The dangers in showing koi....

[JasPR]

Tony, WHO condones KNOWN KHV survivors at a show? JR

[MikeM]

At CFKS all exhibitors must sign a form confirming no known exposure to KHV (and not vaccinated either). Enforcement may be problematical, but the point is to drive home to the new entrant that these are serious issues. Old hands at showing know better. Precautions are taken during the show. No perfectly safe environment is possible without all the fish being hermetically sealed in bags off-site. So, some risk is always going to be present. It is an imperfect world. The hobby will fail sooner from unbridled fear of KHV than from the disease itself.

Can anybody guarantee that a fellow hobbyist does not have a single KHV virus on their hands, that transfers to yours when you greet, that transfers to your fish when you feed them? ... not even a one in a google of a chance over 20 years? ... There are no guaranties. This is real life. Go sit on a mountaintop and ponder the end of the world when the universe collapses. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying my hobby. Please do the worrying for me.

[koiczar]

Thanks Mike,

Well said!

Mike

[Brutuscz]

At the pioneer valley show we had sign something regarding khv. It also included fish that have been given injections or exposure to khv vaccines (IE. Israeli koi). I don't know how much these forms help...but they are worth a shot!!

[MCA]

the forms keep honest people honett. they also help reduce any legal exposure by club. Nothing is perfect. But at least such exclusions show that the show organization means well.

[Graham]

I've worked a number of shows and I don't think I've heard of any one's fish catching anything, let alone KHV within the show ring.

The splash barriers are for the mental comfort of the exhibitors, they do very little to protect the fish in adjacent tanks and IMO are a waste of time....let alone they look like crap. In the 10 years of the Orlando show, where they are not used, has anyone ever heard of a problem.

[Fishbreeder]

At one koi show many years ago (Japanese style) I watched as costia made it from a vendor's tank into the entire show. By Sunday morning all fish in the show were flashing and scratching, which they were not doing on Saturday morning.

I rousted up a microscope and did some scrapes and found the costia. I even got the third degree enough to explain my theory of where they came from.

I wish I'd said something sooner, but I learned not to talk bad about my competitors as this did not make me look any better. One vendor tank was full of koi with clamped fins, and all "spread out" evenly throughout the tank so as not to touch one another. Classic sign of advanced costia infestation. I kept hoping this vendor would not sell a koi that would enter the show. He did, and that began the outbreak.

Nowadays with the English style show, the chances for this to happen are greatly reduced. As I said before, I do not know of anybody ever bringing KHV home from a show they entered fish in.

Brett

[koiczar]

Quote: Originally Posted by Graham ...The splash barriers are for the mental comfort of the exhibitors, they do very little to protect the fish in adjacent tanks and IMO are a waste of time....let alone they look like crap.

I guess we had better tell the Japanese organizers of the Shinkokai AJKS. They've been using the "barriers" for at least 6 years that I know of!

Mike

[Graham]

Quote: Originally Posted by koiczar I guess we had better tell the Japanese organizers of the Shinkokai AJKS. They've been using the "barriers" for at least 6 years that I know of! Mike

Mike just beacuse they are using them doesn't make them useful or required...they are a human mental thing...my fish are safe...a false sense of security. The Japanese are no better than us when it comes to bio-security

Obivously I haven't worked any Japanese shows but I have work many Orlando shows where they are never used and several MAKC and Koi America shows and I can tell you they are a joke...again, a false sense of security for the hobbyist showing fish.

Work a show and you'll understand

G