A "Newbies" survival kit....

[aquitori]

A "Newbies" survival kit, what lessons should be in this kit?

[KoiCCAPW]

Well, let's see... don't visit an Aquascape dealer.

Seriously, join a local club. I think this should be a must.
Then visit local dealers, often. See what Koi should look like, as opposed to 'wallyfish'.
Then buy, borrow or beg good books and videos, to increase knowledge.
And then, check out your local forum!

But do you mean kit as in what stuff to keep on hand? That one I'm still figuring out!

[saratogatan]

buy a water valve with timer or vol control. they will kill their koi even when they have forgotten to shut off the water.

stan

[Bern]

I am with Barb on this.

1. Join a Koi Club
2. Join a Koi Forum

Excellent advice. Then

3. Do a lot of listening, ask a lot of questions.
4. Proceed with caution.

Get your backside to a couple of local koi shows too.

rgds BERN

[Brutuscz]

lessons...how about quarantine. This is one of the hardest lessons to learn...but one you wont forget. Just learned that one the hard way last year. Onother big lesson is to have your pond wear a belt and suspenders..lol. Had a floating heater in my pond for the winter...a mouse chewed throught the line shorting it out. Then came 2 feet of snow..by the time I melted a hole in the ice, I had lost most of my koi (5yrs ago). Now..I place 3 heaters in the water and plug in one...if it stops working..2 more to just plug in.

..also..keep plenty of dechlorinator on hand...you WILL need it!!!
oh...and use a GFCI on all electrical circuits...it can save your life!!

[danzcool]

Quarantine.
The Nitrogen cycle.
Settlement.
Mechanical filtration.
Biological filtration.
The importance of identifying the cause before treatment.
The wonders of water changes.
Feeding by season.
Filtration maintenance.
Aeration.

[adreamer2]

Filter and pump...

adreamer2

[dick benbow]

Spent today out in the sun working on my japanese garden. As I pondered the question of this thread , I remembered all the time I put in helping to start and nurture two koi clubs and an association of koi clubs. I did learn a lot, made lots of friends...But
the biggest joy today was just weeding around the pond and watching my asagi's turn in tight circles always with an expectant eye on me.... waiting for the hapless worm uncovered in my weeding!
My quince are in full bloom and I 'd hear the hummingbirds racing back and forth across the pond with their metalic buzzing
as they flitted from flower to flower. Would have liked to be able to ask which was sweeter, the toyo nishiki or the red chojubai...It frosted and froze last night. Made me grimmace as i checked on my bonsai early in the morning...No wonder ther japanese beech hasn't bothered to break buds yet. cracy korean hornbeam, it did break bud and probably wished it hadn't!

I think the most important thing for a newbee is to really be willing to put in the time and care and attention it takes to nurture a pond. For example there are those folks who have an animal and they feed and house them but do they spend time with them creating a bond. I think this is vital to develop the love and dedication that has you pouring over every book or koi chat line you can find on a topic of interest to better help your koi. I'm sure for those who don't have koi the thought of creating a bond with a fish would be delightfully hilarious. But i swear even tho I try and sneak up to the pond in the morning to serve her breakfast, Kimiko my magoi blooded asagi is there waiting and looking for me. She rushes over to me as if to say " where have you been Dad, I'm starved" ! She makes me happy when i see her....she has me well trained! LOL!

There were many times over the decades that when my koi got sick, I did some fool thing like let the pond over run with chlorinaded water, or walked out to the pond in the morning to find a blue herron flying off with my favoite tosai that i was ready to give it all up, totally crushed and heart broken. Like any love, when it's bad....it's bad....when it's good...it's fantastic! My wish for all newbees is to hang in there, each learning curve thru painful lessons is to spur you on... not defeat you...and after you've learned enough to keep all your koi well, I wish you time to spend with them...and maybe just a few weeds around the pond that need pulling!

[KoiCCAPW]

Dick,
You have just articulated the core of the hobby for me!
The feeling of enjoying the pond and the wildlife it brings, the sound of the water, the grace of watching the koi swim. It's what brings us back again and again, even with all the problems and headaches that crop up.

What makes me read and learn to improve my pond, is the affection I have for the fish.
I've had some problems with preditors to the point that when my fish hear something unusual they hide and stay there...unless I stomp my foot in the way I do when I feed them. Then they all come rushing out...oooh it's the food person! I've even trained them to two stomps, 1-2-3, three times means " food", 1-2-3 just once means "no food, but it's just me, no need to be scared".
I swear when I do the second stomp they come out just to see, not as excited as the 3Xs stomp, but still relaxed and obviously realizes that it's not a raccoon or heron or even a stranger human, but the food person and a friend. I do the second stomp when I need to do maintenence and they don't get stressed. Maybe I'm fooling myself but they seem pretty well conditioned to my stompings.

Anyway, it's this affection for the fish that makes me clean the filter even when I'm tired and don't want to. Or to plan to spend a ridiculous amount of money to give them a better home!

[koiczar]

Barb

Spending money on rest and relaxation is part of our nature. After all, we deserve a break once in a while. Putting the financial issue in perspective, ponder this. Would you rather take a well deserved vacation (I mean, like a cruise or go to your favorite place), and simply have the memories that ,granted, will last a life time or spend the money on something you can spend your entire life enjoying (along with the memories it bestows). I know what my answer is!!

Mike