Anyone a fan of Japanese Koi fish ?

[Bron357]

My mother has keep Japanese Koi fish more than 45 years. Every time they move house, a new (and improved) Koi pond needs to be built for Mums fish as not surprisingly not many house come with a large Koi pond!
The latest version my Dad designed and engineered and is above ground. It’s huge, like around 10 meters long x 3 meters wide. It has a laminated glass front which Dad did the calculations for to determine its thickness to support the waters weight
It has a curve which had to be factored into the design, a leaking Koi pond isn’t good! The glass was made in South Australia (like over 2,000 kms away) and was delivered via truck, even the guy who runs the business fly over to see Dads pond and supervise the installation. The glass weight is a few ton and the garden had to have trees and shrubs dug out to accommodate the machinery. Some of the Koi are nearly a meter long and yes, you can pet them. They like to be pet, they swim up and fight amongst themselves to be first. They recognize mum and will even leap up out of the water when she goes up to feed them.

 

[DAF]

Bron, this is beautiful beyond any other words. I have a small koi pond in my backyard that is long overdue to be made larger. Your dad is a fantastic designer and mum must be in heaven.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Yes, This pond cost more than a 2.5ct H VS2 when it was built 11 yrs ago. . I wanna tear it down and built a better pond but it will cost too much $$$ and I'm getting too old to take care of them.



This was 10 yrs ago when wife and I was at a koi store in San Jose,Ca. The dealer quoted me $60K for this koi and wife almost fell into the pond. . The one on top was only $7K.

 

[sledge]

Love Koi's but don't currently have any ponds. I was looking through some old pics of a house I owned a few years back where I built my own pond. It was very minor league compared to the stuff here but with landscaping and all was pretty low budget -- less than $1k. At the time I had a girlfriend who's boss had a mega sized Koi pond and fish. She gave us 3-4 babies. Unfortunately, the pics I have don't have pictures of the Koi as I don't think I had transplanted them yet.

I'll never forget manually removing the sod -- ugh, just rent a sod remover. By the time I did that and dug the pond hole (roughly 7' x 3' x 4') I was a whipped pup that day. All manual work with shovels and the pond was near the footing of the house so I got the added bonus of chipping through over pours, concrete rubble and brick debris.

 

[AV_]

@Dancing Fire

Is this a Koi diamond?

WWW

 

[Wewechew]

@Dancing Fire $60k?! I assume you insure them?

 

[Bron357]

Yes, This pond cost more than a 2.5ct H VS2 when it was built 11 yrs ago. . I wanna tear it down and built a better pond but it will cost too much $$$ and I'm getting too old to take care of them.



This was 10 yrs ago when wife and I was at a koi store in San Jose,Ca. The dealer quoted me $60K for this koi and wife almost fell into the pond. . The one on top was only $7K.

You would relate to this side story.
Decades ago a boyfriend of mine was a Kendo (Japanese Martial Art) champion and had invited a group from Japan to Australia for a competition. I took it upon myself to entertain the ladies of the group with shopping and sightseeing. We also had a function at the Japanese consulate and of course I admired their Koi and explained that my mother had a love for them too. I chatted for over an hour learning more about their colours and styles - very interesting.
A few weeks later we got a surprise delivery, a rather lovely looking Koi fish.
Into the pond it went.
A few years later Mum and Dad moved house and as before the fish get packed up for holiday camp at the Kenthurst Koi farm while yet another Koi pond is built.
The Koi guys jaw dropped as he collected our Koi and asked where had the fish come from. A gift.
Some gift. It was a Tancho Showa.
Some of my mothers fish are descendants of this amazing fish that we had for 25 years.

 

[Dancing Fire]

@Dancing Fire $60k?! I assume you insure them?

I wouldn't buy a $60K koi. . That is the price the dealer quoted me for that koi. There is one thing guarantee about koi ...it will die someday. A $60K diamond don't die so easily.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Some gift. It was a Tancho Showa.
Some of my mothers fish are descendants of this amazing fish that we had for 25 years.

I have been trying to buy a nice Tancho Showa for years now. I bought one 8 yrs ago, but when I went to pick up the fish it jumped out of the dealers pond and lost some scales so I decided not to buy the fish. Anyway, till this day I still haven't been able to find another Tancho Showa that I can afford.

Here is a pic of that 1 yr old Tancho Showa. The one on the right.

 

[Bron357]

I have been trying to buy a nice Tancho Showa for years now. I bought one 8 yrs ago, but when I went to pick up the fish it jumped out of the dealers pond and lost some scales so I decided not to buy the fish. Anyway, till this day I still haven't been able to find another Tancho Showa that I can afford.

Here is a pic of that 1 yr old Tancho Showa. The one on the right.

I’ll have to search at Mums house for some photos of Astro Boy (his name). He was silver white with black markings and just 1 perfect red circle on his head. He was almost 3 feet long when he passed, in that very pond. Heat Stress, really big sized fish are more suspectible because hot weather reduces the oxygen level in the water. The previous pond while smaller was deeper and Mum just didn't know. It was the first Summer in that new pond. She was devastated, we also lost at the same time our biggest fish, Ginger Meggs, who was over 30 years old and over 3 feet long. He was a superb fish, he was Golden metallic orange. A Yamabuki Ogon.
Mum even called down the Fish Vet from Sydney not knowing if it was a virus or something and all the other fish were at risk (yes, Fish vets are a thing) who commiserated with Mum “that’s a small fortune in Koi you’ve lost”.

 

[Wewechew]

I wouldn't buy a $60K koi. . That is the price the dealer quoted me for that koi. There is one thing guarantee about koi ...it will die someday. A $60K diamond don't die so easily.

Yes, I know YOU didn't buy it. But people do. When I owned horses we had them insured... just wondered if people did the same with fish?

 

[KristinTech]

Years ago, I remember a news story where fancy fish were being plucked from their ponds by hawks and eagles. Homeowners got a hard lesson in predator-prey relationships! It was in north suburbs of Chicago.

 

[lovedogs]

I love koi fish! Don't have a pond but love admiring them. I have a koi and torii tattoo that I adore.

 

[DAF]

Years ago, I remember a news story where fancy fish were being plucked from their ponds by hawks and eagles. Homeowners got a hard lesson in predator-prey relationships! It was in north suburbs of Chicago.

In my area Blue Heron were the big threat. One of the f*ers got my favorite koi. A few years later, something raided my pond and killed my three big ones. Scales all over the yard, as well as their bodies. That one only ate the heads. I looked up what animal would do that, and found that raccoons do. Apparently fish brains are a delicacy. A few weeks later when we went to open the pool, we found tracks cris-crossing the cover and confirmed the culprit. I don't purchase fancy koi, I prefer the butterfly variety because they appear to be ethereal in the water as I watch them swim. I actually found that the koi from PetsMart are more hardy that the ones purchased from koi farms or nurseries.

Here's a little factoid from your audiologist: koi can hear higher frequencies than other fish, their auditory system is further developed.

 

[Wewechew]

A few years later, something raided my pond and killed my three big ones. Scales all over the yard, as well as their bodies. That one only ate the heads.

That's horrifying. I probably would have burst into tears to stumble upon that scene.

 

[Calliecake]

@Dancing Fire, The Koi will be a big hit with the grandchildren. Children love watching fish.

 

[KristinTech]

In my area Blue Heron were the big threat. One of the f*ers got my favorite koi. A few years later, something raided my pond and killed my three big ones. Scales all over the yard, as well as their bodies. That one only ate the heads. I looked up what animal would do that, and found that raccoons do. Apparently fish brains are a delicacy. A few weeks later when we went to open the pool, we found tracks cris-crossing the cover and confirmed the culprit. I don't purchase fancy koi, I prefer the butterfly variety because they appear to be ethereal in the water as I watch them swim. I actually found that the koi from PetsMart are more hardy that the ones purchased from koi farms or nurseries.

Here's a little factoid from your audiologist: koi can hear higher frequencies than other fish, their auditory system is further developed.

Love the factoid! I’m an SLP!