Koi Club of San Diego

Volume 24 Issue 10

KOI CLUB OF SAN DIEGO

NEWSLETTER

October 2024

WE NEED A SECRETARY!

Please help your Club by taking notes once a month at our Steering Committee meeting

LOOKING FOR GIFT TABLE VOLUNTEER AND GIFT TABLE ITEMS

Anyone can bring an item, koi related or not, for the opportunity table. It’s so much fun to end our meetings on a positive and fun activity. Plants, books, jewelry, unused wedding gifts, Aunt Millie’s old vase anything that someone else might like. Although we no longer sell tickets, your donations help to pay our monthly bills as well as bills for our auction and annual koi show. Please help our club by participating.  We also need a volunteer to take charge of the table to distribute the tickets, read them off at the end of each meeting and take home any leftover items.

Please tell an officer if you’re interested in helping your club in this way.

ADDITIONAL UPCOMING EVENTS

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, October 9th

at 7:00 pm (earlier if you are ordering food)

ALL MEMBERS WELCOME!

Dennys

2691 Navajo Road

El Cajon, CA 92020 

PONDER PROFILE

by Lenore Wade, photography by Bill Newell and Tony Martinez

Tony and Janine Martinez

Exactly two years ago, Tony and Janine hosted their first Koi meeting. No Pond profile was written then because they did an emergency fill-in. It is lucky for me that I did not write an article then because much has changed. Tony’s dream is to create a product line of quality fish, which is affordable to anyone who want to enjoy Koi as a hobby. (Expensive Koi will always be available!) His backyard has expanded to accommodate his dream.

When they met and married 31 years ago, they were stationed in Baltimore,

Maryland while both were active-duty corpsmen in the navy. Throughout his 23 ½ year career, as an enlisted sailor and an officer, they were stationed in many parts of the world including Japan and usually on a marine base. Janine, originally from Indiana, spent five years in the Navy, and had a 25-year career at Grossmont Hospital. For the past 11 years, Tony has worked at the VA Hospital in La Jolla as head of the sterilization staff making sure all surgical equipment meets the required standards.

Tony is half Japanese and half French/Spanish. He speaks Japanese fluently and feels very comfortable traveling to Japan to check out the Koi. He will go again in November and visit 3 different Koi farms. His backyard has changed much in the last two years as he now has 3 quarantine ponds totaling 1100 gallons in which he keeps the fish he raises and sells. He will explain all of the specifics of his venture at the meeting.

When I asked him “Why Koi?”, he said fish had always fascinated him from the time he was in middle school. During the many trips to Japan as a child, he learned to appreciate and love the Koi. He and Janine tried to have a backyard garden, but it didn’t thrive. A friend suggested he build a water feature and after much reading and studying, he designed his pond which has 2 huge windows so his fish can track his every move. The fish were so welcoming when I went into yard as they danced in the front window. I am sure they thought I would feed them as everyone in the family does when they walk by. The family dog, Kuma, sits and watches the fish from his very own seat.

Tony has many ideas and a variety of smaller fish that he plans to market in unusual ways. In his free time, he loves to go fishing. The family, including the 3 daughters, love to entertain and have an active social life with long-time military friends and neighbors.

Be sure to visit Gilbert when you come to the meeting. In 2009, he joined the family after sitting in a bowl at the Del Mar Fair in a ball toss venue. He is unique in that his bowl is rarely cleaned just surviving with added water. He knocks the pebbles around in the bowl if Tony tries to leave for work without feeding him. He is one happy gold fish!

Tony and Janine live in La Mesa and it is easily accessible from the freeway. Don’t forget to bring your chairs and a dish to share.

Hope to see you there.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

by Matt Rhoades

Koi Jack and Buck Buckles tended to replacement of the UV units. They took out each unit and replaced the crystals/ lamps with new parts. The whole time this was going on the general public visiting the garden was watching the activity with SOME interest. The operation wrapped up around 1 PM, Until next September when side two will get its cleaning, Thank you for all who participated.

The Friends of the Koi Auction started off, in earnest, on Friday the 20th of September. Rick Leach, Cole Rhoades, and I met up at Dean Strasser's house to collect the equipment needed to pull off the auction and loaded it into our vehicles. We proceeded from there to San Diego Pond and Garden in Poway (Thank you San Diego Pond and Garden for your support in this auction endeavor) where Bruce Miller, Jack Story Sr., Buck Buckles and Jill Rhoades joined in with unloading the two vehicles full of auction stuff, then rolling the nine tanks down the hill and placing them out for the auction. And then there was the miscommunication with the porta-potty company, but that was resolved by Friday afternoon.

While the crew stayed behind helping fill the tanks with water Cole and I took off to collect donated koi from a member's home in Escondido.  Beth Williams had contacted me a few months back and informed me that she had moved to the east coast, was selling the house, and wanted to donate some koi to the auction.  With her permission, we collected five koi from her pond and left behind her favorite 33” yellow yamabuki because she couldn’t give her up before seeing her one last time (She will be flying in on the 24th to assist in selling the house). After an hour of bagging the koi and putting oxygen into the individual bags, we drove back to the auction site. Self-disclosure: When we got back to San Diego Pond and Garden, while unloading the koi bags to float in the tank, I noticed that the large orange butterfly koi had lost its air (and good portion of the water) from its bag. I checked with Jill (Head Water Distributor on this job) if she had added the de-clor to the needed tanks (she had), and in went the koi to swim Friday night under the other koi in their oxygen bags.

Saturday morning saw me loading up koi to sell (like many others who did the same thing - thank you to you all). Arriving back at auction ground zero at 7 AM, I was greeted by many from the previous day's job plus Jill Leach and Jack Story Jr, joining the crew. We set up the pop-ups, chairs, and rebagging table. Jill got her cashiers  table in order and Ben Adams dealt with the membership table and we started receiving fish at 7:30. All was going smoothly; koi coming in and conflicts at a minimum.

The auction commenced at 10:15 with auctioneer Scotty Yee pointing out the wonderful features of the koi as they rolled down the runway to be auctioned off. Koi Jack gave his knowledgeable opinion of many of the koi being rolled under the runway canopies; as well as assisting Linda Pluth in the tabulation of the koi sales. Cheryl Adams and Jeanette Newell helped push the koi down the viewing area on carts. Rebagging of the fish fell mainly to the capable hands of Buck Buckles and Jack Story Jr.

Around noon lunch was provided to the people in attendance by the club's own Lenore Wade and her helpers. After that more koi were shown and bought by many at the event; even me.

Wrapping up there were 63 koi sold at the auction bringing in a good level of funding to KCSD. I like to thank all the wonderful people who helped in making this wonderful auction happen, the buyers who came to buy koi, and San Diego Pond and Garden for the space to hold the auction. Many many thanks to all.

My only regret was I didn’t get a chance to talk to Dr. Galen Hansen (a founder of the Koi Club of San Diego) for much more than a quick hello; I was busy getting koi out for viewing. Well, the show is coming up in a few months; good chance there to catch up.

See you all at this month's meeting at Tony Martinez and his wonderful wife’s home in La Mesa. Tony has an impressive line-up of tanks displaying his koi. Lastly, I want to put out a big thank you to the dynamic duo of Julia Schriber and Jill Rhoades. They worked on and revised an on-line vendor packet for the 2025 KCSD Koi Show. And a lot of this is happening on their individual vacation times. Thank you again ladies; you’re the best.

Until then; Enjoy the koi

Matt Rhoades

Go kichi for koi

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Jose Valdez and Raquel Orellana Valdez

Lee Copson

WELCOME BACK RENEWING MEMBERS!

KHA KORNER

by "Koi Jack" Chapman

Vitamins and Minerals

• So, this is the last section of my koi nutrition series.  Some may be glad it’s finally over.  Oddly enough this area can quickly turn into a heavy science nerd project, which I promise to try to avoid (mostly).  Vitamins are SO essential and required to complete a host of body metabolic functions and processes.  They are divided into water soluble and fat soluble.  The fat soluble (A, D, E and K) can be stored in the liver and other koi tissues when supplied in excess of the daily requirements.  Water soluble vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 B12, C, Biotin Choline, Folacin and Inosital) are required DAILY as they are not stored within koi tissues.  For this area of koi nutrition, I’m not going to booooor you with daily requirements by body weight or the list of deficiency signs you can observe  - but for EACH vitamin deficiency there are observable signs and some can mimic other koi health problems.  For example: (forgive me) Thiamin deficiencies can be mistaken for organophosphate (insecticide) poisoning or Biotin deficiency can look like an external parasite or bacteria infestations to include a blue to gray color slime over the skin or scales of your koi.  Crap, I just can’t help myself -Deficiencies in the B’s leads to a host of issues to include:
•  
• • Thiamin (B1): Aids in nerve function, digestion, and reproduction.  A lack of thiamin may cause skittishness, poor coloration, and paralysis of the fins.
  • Riboflavin (B2): Aids in absorption of oxygen in tissues with a poor blood supply. Deficiencies can cause cataracts, sensitivity to light, and bleeding from the nostrils and gills.
  • Niacin (Nicotinic Acid B3): Aids greatly in growth. A lack of this vitamin causes stunting.
  • Choline, Pantothenic Acid (B6), and Pyroxidine: All three of these vitamins are essential for the proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Too little of these vitamins cause problems ranging from lack of appetite to reduced growth to internal hemorrhaging.
  • Folic Acid and Cyanobalamin (B12): Both of these vitamins are important for blood cell formation; deficiencies can cause anemia and lack of appetite.

Vitamin A - deficiencies have been associated with fin congestion, skin hemorrhages exophthalmia (pop eye), blindness and fading colors to name a few.  Finally, a deficiency in vitamin C and or A  can manifest itself with deformed gill opercula - hum - I wonder if this could include the constant turned out positioning of the soft tissue at the end of the gill plate (just a thought as I see this a lot).   After reviewing multiple scientific articles about fish and vitamins not one gave any credit or comment concerning vitamin intake being diffused through the gills, only by ingestion.  Two general facts for the backyard ponder:  1. A lot of science has been completed on the vitamin requirements of fish and most if not all major koi food makers have the daily vitamin requirements covered (read your koi food ingredients list – they will vary) and number 2. THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO TO PRESERVE VITAMINS IS TO STORE YOUR KOI FOOD IN AN AIRTIGHT DARK COLORED CONTAINER, IN A DRY AND COOL STORAGE AREA!!!  Of course this is true for all the ingredients in your koi food, but vitamins have proven to be the first to degrade with time, moisture and temp.  For me – I check for dates on the food I buy and want to use it all within 60 to 90 days of purchase. 

Now on to minerals.  Koi mineral requirements include 14 in trace amounts and 7 in larger amounts and of course the water they are swimming in is a BIG factor as 10 of the above 21 minerals can be diffused through the gill membranes.  For the science nerd in us all, the mineral ion balance value determines if it can or cannot cross the gill membrane.  In fish aquaculture there are around 12 minerals that are normally included in diet formulation in different amounts for different fish species.   Freshwater fish DO NOT drink water (saltwater fish do) and koi are constantly eliminating excess water via the kidneys and other waste mainly via the gills.  Minerals play a key role in tissue formation and metabolic function and this is especially true in maintaining the osmotic balance between the koi’s body and the water it swims in.   Signs of possible mineral deficiencies include very little to no growth, anorexia, anemia, cataracts, muscular degeneration (wasting) and even fish loss.  As with vitamins, check the ingredients listing for your koi food and they vary.  Generally, you are looking for a source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc and yes copper.  Here again, based on existing science most if not all major manufacturers of koi diets have the daily mineral requirements covered, but there is variation.    When I have a question about vitamins and minerals (or any other food ingredient question) in any koi food, I ask the question of the manufacturers and in most cases I get a serious answer – but I have gotten, on a couple occasions, the answer to my question was proprietary in nature.  Just don’t ask the grade level of the MAIN ingredient white fish meal.  Oh well, I got the same answer when I asked for the ingredients in Coke Cola LOL.  The main sources of information for this short article included; AKCA Guide to Koi Nutrition II, Recirculating Aquaculture Systems by M. B. Timmons Et Al., and an article from the internet titled Feeding Koi and Goldfish by Stephen M. Meyers.

This entire koi nutrition series was intended to touch on the main elements of the subject matter and to encourage further examination of the subject by those interested.  For additional info, I would recommend three possibilities 1. A web search on subject matter (check the author’s credentials); 2.  A nice overview is the AKCA Guide to Koi Nutrition II ; and for a more in-depth analysis of the subject I recommend you go to the website for Koi Organization International.

Over the last three months I’ve enjoyed doing this as one of my favorite koi subjects, and I hope you have learned something you can put to use or scratch your head about (say what) OR you may now have more confidence (after review of ingredients) that the koi food you buy has what your koi need to live long and healthy lives. 

r/koi jack

PLEASE VISIT OUR APPAREL SHOP!

THANK YOU JAMIE KANES FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS!

Koi Person of The Year 2024 Dean Strasser

OFFICERS

EMAIL

President: Matt Rhoades   

KCSDKoi.Kichi@gmail.com

First VP-Program: Cory Burke

Mulligrins@gmail.com

Second VP-Venue: Ben Adams

iblitlrock5@yahoo.com

Secretary: Open

Treasurer: Jill Rhoades

treasurer.kcsd@gmail.com

APPOINTED OFFICERS

EMAIL

Newsletter editor/

Webmaster: Julia Schriber

webmaster.kcsd@gmail.com

Membership Chairman: Jill Leach

Koi Health Advisor/

Librarian: Jack Chapman

jackchapman1@cox.net

Club Historian: Dr. Galen Hansen

galenkoi@aol.com

Property Manager: Al Pierce

alpierce@cox.net

Correspondence Secretary: Shirley Elswick

 sfelswick@cox.net

Japanese Friendship Garden Liaison: Linda Pluth

 lpluth@cox.net

HELPING HANDS

Koi Health Advisor/

Water Quality: Jack Chapman

jackchapman1@cox.net

To Host a Meeting: Ben Adams

iblitlrock5@yahoo.com

To Submit an Article: Linda Pluth

 lpluth@cox.net

Program/Activities Suggestions: Cory Burke

This message was sent to you by {Organization_Name}

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time