Page 51 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 50

nuts who think biology is fantastic and want to learn In turn, I will help by explaining in understandable
more and more about it down to the smallest detail. It
is actually also born out of necessity. I want to learn
more always. And I would like to learn everything from
and about the fish, but I don’t get to visit the Koi often
enough in ‘live’ visual contact. I don’t have the time
(still), more specific, my priority at this point of life lies
elsewhere.
My alternative was studying by reading scientific
articles late into the evening which was always
possible and so I did it and still do. One of the great
advantages of this is that you first learn real details
about the pond and filter system. First learn how to
THE MORE I keep water so to speak, keeping Koi afterwards is I DECIDED
LEARN ABOUT generally a breeze. Better in this order than buying an TO START A
expensive Koi first and throwing it into a pond that just
KOI, THE MORE isn’t up to par, and lacking in pond management, and YOUTUBE
then learn too much about treating fish too quickly.
I REALISE HOW CHANNEL
LITTLE I KNOW And yes, you also learn that from others. Some have FOR ALL KOI
become real specialists in this and we are happy that
ABOUT KOI they are there to ask for help! So you can learn about HOBBYISTS
Koi anywhere and from anyone at any level. I once
heard that a well-known Japanese breeder had a nice WORLDWIDE
description for this:
“The more I learn about Koi, the more I realise how little
I know about Koi.”
Actually, when I think about it, it’s a kind of continuous
evolution throughout the hobby, at every level. One
teaches the other something, and in turn gets help,
and thus knowledge of the other. The teacher becomes
the student, and the student becomes the teacher
again. Beautiful eastern philosophy, you could describe
it as Yin and Yang because it balances itself within
the hobby.
There is a great willingness to share knowledge
between Koi enthusiasts, and we should cherish that
as part of the hobby, as a human being. I hope that
with all my heart and being, because I still have so
much to learn. I want to enjoy Koi so much for years to
come within this beautiful hobby. I know next to
nothing about the fish themselves, so maybe I’ll ask
you one day? Could I do that then?
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language what I myself have been able to learn in the
meantime. I have a background in science and have
had time to read many, many pieces of scientific
literature (some would say it has gone too far, you
nutcase, and you may and are allowed to think so too),
but with data and results that we can use to make
keeping Koi easier. Because that is my goal, keeping
Koi problem free! Only then can you enjoy the hobby.
And yes, you will have to learn something for that first.
The very first basis for that is the story about Nitrogen
(N). Everyone should understand and know this simple
fact. Everything you throw into the pond has to come
out. All the food you throw into the pond contains
substances that are converted into waste. And there are
only a few ways to remove it from the pond. The basis
for this is your pond filter, which must be large enough
to process the waste in the summer, on the hottest day
of the year.
When you throw the most food into your pond in 1 day,
in such a way that the Koi are still not bothered with the
resulting water quality. To write this whole story here I
need many more words than will fit here. I have written
large chunks of it in earlier Koi Net issues which you
might want to read (again?).
But to sum it up even further, in a different way using
easy visuals, I decided to start a YouTube channel. Not
for one Koi association, but for all Koi hobbyists
worldwide, in Dutch (I am Dutch) and English. Why?
Because I believe it’s fun, and if I can teach, help others
to keep Koi, and read a positive comment if I helped
someone. That gives me enough satisfaction. It’s not
my job, I am not part of any Koi business, nor will I ever
be. I tell scientific facts and my assumptions for Koi
keepers based on that in: ‘The School of Koi’. In my
first video I talk about Nitrogen in the Koi pond.
And I invite you to watch it. Ultimately, I want to put as
much of the knowledge I have gained in videos on
many topics here. Koi enthusiasts could sit together,
watch one video and then chat about what this could
mean for their Koi keeping. If Koi hobbyists would get
together and do that, that I would really love to know. In
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