How Often Do You Bowl Your Koi?

[Steve E]

Just wondering if most of you bowl your koi to get a closer view of their progress. Things like growth, weight, skin finish, ulcer development on the ventral side, etc. If so, how often do you do this? Does handling with a net and bowl help to reduce stress related to showing?

Steve

[Akinosan]

It seems logical that the more you handle your fish, the less they will be effected by it. Some fish seem to deal with it better than others.

[dick benbow]

sTEVE ALL OF MY KOI ARE ASAGI ( IN MY POND) and they're nuts to try and handle. So I don't. Twice a year. once in the spring to the outside pond and once in the fall inside. I can tell you that those who handle thiers every so often have an easier time each time in handling as they adjust and relax more to it.
I would think at feeding time you should get a good enough look at them to see if anything is wrong.

[MikeM]

My koi seldom see a net. If they were not being bowled to take a picture or caught to go to a show, they'd never be bowled. I know exactly how many times my oldest koi has been in a net. She was caught to move from the lily pond where she was hatched to a pond intended for koi, caught to place in a holding tank when the pond was enlarged and again when moved to the enlarged pond, caught again to go in a holding tank when the current pond was built and caught again to be placed in the current pond. That's 5 times. She is in her 12th year. (Never bowled for pics because not worth photographing!)

...but, then, I've never had an ulcer on a koi I've owned for more than 30 days. And, maybe that's why they can be so hard to catch?

[aquitori]

I bowl my fish only when I see something to get a closer look....you shouldn't have to disturb the fish too much unless something is wrong.

[Steve E]

Part of my thinking about this subject was regarding show fish. Many koi keepers seem to have ponds that are built at or just above ground level. The normal view point would be from 3-4' above or away from the surface if seated and between 5-7' if standing. Show tanks are about 3' above ground and smaller in surface area, plus judges will bowl a koi for a closer look. Not having any real show quality koi at this time (saga of the pond remodel) I am interested in how closely some of you monitor the progress of your koi. In my case the finished pond will be 13' at the widest and 34' long. This is a large surface area if I want to evaluate one particular koi on one particular day. Or is you evaluation of your show koi a constant pleasure of viewing.

Can one get a good enough view of their koi from a seated position to completely evaluate the condition of skin (luster, fukurin, etc.) as well as their growth? Is it important for evaluation of the development of the koi for show to keep records of actual length and weight?

Steve

[PapaBear]

I only net mine if I have to, which is rarely. Since moving our adults to the pond they are in only one of them has been netted, and that is only because she was in distress (ph spike). Come to think of it, we didn't even use the net. My wife simply gathered her up with her hands and after 2 days in the q-tank she went back to the pond the same way.
My fry have been netted twice. Once for culling during summer and most recently when I brought them in to evaluate and grow out over the winter. I just hate to stress them and chance banging up their skin and scales unless I have to.
I suppose if I had $$$$ show koi I would have to make some adjustments to my approach.
About an hour ago I netted a Yamabuki by accident while scooping leaves out of the pond (fall in oklahoma) and bowled it for a picture just because it was convenient. In the 5 minutes it took the gills reddened badly and likely would have begun to bleed if I hadn't gotten it back to the pond quickly.

[MikeM]

Steve, you seem to only be getting responses from those of us who seldom catch our fish. There are koikeepers who give their fish a close examination on a relatively regular basis, say monthly or bi-monthly, doing scrape/scope examinations, as well as measuring and taking photos. These guys are attentive to every detail. Their fish adjust to the handling. ... In my old pond I would get in the pond with the fish weekly. They would swim up to me, I could run my fingers along their backs and they were fine. My new pond is too deep for that. When I lowered the water to waist deep to take photos a couple of weeks ago, the fish stayed as far away from me as they could. They cowered in a school. None of the easy, slow gliding by my legs they way they did 6 months ago.

[Steve E]

Thanks Mike. I was hoping to hear from those who are really into showing and/or best development of their koi.

Steve

[Bob Winkler]

Hi Steve,

We bowl all our "existing" koi a minimum of once per year if there have been no visible health problems, or behavior changes. Photos, Measurement, Microscope, gill and skin exams. You would be surprised how much they change from year to year. B4 I took yearly photos, I was not nearly as aware of just how much that was.

Of course, with new arrivals, the procedure is more like once every week or two until out of quarantine. There is a bit of stress to the koi involved, but not much if done well, IMHO. They don't seem to mind much. Well, the big ones don't, any tosai are always a bit skittish.