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You mentioned the fundamental issue, JR... success in keeping a very large fish.
So many of these 'new ideas' work fine until the fish grow, or if the fish becomes stunted due to poor water, etc. So many people who get koi simply do not understand that they are intended by Nature to grow large. When we had a pond tour last May, I had folks repeatedly saying 'they grow to fit the size of the pond'. Whenever I heard that, I'd say: 'Actually they grow until they are too big for the pond system. Then you get troubles, unless the pond and stocking rate are sized to work together.' It's like all the Pacu and Red-Tailed Catfish sold to the teenager with a 20 gallon aquarium. It's ridiculous and doomed. I have no fundamental objection to small koi being treated as annuals. If they weren't, most would be culled anyway... either means of death is unpleasant. But I do object to the profit-making based on deception, and misleading information generally.
The folks who trumpet these 'new ideas' or new products should disclose their degree of personal success in raising a koi for 5 years to full mature size using their idea or product. Some would surely prove wonderful for the first year of a koi's life, but not suited to the adult fish... rather like what suits that cute 2" Pacu as it grows to a 24" dinner-plate. A playpen is fine for controlling and protecting the baby, but it takes a lot more as the baby becomes a toddler, a teen and eventually an adult.
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