or tosupplement the vitamin enriched foods is topurchase vitamins for them. They are available inliquid, tablet, and powder forms. Make sure youpurchase these fish vitamins from a fish store notyour corner drug store. Fish vitamins, althoughthey are A, B. C, etc., just like ours, are muchdifferent than human vitamins. When usingsupplemental vitamins, don't add them to thewater even though many times these are theinstructions from the manufacturer. To ensurethe fish get the vitamins inside their bodies andget the most benefit from them, soak the food inthe vitamins just prior to feeding it to the fish.
How do you know if your fish are going to likethe food you purchase? Well, you never know forsure, however, there are ways to help avoidwasting your money on food which the fish willtotally ignore. Basically, it is called research. Readanything you can get your hands on about thefish you keep. Go to the library and investigateyour fish. Go to the book section of your localfish store and purchase magazines, books, etc.Talk to other hobbyists about your fish and see ifthey can supply any feeding particularitiesconcerning your fish. Seek out a Koi club in yourarea and speak to the members and/or solicitinformation from your local pond store ownerand their employees. The more you research, themore likely it is that you will be successful inyour quest to find some of the favorite and/orpreferred foods of the fish you maintain. Onething you want to make sure of when buying fishfood is that you always purchase the freshest.Don't buy food which has been sitting on thestore shelf indefinitely, as food will lose its nutritional value over the course of time.
In conclusionGoing back to an earlier statement I made, thebest words of advice would be to feed as wide ofa variety of foods as possible including flakes,pellets, frozen, live, and homemade recipes. Indoing so, you will almost guarantee that you aregiving your fish most of, if not all of, the proteins and vitamins they require. (And do not overfeed!) !
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 35
Find club event/meeting information, pay dues,
this magazine and more on our website -
www.makc.com
Ozone and Its Uses in Koi Keepingby Malcolm Green, England
Idecided invest in the installation of Ozonegeneration systems on my two largestponds for a number of reasons. Firstly I am investing considerable sums in newKoi imports every six months and a large
number of increasingly valuable fish are beingstocked together. The health risks associated withcontinual new imports are clearly a risk despitethe quarantine regimes in place. So, to me, theexpense of Ozone generation systems was morethan offset by the potential savings of valuableKoi stocks.
With my own private Koi collection, I have likemany of us built up a fairly valuable collectionover many years with which one obviouslybecomes sentimentally attached. This year I havebeen unfortunate enough to lose several longterm members of my collection to bacterialdisease which I am convinced was originallybrought in Autumn 2000 when I housed anumber of new Koi in with my own collectionthrough restrictions on water space. I have expe-rienced problems on and off since then culmi-nating in the loss of my all time best Kohaku this
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 37
Koi about 5 feet deep in a 12 foot pond.
spring, although thankfully I now appear to beover the problems. This finally convinced me totake the plunge.
Whilst not a Utopia, since even with the use ofOzone Koi can still need individual medicationand treatment if required, Ozone systemscurrently provide the ultimate weapon in the Koikeepers armoury in the constant fight againstdisease and the struggle to maintain superbwater quality. We have seen many advancementsin Koi system filtration – new media, new‘gizmos’, and organic cure alls designed toimprove water quality and filtration and therebyultimately Koi health. None however comes closeto delivering the benefits of Ozone systems, thebenefits of which have long been recognised bythe marine camp and like so many other greatideas, only now being accepted in the Koi world.
What is Ozone?Ozone occurs naturally in the atmosphere. Whena molecule of Oxygen, O², is bound to a third
oxygen atom, it becomes ozone, or 0³. Ozone is an unstable bluish water-soluble gas with acharacteristic smell. In low levels it makes the airsmell fresh and its colour makes the sky blue.Ozone is the 2nd strongest known oxidiserknown to man and the most powerful readilyavailable water sanitiser. It kills bacteria andviruses 3,125 times faster and is a 50% strongeroxidiser than chlorine. It is unsurpassed forcontrol of many types of common bacteria suchas E. Coli and fecal coliforms as well as the de-activation of virus, fungus, mould, mildewand cysts, and is not carcinogenic.
How Does it Work?Ozone is nature's way of purifying the air webreathe. As ozone circulates and comes intocontact with airborne pathogens, one of thethree oxygen atoms detaches itself from theozone molecule, attaches itself to the cell struc-ture and oxidises it and effectively destroys thecell and thereby kills living organisms. Ozone isnature's way of self-cleaning our environment.
Ozone is such astrong germicidethat only a fewmicrograms perlitre are requiredto demonstrategermicidalaction; it destroysall pathogenicand saprophyticmicrobes inwater. Factors likehumidity,temperature, pH,ozone concentra-tion levels, typeof organism andtime, determinethe kill rate forpathogens, but itsaction in water is
Page 38 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Ozone System for a Pond in Florida
instantaneous. After oxidation, ozone returns toits original form of oxygen, without leaving anytoxic by-products or residues. Ozone is a naturaldisinfectant and steriliser and unlike chlorine, itdoes not produce trihalomethanes, chloroformsor any other detrimental bi-product in water.
Without dispute, Ozone is the most effectivenatural bactericide and viricide of all the disinfecting agents.
In our pond environment Ozone: -
• Is highly effective in removing organics,ammonia and nitrites.
• Reverts back to oxygen quickly, leaving nodetrimental residues when used correctly,but leaving the water saturated with oxygen
• Is economical and non-polluting when used correctly.
• Can be used as a sterilising agent to killviruses, bacteria and other pathogens,before, during and after water is used forre-circulation.
• Improves biological and mechanical filtrationby burning off proteins and ammoniastraight to nitrates.
• Lowers biological oxygen demand and raisesREDOX potential in the water (the abilityof the water to oxidise pathogens).
• It can oxidise long chain molecules, such ashydrocarbons and other potential pondpollutants which cannot be achieved by anymechanical or biological filtration.
For our Koi ponds, in order to dose the pondwater with the correct amount of Ozone safelywe have to install an Ozone generator and amethod of introducing the Ozone thus generatedinto the water in order to achieve the correctlevel of disinfection. We then have to remove theOzone from the water before it returns to thepond in order to prevent it coming into contactdirectly with our Koi – which would have lethal consequences.
This is achieved by passing dry air through anelectronic ‘gizmo’ that generates Ozone by
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 39
KOIPHEN Monitoring System
passing a high voltage electrical dischargethrough the air passing through the unit. TheOzone thus created is then drawn into a specialprotein skimmer especially designed for thepurpose via a venturi and into a water flow whichis pumped from the pond through the proteinskimmer. When the Ozone comes into contactwith the water it quickly ‘burns’ off pollutingorganic material and breaks down back intoOxygen. However even though this process takesonly milliseconds to seconds the water is bubbledthrough around three metres of piping before it isreturned to the pond to ensure that all the Ozonehas done its job and reverted to Oxygen.
As well as disinfecting the water and killingbacteria, viruses and free swimming parasites,the Ozone also kills blanket weed and algal cells.This means that the UV is no longer requiredand is redundant. Also the water returned to thepond is saturated with oxygen so that the biolog-ical filter is able to work at its full potential andstrictly speaking, air pumps also thereforebecome redundant.
Ozone is so powerful that it is like having apermanent and very strong dose of ChloramineT or Potassium Permanganate in the pond,without any of the side effects. As the Ozone alsoburns off proteins, organics and ammonia waterclarity is improved enormously and the watersparkles to the point where the colour of the Koiis not impeded in any way by the depth of water,and Koi that have pure white skin at the surfacealso have pure white skin 6 feet down.
For us as Koi keepers, the other major advantageof Ozone in our pond systems is that it virtuallyeliminates the risk of cross infection betweenKoi. So, even if a fish is introduced into the pondenvironment which itself is ill, or carrying abacterial disease, this is much less likely to betransmitted to other Koi. Further, any treatmentemployed to an infected Koi has a muchimproved chance of working effectively as theKoi are living in a much cleaner environment,
biologically speaking – i.e. in an environmentcontaining very few harmful pathogens.
This is especially noticeable when topicallytreating surface wounds, which once cleaned,heal much faster.
Similarly if parasites were present on certain Koi,the water would still need to be medicated toeradicate the parasites on the body of the Koiaffected. Any medication used however, will workmore effectively as the pond water is maintainedat a much higher quality, with a higher REDOXpotential and with much less biological Oxygendemand (BOD).
How do we measure the correct dosing of Ozonein the pond water? The ozone dosing is measuredin millivolt terms and is expressed as the REDOXlevel of the water. Normal pond water will have aREDOX level of around 200mv. Sterile water hasa REDOX level of around 600mv. The Ozonegenerator is designed to automatically regulatethe ozone dosing to keep the REDOX level ataround 380mv, so that the water is not sterile oranything like, since it could not then support life.
For the scientific among us What is a REDOX reaction?
A chemical reaction in which electrons areremoved from one atom (which is therebyoxidised) and added to another (which is thereby reduced).
What is Oxidization? Oxidization is the process that causes steel andiron to rust, a garden hose to dry up and crackand an apple to shrivel & go brown once cutopen and is also responsible for the degenerationor ‘rusting’ of our bodies, causing cellular break-down. Oxidization or oxidative stress has beenlinked to many degenerative and chronic diseasesincluding heart disease and cancer. It is alsoresponsible for premature ageing. Oxidizationpermanently disrupts and damages cell structure
Page 40 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
What Causes Oxidization? Oxidization is caused by oxygen molecules thatare missing an electron, making them unstable.Oxygen cannot exist in this unstable form andhas to be stabilised. The molecules collide withhealthy, stable molecules be they in metal, a hose,an apple or living cells and then ‘steal’ anelectron in order to stabilize themselves. Thisdamages and de-stabilizes the molecule that theyhave collided with leaving it now missing anelectron itself. The formerly healthy molecule isnow itself an unstable free radical and will alsotry to stabilise itself by colliding with anotherhealthy molecule and ‘stealing’ one of its elec-trons. This creates a knock-on effect thatdamages and destroys living cellular structure,and in our pond environment this includes parasites, viruses, bacteria, algae or any otherliving organism.
I have only had the units installed now for about8 weeks and it is much too early to assess the fullimpact that the systems are having on the pond
environments. Initially on older systems, theOzone has to burn off much of the ponddetritus, algae, blanket weed etc., before it canachieve the desired water quality. It is thereforerecommended that pond systems are cleaned outas much as possible in order to achieve ultimateperformance in the shortest time.
In both my systems where the units have beenfitted, the water quality has fluctuated enor-mously as the units have been ‘cleaning’ thesystems for me and only now am I beginning toexperience the water clarity promised. In bothsystems however, there is still much weed growthto clean, and therefore there is still a largeamount of suspended material in the water.Unfortunately, in my case it was not practical forme to move all the fish from these ponds toundertake a complete clean out when I installedthese units, so I am going to have to be patientwhilst the Ozone systems complete the clean upfor me. !
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 41
Page 42 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
• The Fantail is a double-tail goldfish, whichpossesses an egg-shaped, rather deep bodyand paired anal, ventral and pectoral fins.The dorsal fin is large, and should becarried erect. Fantails can grow quite large,with specimens of 10 -12˝ being reported.
• The fantail comes in a variety of colors,including orange, yellow, red, white, oliveor drab green, yellow-brown, calico andblack. Fantails come in metallic, matte, andnacreous scales patterns.
• The primary identifying characteristics of this variety of goldfish are the paired fins(especially the caudal or tail fin), the deep
body, and the high erect dorsal, which isexpected to be from 1/3 to 1/2 the depth ofthe body. Typically, the caudal fin should befrom 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the body, splitfor at least 75% of the length of the tail,with the remaining fins being proportionalto the shape and size of the fish. Unsplit, ortripod tails are to be avoided, and willsometimes result in a disqualification at a show.
• Scalation should be regular and even, andscales should not be missing.
Fantail Goldfish
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 43
Single Color Fantail
Page 44 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
!
American Goldfish Association2014 Goldfish StandardsVariety Name: Fantail Dorsal Fin: Y/N, YTail Type: DoubleSpecial Characteristic: N/A
Description Points
Body Style 25
Coloration 25
Deportment and Condition 25
Finnage 25
Special Characteristics – Finnageand coloration (aditional points) 0
Total 100
Calico Fantail
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 45
Sunshine Column
To Andrea Lynn Duggan
If you never met her, you have missed a lot.There are people you cannot forget and Andrea isone. Always smiling, always full of pep, she wasone of the Metropolitan Chapter members whodrove long distances from the east end of LongIsland to meet once a month in the middle withthose of us from Nassau County or making thetrek out to the Suffolk Chapter when we eventu-ally moved out there.
Andrea was sharp as a tack! She had somethingto say and jumped right in when somethingneeded to be done. She and I clicked right away.I needed her to keep me from being a sometimesbad actor. A short fuse was not my best attribute.Andrea would constantly remind me “We’rehaving fun” when I started getting too seriousabout somebody forgetting to bring somethingas important as the coffee pot. She would kickme under the table when I opened my mouth,just for good luck and a reminder that in anyclub, there are no bosses. “If it isn’t enjoyable,then it will cease to be.” Andrea was a wise andbeautiful teacher in and out of the classroom.Her generosity and strength were her greatestblessings and she shared them with all of us.
I remember when she got the idea to install apond in the courtyard at the school where sheworked. It was a kids’ project. And it was abeautiful pond, too. Andrea went from businessto business collecting donated items (liner, rocks,pump, filter, etc) and even got the janitor to buildit with the children. This is what Andrea was toall of us. Andrea made the world more beautiful.
When she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’sLymphoma, we were devastated, all of us.Nobody who knew Andrea was unaffected by thenews. She asked us to pray. She sent out emailsand notices on Facebook to reassure us all thatshe was “still standing.” Hundreds of family andfriends waited anxiously for each update. Days,months and years went by and she got a clean billof health. We thought we were out of the woods.
She asked us to keep praying because the resultsof her chemo treatment had done some damageto vital organs. She always knew what washappening and she was always there to supportUS! As strange as that sounds, hundreds ormaybe thousands of people who have known andloved Andrea have just lost a very importantfigure in their lives. We have walked throughevery step with her in this terrible illness. I amjust one of them from MAKC.
Thank you, Andrea! Your pain is over. May yourest in peace.
Passed away April 25, 2015, age 60
Please send submissions for our SunshineColumn to - Carolyn Weise, [email protected] ❖
Page 46 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
information see our website - http://www.znapotomac.org/show.htm
September 25–2735th Annual Koi Show Northwest Koi &Goldfish Club (ZNA NW Chapter)Held at Uwajimaya’s, Beaverton, OR, in conjunc-tion with the Festival of Japan. Contact: DarenBeck, Show Chair @ [email protected] or503-507-8510 Joel Rutledge. For more informa-tion visit the club’s website: www.nwkg.org
Have an upcoming Koi event, please send theinformation to [email protected]. We will beglad to include it in future articles.
Don’t forget your own MAKC Club has eventscoming up that can be found in our digitalmagazine or at www.makc.com. We always needvolunteers for meetings and shows. It is amazinghow much you can learn by helping. Takeadvantage of being an MAKC member andparticipate in the club events.
See you soon at a Koi event. ❖
Beginning Balance March 2015 $16,210.22
IncomeAdvertising $475.00Sponsor 30.00Membership 210.00Total Income $715.00
Ending Balance April 2015 $16,925.22
Saving Balance $6,327.15
Club Total BalanceAs if April 2015 $23,252.37
Submitted by Anthony Vitale, New York
❖
Treasurer’s Report
June 12 - 1414th Oregon Koi & Watergarden SocietyRoseburg, OR website: www.oregonkoiandwatergardensociety.comContact Norman Call at [email protected]
June 19 – 21PNKCA Convention(Pacific Northwest Koi Clubs Association)31st Annual Convention and Pond TourandKoi Organisation International1st Ever Wet Lab and Get TogetherHeld at the Red Lion River InnSpokane, WashingtonHosted by Inland Empire Water Garden & KoiSociety. Updated information see our websitewww.pnkca.com
June 26-28Midwest Pond & Koi Society Koi and Gold-fish Show & TradeshowHeld at the Darien Sportsplex.http://www.mpks.org/
July 10-12Tri-State ZNA Koi Show/Anniversary EventHeld at Kodama Koi Garden Kodama in Saddle River, New Jersey.http://tristateznakoi.com/
July 17- 19Puget Sound Koi Club 17th Annual YoungKoi Show Hoshi Koi in Tacoma, WA website: www.pskc.usContact Maggie Post at [email protected] orMonte McQuade at [email protected]
September 11-13ZNA Potomac Koi ShowHeld at Meadowlark Gardens, Virginia; for
On the Road to a Koi Event
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 47
Send your meeting and event information to Carolyn Weise
[email protected] June 3rd for the
July 2015 issue.
M A K C M e e t i n g s a n d E v e n t s
Saugerties Chapter Meetings
Sunday, June 143:00 pmJohn and Jan’s Pond
Future meetings• Sunday July 19 at Paul and
Harriet’s pond• Sunday August 16, Open
Long Island Chapter Meetings• June we’ll host the Annual
MAKC meeting at Bernie’s. Clubmembers will also vote for Officers for the2015/2016 year. The date is not set yet. Wewill be raffling Koi related items and we willbe selling raffles for the Seneye PondMonitoring System drawing in August. Wewill be bringing down Herb Ehrich,Saugerties Chapter VP, to act as "RaffleMaster."
• Pond Tour July 19, 2015, this will be an eventfor all current members of MAKC andmembers at large are also welcome to attend.
• August BBQ looking for a host !
South Chapter
SAVE THE DAYSunday, June 28
The South Region Chapter will hold a meet andgreet meeting on Sunday, June 28, 2015 inArlington, Virginia, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.(Details will be sent via email to members whoare coming.) Come and enjoy a Japanese stylegarden and Koi.
We will share Koi stories, socialize, and exchangeideas about future possible club activities.
A light lunch will be served so we need a head-count. Please RSVP to: [email protected] !
Central Chapter MeetingsSunday, June 7
Bridgewater, N
Future meetings• July 12 Newark, DE-maybe a summer BBQ• August 2 or 9 Bethlehem, PA- guest speaker
Dr. Brian Palmerio• September -open• October 4 in Allentown, PA !
Remember! MAKC members may attendmeetings in any Chapter.
• Sunday September 20, Open • Sunday October 18, at Herb’s pond• Sunday November 15, at Masonic Lodge in
Saugerties• Sunday December 13, at Holiday Dinner at
Roe and Herb’s
Contact Herb Ehrich for further informationabout upcoming meetings - email Herb [email protected] ❖
Page 48 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Disclaimer: MAKC and its officers assume noresponsibility for claims of advertisers or thequality/serviceability of goods offered.
F O R S A L E
Remember any MAKC member can list theirKoi, pond, or related items for sale here in yourmagazine at no charge. Please contact Joanntoday if you have something for sale.
BAMBOO. Winter hardy and tropical forindoors. Thinning collection. Reasonable prices.Call Ron Altman, NY 718-442-1673 (Office) or908-658-3055 (H).
F..A..S..T.. Ads – June
F..A..S..T.. Ads Policy & Deadlines
F..A..S..T.. Ads are available FREE toMAKC members only; no commercialads. Ads are limited to 10 items andmust include name, phone number,town and state. Deadline is the 1st ofeach month.
Help do you have an hour or two? We need a volunteer to manage this page.Please contact
Joann Mead [email protected]
W A N T E D
KOI. Foster Home. Large natural pond. Happy to accept your overgrown or unwanted“children.” Call Rich Menashe in Metuchen, NJ, 732-767-0720.
KOI. Wanted Healthy Pond Grade KOI over 10˝.Will pay reasonable prices. I have a 750,000gallon pond and will adopt any unwanted KOI.Call Joseph Pollock in Virginia at 540-788-9222.
KOI. Wanted for large deep natural pond next tosoon to be built wine tasting room in winecountry of Northern Virginia. Happy to acceptany and all Koi of any size and color. Stop by andvisit them next year when our tasting roomopens. Call Mark Malick in Purcellville, VA, 540-270-3399 (cell).
KOI BITO MAGAZINES – in good condition.Send list with asking price, or call Roger Klocke701-491-2803, E-mail at [email protected] address: Roger Klocke,4805 Meadow Creek Dr., Fargo, ND 58104.
KOI STORE EMPLOYEE. Looking for a knowledgeable Koi and pond hobbyist. Part-time, competitive pay. Outstandingemployee discounts! Call John at Blue RibbonKoi Products. 703-753-7566.
MAKC SECRETARY AND MAKC SALESPOSITIONS – are open; please contact clubpresident Joann Mead for more information onhow you can fill one of these positions. Joann Mead 845-389-5713 or [email protected]. !
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 49
ABC Pond Book . . . . . . . . . .23
Hikari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3, 8
Kodama Koi Farm . . . . . . 8, 18
Koi Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Mazuri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8, 15
Microbe-Lift . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Nisei Koi Farm . . . . . . . . . 8, 30
Pentair Aquatic
Eco-Systems, Inc. . . . . . 8, 36
Quality Koi Company . . . 8, 30
Rainbow Koi . . . . . . . . . . .8, 20
Smart Koi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Total Koi Food . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Tri-State ZNA Koi Show . . . .14
Mid-Atlantic KoiAd Index
Advertise in Mid-Atlantic Koi!
Ad Rates from $15/issue* for a business card ad to $300/issue*
for a full page color ad.
Reach your target audience of Koikeepers & water gardeners each month
and leave your competition in the dust!!
Contact Joann Mead at
845-389-5712 (leave message) or e-mail:[email protected]
to request information on our advertiserpackages and/or a copy of
our ad rate sheet.*With an annual 10 issue contract.
Join or RenewYour Membership
Submit Your MAKCMembership Form by printingout page 51 and mailing it in.
Do it today, it only takes a couple of minutes.
Next issue learn about the Goldfishvariety the Ryukin.
Page 50 Mid-Atlantic Koi June 2015
Picture to Share –Koi Horoscope
Inland Koi Society Develops New Horoscope12 Animals Replaced by 12 Koi Varieties
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the Japanese,working with the Inland Koi Society, had gotten hold of thelunar calendar before the Chinese did? What if the 12 monthswere created using Koi varieties for your horoscope? Therewould be no ox, rat, snake, tiger, dog, dragon, sheep, monkey,rooster, pig, rabbit, or even a horse – just Koi varieties. Whatsign are you in this imaginary Koi horoscope?
Do you have a picture to share? Please send them to the Editor,Carolyn Weise.
June 2015 Mid-Atlantic Koi Page 51
Mid-Atlantic Koi Club (MAKC)Individual/Family Application
Mid-Atlantic Koi Club (MAKC) is an association of Koi, goldfish and water-garden enthusiasts who gather to expand their knowledge and appreciationof the hobby. The club meets at convenient regional locations in theMid-Atlantic area. We also publish an informative monthly online magazine (bi-monthly in Nov/Dec & Jan/Feb).
The Family/Individual Membership dues are $30 per year. Membership renewal date is one yearafter membership application has been accepted. You will be notified when your membership isup for renewal.
Please provide the following information:
Date ___________ New Member _____ Renewing Member ____
Name_______________________________________________________
Address _________________________ City ___________________ State _____Zip _______
Phone _______________ E-mail____________________________________________
Please check all subjects in the following list that interest you, or that you would be ableto assist the club with: _____ Have a Club meeting at your home_____ Pond construction, maintenance, filtration theory and practice _____ How to select Koi – their diseases and treatment _____ Feature your pond for members to visit or be featured on a Pond Tour _____ Share a special skill or knowledge at a meeting_____ Volunteer in the club (circle choices) President, Vice President, Recording Secretary,
Membership Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster, Marketing _____ Are there any fish or pond related problems you need help with? If so, what kind?____________________________________________________________________________We do not sell/offer/trade/distribute member information to outside enterprisesPlease mail membership application along with a check (payable to MAKC) to our MembershipSecretary or bring it to any meeting. You can also pay via credit card at www.Paypal.com. OurPayPal account email address is [email protected] You will be notified when your membership is up for renewal.
Do not wish to have name published in Membership Directory please check box _______
MAKC PO Box 91Ulster Park, NY 12487Phone Number (845) 389-5712E-mail: [email protected]
Ballot 2015-2016 MAKC OfficersFor each Office, vote for the nominated candidate by placing a check in the boxor by writing in your vote in the space provided
PRESIDENTJoann Mead (Incumbent)
___________________________ (Write-In)
VICE PRESIDENTHerb Ehrich (Incumbent)
___________________________ (Write-In)
SECRETARY ___________________________ (Write-In)
TREASURERAnthony Vitale (Incumbent)
___________________________ (Write-In)
CENTRAL CHAPTER VICE PRESIDENTBruce Damme (Current VP)
Leonard Kuker
LONG ISLAND VICE PRESIDENTBruce Levine (Current VP)
___________________________ (Write-In)
SAUGERTIES/NORTH CHAPTER VICE PRESIDENTHerb Ehrich (Current VP)
___________________________ (Write-In)
SOUTH CHAPTER VICE PRESIDENTAlan Mickelson (Current VP)
___________________________ (Write-In)
Signature: _______________________________ Date: ____________________
Only one vote per MAKC membership: email: [email protected]
Or snail mail: MAKC,PO Box 91, Ulster Park, NY 12487
Ballot must be recieved by Friday, June 12, 2015
