kennethc
Koi Lover
Oct 24, 2007, 9:47 PM
Post #1 of 5
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This is from the book "Koi Kichi" by Peter Waddington. I'd just like to share this particular excerpt because apart from being inspirational, it never fails to make me smile. Enjoy!
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I, like most others had many set-backs, especially in my early days, Koi jumping out of a pond on the first night, pump failure resulting in many losses, ammonia/nitrite problems etc etc.- always my fault and always preventable had I the knowledge and experience beforehand.
One experience in my early days more than compensated for my stupid mistakes and probably became instrumental in my decision to become a Koi dealer. This story started on my first visit to Japan in 1977 with a party of enthusiasts from the British Koi-Keepers' Society led by Roland Seal. In our Kyoto leg of the trip we visited a dealer called Umemura and many of us were rushing around, finding koi and checking prices with a very harassed and overworked interpreter. I purchased six after deliberation but the final one was somewhat of a puzzle to me and I asked Roland as to the variety. Roland too was puzzled and we both agreed it was either a Sanke or Showa or a 'bit of both'! This Koi was about 17" long and very cheap and, on return to the UK many friends asked me why I had purchased such an ugly specimen and I had to agree with them.
Some weeks later disaster struck, it was Summer and my pond was crystal clear after a new filtration system had been installed. One evening, upon returning from work, I went to my pond to feed my Koi as usual; to my horror the white skin and fins of many Koi had become an angry red and panic set in. Telephone calls were made all over the country and someone diagnosed Columnaris disease. The remedy was to bring the affected Koi indoors to my garage system and inject all with a course of Gentamycin. (It was some three years later before I learned the truth of the matter which was the Koi were actually suffering with 'ultra-violet degeneration' or sunburn brought about by a combination of strong sunlight in a crystal clear, unshaded pond). The courses of injections were administered as specified, the Koi recovered completely; I believed it was the antibiotic that was responsible when, in reality, it was the indoor situation that was all that was needed.
Only one Koi refused to heal and continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate, this was my 'Sanke-Showa' from Umemura. Friends advised me to put the Koi out of its misery by anaesthesia and their advice was good. By then the Koi had no pectoral, dorsal or tail fins, massive ulcerations covered the entire length of the body on either side of the spine and the swim bladder was clearly visible, plus 80% of all scales were missing. I really could not bring myself to kill the poor thing and instead, decided, to put it into a pond which had no stocks and contained some 2,000 gallons of stagnant, unfiltered, green water. For the next week or so I kept looking at the pond expecting to find a floating carcass but saw nothing other than gnat larvae and other water insects. I assumed that the fish was probably dead and decomposing at the bottom of the pond.
It was some 18 months later when I decided to modernise this pond by cleaning it out thoroughly and adding good filtration and a bottom drain to it. I started a siphon to empty the pond and waited for the level to drop before I was able to climb inside to make a start. As the level dropped, the outline of a child's' red tricycle came to view, I took a net to it and lifted it out, as I did this an outline of a Koi darted past me and disappeared again from view. I rushed to find a bowl and waited until the water levels were low enough to catch the Koi, only then remembering that I placed my 'Sanke-Showa' in this pond some 18 months before and wondering how anything could survive without food for so long. After what seemed like ages I could eventually climb into the pond and finally had the Koi in a bowl, I carried the bowl to my main pond and released her.
I stood there for hours in total disbelief, the Koi was 22" long and Female, every single scale had regenerated completely, all skin tissue had regenerated conrpletely with no sign of any scars, every fin had re-grown, the shape and volume was perfect in every way but, more importantly, she was 100%, true Showa with a superb pattern and colour pigmentation. Furthermore she was, by far, the best Koi in my collection!
Some two months later I took my Koi to Norfolk and entered her in the BKKS National Show. After benching her I went for breakfast and on my return found she had been awarded 'Best Showa in Size', later that day two Koi were being judged for Supreme Champion and the decision was so close that a coin was tossed eventually to decide; my Koi took second place and I was delighted. On going to the stage to collect my trophies from Roland Seal, he asked me where I had found such a Koi and how I had kept it so secret. I told him about the 'Sanke-Showa' from Umemura but he refused to believe me and it took me several weeks before he finally accepted my story.
In 1980, I sold my Showa to the Glaze family in the West Midlands where she went on to take several more awards. At BKKS Koi '94 held at Northampton, the Glaze family came to my stand and gave me their annual update on my Showa. She is now some 20 years old and her showing days are over, but she has grown and is the family pet and the true story has a true happy ending!
Before you all start rushing out to find an old red tricycle to throw in your pond, close down your filters and stop feeding your Koi for good, I would offer a few comments:
* Only one Koi was placed in 2,000 gallons of water.
* The insect life within the The pond may have been just enough for this one Koi.
* Good fortune played a significant part to this story.
* The standard of Koi in the UK at the time she won her awards was far, far lower than today's standards in the UK; no longer can such a Koi take this type of award.
However, on the positive side, looking back it was my first real experience with 'Tategoi' and conclusively proved to me that flesh and skin tissue can completely regenerate as can fins and scales given the right, albeit in this case, - uncontrollable, conditions.
(This post was edited by kennethc on Oct 25, 2007, 11:50 AM)
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