[MikeM]

I've been staying indoors catching up on my reading as Hurricane Dennis goes past. I came across an interview of Masayoshi Kakayama of Ogawa Fish Farm published in the March 1995 Rinko in which he insists that mud ponds should not be used for koi who have not been in one for three years. He explains:

"Mostly, such a koi will die in the muddy pond, or change for the worse. It is given food satisfactorily by the keeper and lives a comfortable life in the pond fully equipped with a filter tank and a purifying tank. Therefore, the koi kept in the pond rich in oxygen adapts itself to surroundings and can breathe easily. No dirt comes into the gills, so the functions of the gills deteriorate. That is, it is overly protected. Once that the koi overly protected for three years is put into muddy pond, it is natural that it should die from a sudden change in environment."


Then, in the mid-June (2005) issue of electronic Rinko, an article on raising male koi for show suggests that they should not be kept in mud ponds after age 2, because they will grow longer, without gaining bulk. Nisai males desired for show should be raised in filtered ponds so the easy life will let them be lazy and become fat.

We "always" read and hear of the wonders of the mud pond. So, it is curious to read different perspectives, separated by a decade, but both perceiving the mud pond as a physical challenge and the hobbyist pond as a life of ease.

....as always with the blurbs I share from my reading, I am not vouching for the views expressed.