aquatic life
Before filling the pond, check all your plumbing connections are secure. If the pond is concrete ensure your Mason did a good job, make sure there are no holes or cracks. Clean and sweep out the pond as you don’t want to be scooping debris out of the water later. Wash out the pond with clean water, then drain this to waste and refill.
Building a Koi Pond Written By: Mitchel Hird
Part 2
So you have built your Koi Pond and things are about to get exciting, it is time to add life to your empty pond.
The cement used to build your beautiful new pond contains Lime, a strong alkali, it will seep out of the concrete, into the water and kill your new fish. Therefore concrete ponds need an extra step called “Leaching”. The concrete pond must be filled with water and allowed to stand for at least a week, longer is better. This allows the lime to come out of the new concrete and into the water. After leaching the pond, pump out the alkaline water and refill. After a day, test the pH. If the water is still very alkaline then repeat the leaching process for another week. Your local pond shop should be able to test your water if you take them a sample. So now your pond is full, you will no doubt be very anxious to fill the pond with Fish, but now is the time for a little patience. This is harder than you might think, after so much time and effort everyone just wants to see their pond filled with fish… but this is potentially a costly mistake, because first you need BACTERIA! Your pond pump and filter does two jobs, firstly it removes solids, just like a sieve. These are things like dust, fish waste, uneaten food etc. We call this “Mechanical filtration.” It is mainly to keep the water clear so you can see the fish. However the filter does a second, more important job, it removes the ammonia! When you feed your fish they will excrete ammonia. If you have ever smelled a bottle of cleaning ammonia you know how pungent it is. Ammonia burns and damages living tissue, especially the delicate gills and skin of fish. Here is the interesting part, there are some special microscopic Bacteria that will take up residence in your filter and detoxify the ammonia. Without these useful creatures pond keeping would be almost impossible. But there’s a catch, the Bacteria take time to grow naturally and you only ever have enough to cope with the number of fish you have at any one time. When you add more fish the amount of ammonia excreted into the pond increases and it takes about six weeks for the bacteria to multiply to cope with the extra ammonia. If you add too many fish all at once the ammonia accumulates and can cause big problems. So in a brand new pond it’s important to add fish slowly, just add two or three to begin with. The best way is to gradually add fish over the coming weeks and months monitoring the ammonia with a simple test kit. This will ensure your pond will have a trouble free start. Koi are a domesticated strain of Carp. First created by selective breeding in Japan hundreds of years ago. For avid enthusiasts every aspect of the fish is important, body shape, pattern and colour. The very best examples can fetch staggering amounts, upwards of US$1 million. These top quality Koi come exclusively from Japan where Koi farmers with generations of experience strive to create the most beautiful Koi. The truth is that this top end of the market is
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very small, partly because it is so difficult to breed these elite Koi. A Japanese breeder might work his entire life breeding many millions of Koi over a career and still not be fortunate enough to produce a single Koi of a World class standard.
The most expensive Koi ever sold at Auction for US$1.8Million
Just like breeds of Dog, there are specific patterns, over 200 types exist and each type is referred to by an exotic sounding Japanese name. The names and history behind Koi add to the fascination Koi keepers have for these captivating fish. Take for example the “Ochiba Shigure,” this is a grey koi with brown patches. The name means “Autumn leaves on the water” a Charismatic name for a fish! The name describes its pattern of brown “autumn leaves” that have fallen on to a grey “water” background.
There are over 200 koi varieties, pictured is an Ochiba Shigure
Despite the headline grabbing price tags at the top end of the Koi market, the truth is that most Koi bred in Japan cost approximately $100 to $200. As a result of the careful selective breeding by the Japanese, the Koi they produce grow bigger and maintain their shape, colours and patterns and usually improve with age. That said, Koi are also bred in other countries like the USA and Israel. These are usually high volume/lower quality farms with koi destined for sale in Garden centres and pet shops. Even here in the Barbados there are back yard breeders growing their koi at home, or in cane ground ponds for sale. Whilst these fish might not be perfect they are colourful and often an affordable way to get started in the hobby. ISSUE 4 | ANIMAL TALK | 13
