Page 27 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 75

STARTING WITH KOI

David Brown outlines a few items for you
to consider when you start your journey
into keeping Koi.

O ne thing for sure about Koi keepers – we all had
to start somewhere, so when one of our readers
contacted me requesting that I included some
information for the new Koi keepers I decided to get
BEFORE writing. So where do I start? I suppose you need to
decide what you expect from your hobby.
YOU START, There are many things to consider when you decide to

CONSIDER keep Koi, it’s not just a case of digging a hole and
building a pond, it needs careful consideration. There is
WHAT YOU an old saying ‘build a pond once and build it right’, but

WANT FROM times have changed, jobs change, people move, the
new owners of your house may not want a pond, or
THE HOBBY they have children and are afraid of them falling in.

I recently heard of a Koi keeper who was moving abroad
who had a superb 4,000 gallon pond complete with
drum filter and efficient filtration system all set in a
beautiful garden. They wanted to sell their house to a
Koi keeper who would appreciate it, but sadly had to
break up their pond to enable them to sell their house.

Over the years I’ve seen many Koi keepers start in the
hobby, spend thousands setting up the the state-of-
the-art pond, only to find after a few years they have a
number of trophies on display in their house but now
have a new hobby and no further interest in Koi.
Before you start, consider what you want from the
hobby. Many people set out and just want a nice pond
as a feature in their garden where they can enjoy a
This informal pond, with
tastefully planted maples, drink on a summer’s evening and enjoy their Koi, and
palms, pines, lanterns there’s nothing wrong with that. Some of these people
and statues, and a red will become enthusiastic Koi keepers, some will join Koi
traditional Japanese style
bridge crossing the pond Clubs and enter their Koi in Shows. The main thing is to
completes the scene. decide what you expect from the hobby, and enjoy it.

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