Site for beginners?

[Tamus]

Hello all,

I have been reading some of your post and it is all really far over my head. I was wondering if you knew of a site for people new to the hobby? I built a small pond last spring after having a tree removal company leave me a big hole in my yard and my wife talked me into making it into a pond. I spent most of the summer just trying to keep fish alive and this spring I am building an above ground portion to increase the total water mass and with it more fish I don't know what the fancy names stand for and at this point I just buy 10 inch long koi that look neat, but I am quickly wanting to get more involved.(found a site that had a picture next to each name and I went through trying to name my mutts since they are all very poor specimens I am sure)
I am trying to get things running well before I start buying expensive ones and there seems to be a large information gap between me, the guy that bought some random colored fish from a pond store, and you guys that breed fish and have owned some of your fish for 20 years.
I appologise for taking up your time since I have no input to benefit you all I am just a new guy that doesn't really know how to get to where you all are, but wants to.
Thank you
Todd

[JasonS]

You sound like me from only a few years back... well, maybe six years ago.

Advice: join your local koi club. I thought I should know everything before joining the club. Boy was I wrong!

Join a club. See what others have done. Choose your path and learn from others mistakes.

Wish I'd joined my club earlier!

[Tamus]

I checked into that and the town I live in is very small Ardmore, OK and the pond and garden club that was in existance closed up shop because as I am told was only a few people that had been friends for years and didn't see the reason to keep a club going when it was just them. The store I bought the fish from is more of a pet store with a couple pond things since the lady that was running it has since moved on to other things. I go to that store and they just want to sell me something and when it becomes apparent that they aren't going to make a sale I become a nuisance. I got in touch with a couple of the people that made up the garden and pond club and they were very old and home bound. I have been told that stressing out your fish is a bad thing so I don't assume that bagging up a sick fish and driving him accross town to show one of them is a good idea.
It doesn't seem like this would be to place to ask about my ignorant questions since I don't even know enough to give enough information to be helpfull in getting a question answered. For instance I have a butterfly koi that has been laying on his side for the last 3 days when I fed the fish he swam up with the rest and ate, but when nothing is going on he lays on his side. I can't see anything apparantly wrong with him and if I make a move to try and catch him he takes off quickly. I would hate to drag him out of the water to check on him, but laying on his side is a indicator that something is wrong since none of the others are behaving as such and they all were introduced at the same time. As you can see I don't know and to you experienced people a 10 inch long 20 dollar fish is less than you folks probly pay in food, but without knowledge there is no way I can convince my wife that I can go buy more and more stuff

[aquitori]

Just ask any question and I am sure this board can answer it, remember we were all just like you in the beginning...We are all still learning til this day.. So shot the first question...........Remember, at some point we like to get stumped once and awhile.

[Ruth Rice]

Tamus we usually have to travel an hour or two (or more) to attend meetings. Just depends on how much you want to learn. When we started out we didn't have the internet so you have an advantage by being able to post questions. There is nothing like being able to see other peoples' ponds and filters though. Most fish health problems are caused by bad water quality.
Do you have test kits and can you tell us more about your pond? Is there mulm or leaves on the bottom of the pond?

[Mike T]

Tamus:

Akai San started on this board about 6 months ago... he's asked almost every question about pond construction and raising koi, he's gone from "How thick should the bottom of a pond be" to "How best to breed Koi" and everything in between, including "Moving to Japan"...

I would think he's quite knowledgeable on theory and he's gotten most if not all his information from this board... Someday he may even build a pond, and buy a fish or two... When he does, he'll do it right, because of what he's learned here...

If you have pressing health questions, koivet.com is a good source of information...

Stick around, review some of the older threads and you should do OK... some very good people frequent this site...

Aloha! Mike

[bekko]

A good place to start is to read a couple of koi-keeping books (not water garden books). Right now, you should probably concentrate on the environmental aspects (pond design, filtration, water quality, etc) and worry about the koi aspects (varieties, selection, appreciation, etc) later. The fish you have are probably perfect for teaching you how to keep them alive.

As Ruth says, you should get some test kits and check your water quality. Start with temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and alkalinity. With that information, and a detailed description of your pond, the people here can evaluate your situation and make suggestions.

Listen to your wife and do some serious research before making any significant investments. It is said that koi keeping is an expensive hobby. Well, that's true to some extent, but the only really expensive part is the mistakes. Investments which bring enjoyment for many years into the future turn out to be very cost effective.

You are going to be surprised at how fast you can catch on to the basics of koi if you are willing to invest some time. People here will gladly respond to any question as long as it is specific enough that it can be answered in a paragraphs, not pages. Asking "how do you keep koi" won't work because the answer requires a book. Your task is to figure out to best utilize this place as a resource. Welcome.

-steve hopkins

[Tamus]

Thank you all for your replies. The basics I can give so are these, but I don't know all the amonia parts because the people at the store test that for me once a month based on a sample I bring in to them ( should I check it more than that?)
I currently have a 400 gallon pond made with a liner set in the ground (depth between 14 land 20 inches) with a two 400 gallon/per hour pumps one gores through a filter box and comes down a lilttle 5 inch waterfall the other is split between a spitting frog and ceramic planting pot with rocks and sand that I was told would somewhat act as a filter of course now most of my plants are still dead from winter but I have to lilly pads a bunch of parrot feather, another underwater leafy tube shapped stalks which survived the winter whos name escapes me at the moment, an aquatic elephant ear, a white globe, and a texas star. Wife likes that plants so we get a lot and I was told that aslong as it isn't completely covered more plants is a good thing. I have 6 koi around 10 inches long and two 2 inch gold fish that made it through the worst of times and I haven't been able to take them out yet. I did get a lot of leaves in the pond because there are a lot of trees but I get most of them out on my weekends. I will go get a test kit today for the ammonia and nitrates I have a PH tester and it stays in the lower 7s area. But now I have to get to work hopefully I will be ale to give you more information when I get back.

[Bern]

The advice about joining a local koi clubs is good, as in addition to advice you can also get hands-on assistance for any project you undertake.

But if there isn't one close then there is nothing you can do about it, except maybe start one sometime in the future.

In the meantime the web is your oyster. I can't comment on US sites, but if you are prepared to make allowances (and adjustments to gallonage) then I can recommend the following two UK ones.

1. Koichat.com
2. The YKS (Yorkshire Koi Society) one.

rgds Bern

[Bob Winkler]

Todd,


How far from OKC are you? There is a very active club there. Also, Tulsa has the AKCA seminar this June. Both are good possibilities for you it seems.

I may have missed it in your posts, but what is the temp of the pond? and is it covered?