8 replies to this topic

[Den]

Went to the koi show last weekend, what a fantastic event and great bunch of people! had a great day and picked up some really nice little koi at a bargain price.

 

Here is a video of the show and the champion fish on display, interviews with the club President, Champion koi keepers and breeders and they also discuss the release of KHV, hope you enjoy.

 

 

Cheers

Den

Edited by Den, 17 June 2016 - 12:16 AM.

[Buccal]

Ha ha, good to see Alan Bennett still super passionate about his koi,,, his family are extremely lucky he still puts them first and not his koi lol,,,,, he is fully submersed in his passion.
I have a few bloodlines I paid pretty pennies for from him,,, he breeds breathtaking quality,, as do a few others from the club.

All those guys go to a lot of effort for those shows and club meetings,,, setting up all those holding pens and carting around their prides of joy show winning koi.

Also good to see Cons face again on there,,, he's a Pcs member (garlic shrimp), top bloke and great koi,, putting a lot of effort into it.

The reality of the virus is seen differently between fishos and scientists without fish passion,,, why in all of this, is it always the most effected, that is the least heard.

We need a Nelson Mandella of the fish world to voice our opinions lol.
It would be horrible to lose my koi, to a system that boils my blood,,,, that's a very big problem of today's world,,, there are many people always acting in their best interests,,, there's always someone rubbing their hands together picking up a contract to make big dollars,,,, and doing so with total disregard for those effected,,,, it seems if government can't make money out of these things then there's no help and even more disgusting, the lack of any consideration or hearing at all.

[Den]

After going to this koi show Im now a bit hooked on koi, there was so many awesome fish, Im looking at building a bigger pond, the one I have is ok size but its not ideal depth for koi.

[Buccal]

Just know that,, when researching pond depths, that the European and other places that freeze over in winter, suggest a particular depth that leaves the bottom 400mm unfrozen for fish to live.
600mm deep would be my preferable minimum depth,,, my pond now is 800mm at shallow end and 1000mm at other end,,,, really pay attention to your KH,,,, if my KH falls under 6 or less,, all my koi start breaching the surface like a whale with the odd flash on the bottom.
Sodium bicarbonate and calcium chloride makes my koi happy and play with each other and Definetely deepens their colors.

I've got contacts in Mandurah that have killed awesome koi also, likely the best if you need their details from me,,, but I'd check with them first,,,,, many good lines here are descendants from prize winners in Hiroshima.

Producing good quality of ten fish out of ten thousand is incredible hard work,,, and the way our Perth climate is,, it always pans out that the heaviest culling sessions always coincide with heat waves lol.
Majestic fish,,, absolute poetry seeing all my mates stand around with beers in their hands at my ponds edges just staring at the 18 or so monsters cruzing around with amazing color and pattern variances,,,,, and at least 70% of my stock fit into proper categorization,, like Showa, Sanki, Utsuri, Hi-utsuri, Kahaku, ogon and so on.

And Den,, those Clark rubber kids pools are the bomb for cheap effective breeding pens and growout pens.
Ask Alan about the bleaching method used on koi eggs to stop the forever fungal issues.
Really good fun selective breeding them.
Koi are Definetely a must for me,,, when they are kept correctly,, they are not those scared twitchy skinny crappy things you see in most people's ponds.

[Den]

Thanks for the info, I like the raised ponds with a glass viewing panel, if I do it thats what I will probably go for, with a sloping bottom to allow the waste to catch on one side, and a surface skimmer off coarse. Im going to sit on it until the summer, and if I still have the time and the drive for it I will probably make another pond, though the one I already have is OK, just a bit shallow, the deeper end is probably around 60-70cm, I will see how the 10 koi go in there.

 

You are right the show fish are a sight to see, what also impressed me was the owners who seem really dedicated to their hobby and prize their fish, and they strive to get the best quality foods and water conditions for their fish, which is what I like to see in a hobby.  

 

I cant recommend more highly for more people in the cichlid hobby to get out and see the koi show and try to talk to the fish owners, I found the experience pretty inspirational.

[dazzabozza]

Cool video clip and nice save by The Fish Vet, that fish almost carked it!

Ian MacGregor (PCS Life Member) also makes an appearance. Lots of concern around the possible deliberate release of KHV.

[Buccal]

Most people don't realize that,, koi have 10-20k offspring and usually means a handful of the fittest survive naturally.
But these koi are going through absolute intense selective processes,,, so these fish are selected to fit the Japanese made catorgories.
This means that some weaker individuals are bought through in the nurturing selective processes.
Thus is why some indivual koi may seem sooky or weakish.

And, Den, your words, I could be wrong,, sounds like you've spoken to Alan and you've already been primed coached by him.
If you havnt and your serious, call Alan, and lol, I think I may know you more than you know me,, don't ask how, got my ways.
But your similar to me, I mean thinking, not the fact we are Italian decent lol, but call him and he'll invite you to his house and you can see exactly what you just explained with the view panel,, his is massive, like 33+ thousand liters built into a massive alfresco outdoor living area,,,, he can point out every single koi to you with its entire history,,, before you know it, you have to go home because the sun is setting lol.
A few months later your wife will start hating you because of your obsession with $2k koi lol.

When breeding,, lead up to xmas is always very exciting,, the males really torpedo themselves nose first into females fat bellies towards the rear trying to pop the egg tube into distention so the laying/fertilization process can begin.

Ask Alan for the Hiroshima documentary video,, there's koi the size of small Dolphins on there.
If you think your hooked now,,, wait till you watch the video.....

[Den]

Yes Buccal I had a bit of a chat with Alan, but it was mostly about the fish at the show. I did the filming and editing of this video which took me over 20hours to edit it, about 70% of the video I took had to be cut to keep it under 30mins. The pond ideas is just research I have done over the years, Im always looking at ponds and thinking about how to design them, as I have had a big pond on the back burner for quite some time and when I finally go for it I want to make sure I get it right.

 

Dazza you should have seen that koi when it was at its worst, unfortunately I didnt get to video it because too many people were in the way, she went belly up and stopped breathing, she was practically dead, it was amazing to see Dr Loh and the boys bring a fish that was practically dead back to life! and that was a grand champion koi, Alan said worth about $3000, so lucky to have saved her. 

[dazzabozza]

Wowzers $3000! Def a good place to have The Fish Vet then,