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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Cheap Koi - oh really?

Just had a phone call that makes me wonder. If you are keeping Koi, in a Koi pond, why on earth is R300 (our more or less entry price for a Koi) too much money to spend? 

You need to feed the fish for, say, the next 20 or 30 years assuming nothing happens to it. 

You need to spend the electricity to run the pond.

You need to spend on the water to go into the pond. 

You need to spend your valuable time, effort and energy at the same time. 

You will occasionally need to medicate the pond. 

And of course you need the pond in the first place, hardly a cheap exercise in and of itself!

We're often talking about getting back to basics - understanding the nature of the animal and what it takes to care for it is only the beginning. It worries me that people who think R300 is expensive for a Koi simply have no idea what they are getting themselves, and the Koi, into. 

Monday, February 25, 2013

Diaries of a Koi Advisor

There is no such thing as a 'small' Koi pond. If there were, we'd have a far bigger market than we do. 

Koi are fish that are the elephant of the ornamental fish world. You cannot keep an elephant in a mouse cage - it is cruel to attempt to do so. 

Koi do not grow to the size of the pond they are in. Koi are selectively bred carp that have been many generations in the making with size being the single most important criterion, even before pattern.

A typical Koi bred today can expect a minimum size of 65 to 70cm with the vast majority exceeding 75cm and heading well over 85cm when fully grown, which can be in as little as 7 or 8 years. 

This is a massive fish. It cannot be reasonably expected to live in a bath tub. Not can it be reasonably expected to live on a starvation diet. 

As a Koi owner you have the responsibility to ensure the well being of your Koi. This requires a Koi pond of suitable size along with suitable filtration that can cater for your pet.

A Koi pond should not be anything less than 10 000 litres.There should never be more than 10 Koi in this pond at any time, IRRESPECTIVE of size!

Filtration should be sufficient to cater for 10 full grown adult Koi! This cannot be achieved with small filters. Simple physics dictates you need space and you need capacity. Small filters simply cannot have the physical capacity required. 

Koi keeping is, as a result, not a cheap hobby. You need to be fully aware that it is not a fad, it is a multi decade long commitment you are undertaking. Go in with your eyes wide open!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

BioEarth

10 kg lasts me around two and a half months on my 80kl pond at home.

Clay addition

Its not green! Just weekly addition of BioEarth after the filter backwash... :-)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

tULiP

The first prototype tULiP up and running. One or two little issues and fine tuning taking place but on the whole working exactly as intended which is great news.

Friday, February 08, 2013

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

February off to a bang

February is already here and it's off to an absolute flyer this 2013! We have released a lot of Koi from quarantine and will be posting pics and prices shortly. Stay tuned!