KOI; No, Not Coy

NW's Vicki Leonard shares a delightful hobby with her hubby and Richard Mott prodded her to give us the story on their adventures with Koi.  Vicki says, "Many of you here at JPL know that Steve and I have a unique hobby; we are  Koi Keepers.

"We have been enjoying this hobby for about 14 years.  We are members of the North Florida Koi Club here in Jacksonville.  We have sat on the board as treasurer, vice president, and president.  We are also members of the Gainesville Koi Club.  We started competing in shows and are about our third year into it and have never stopped.  We also just started competing in the Goldfish area.  We have won numerous trophies over the years in “Best in Size" and "Best in Variety".  We took Reserve Champion and Grand Champion a couple of years ago, and last month we took Grand Champion in the Middle Georgia competition with our Dotsi Butterfly Koi.  Our Koi pond holds 7,000 gallons which is considered large.  However, we have friends throughout Florida with 20,000 to 30, 000 gallon ponds.  No, we do not buy our Koi from the local pet shops--not that there is anything wrong with that and it's a good way to get started.  We buy from actual Koi breeders because we are competing.  Most of the small Koi I buy to grow out are from Japan.  We have been lucky enough to be in KOI USA magazine twice.

"The word Koi actually comes from the Japanese word meaning “carp”.  What is known as Koi in English, referring to the more specific colored Koi, is nishikigoi, which in Japanese means a “brocaded carp”.  Another reference to the Koi is the “jewels of the pond”, which is quite true. As you walk up to the pond early in the morning, right before you get the clear view, you see the bright reds, oranges, white, and blues shimmering in the water.  Some of our Koi are so tame in the big pond that you can reach into the water and touch them.  They will stick their heads out of the water for a pet and, of course, a treat.  We ship in Koi pellets for their main food but Koi are primarily vegetarians. They will eat lettuce, squash, watermelon, spinach, citrus  and peas; plain oatmeal and cheerios are their favorite treat.  

 

"It is very relaxing coming home and sitting by the pond and listening to the waterfall.  Currently I have about 28 Koi in the large pond; they run from 8 inches to 38 inches in length.  We have four new baby Koi in quarantine and seven goldfish.  Also, we have one high fin banded shark, just because I was curious.  This is a hobby I plan to grow old with."