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View Full Version : Why do you keep koi?



kntry
03-07-2017, 09:11 AM
What's your favorite thing about ponding, koi, etc. that keeps you in the hobby?

Is it the fish, the pond, working on the pond, finding things that you want to change just to make it a little better, buying koi, showing, shopping for koi, helping others, watching them grow, learning, friendships through fins, etc?

Oddly enough, the koi are at the lower end of my "joy"! Friendships I've made through koi and helping others with problems are probably closest to the top of what keeps me going. Then, it's working on my ponds and filtration. I'm a workaholic so I'm always finding/looking/thinking of something that I should have done, want to do or needs to be done.

I love buying koi but with the exception of replacing my girls since the flood, I usually only buy a fish about every 3-4 years. But it's fun to window shop!

So what's your vice?

cindy
03-07-2017, 09:16 AM
Good thread Sandy!

I love the friends I've met thru koi. You are one <3

2nd As I get older, the maintenance makes me stay active

3rd Since I lost my Gherkin, my Chagoi, my fish aren't as friendly but I hate the thought of qt'ing a new one. My Wakin are so much easier to take care of and friendlier.

Marlo
03-07-2017, 10:28 AM
For me, it's the graceful movement of the fish through the water, the jewel-like colors in constant motion. I love to sit cross-legged at the edge of the pool and let myself become mesmerized by the ever-changing flow. It has the same effect on me as gazing into a campfire.

Secondary to that is the joy of learning something new every day about this extremely complex hobby. Even now that my day-to-day maintenance is down to almost nothing (thanks to my ProfiDrum) there is plenty to keep me occupied and interested.

I'm not sure whether it's a plus or a minus, but the knowledge that something totally unexpected could go wrong at any moment certainly makes it exciting!

Tula
03-07-2017, 10:38 AM
I've loved water, fish, turtles, marshes etc., since I was a child. My favorite thing about my pond, is my koi. I just love watching them and caring for them. I also adore the sound of water.

I'm 59 , retired last year, and I think it's healthy to have a passionate hobby and keep learning.

mjfromga
03-07-2017, 11:05 AM
I don't have Koi, but I love fancy goldfish. Mainly because I think they're cute and they wiggle to swim. Absolutely awkward and adorable.

inazuma28
03-07-2017, 11:06 AM
Some people are adrenaline junkies, im a challenge junky. I built my first 3k gal pond when i was 13yo because I took a trip to a koi farm recommended by a friend of mine. I saw those giant fish swimming and was instantly hooked. Now its a challenge to select affordable hq tosai and grow them into respectable healthy pond jewels. Also, having a pond in the yard is definitely my biggest stress reliever. 90%of bad days can be fixed with 20 minutes in front of the pond. Right now my challenge is to hit 30inches in the natural ny climate. I wish i was more active in the community and made more kichi friends. My friends like the hobby and even learned some of the lingo so im lucky in that regard. Ive spread my addiction lol. I am toying with the idea of showing at the tristate. I have always gone but been a quiet spectator. Maybe this year ill enter just for fun.

icu2
03-07-2017, 12:15 PM
I've always enjoyed taking care of the water. Before I built a pond I'd never plumbed so much as a sink... but I really enjoy
trying different filtration. The advancement of what's available now as compared to just a few years ago is awesome. I wish
I knew more about how to look and judge what a younger koi is going to look like as it grows... but I don't have a great track
record. :) So I usually depend on others that know more than I do and just watch and learn.

rainblood
03-07-2017, 12:28 PM
It calms my inner savage beast...

Jojoartie
03-07-2017, 02:28 PM
Keeps me sane. Plus, people suck. Oh, did i say that out loud??

KurtG
03-07-2017, 03:50 PM
I like that they get larger than most fish you can easily catch and I like watching the transformations; hence I am attracted to showa or SU with underlying sumi that may or may not ever surface.

rayjay
03-07-2017, 06:29 PM
Keeps me sane. Plus, people suck. Oh, did i say that out loud??

Yea, and they don't talk back.................

stephen
03-07-2017, 07:00 PM
Because I am the Koiphenator:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Nice thread Sandy. Thx

koi4u2c
03-07-2017, 07:35 PM
Jojoartie, "Keeps me sane. Plus people suck. Oh, did I say that out loud?"

I can totally relate. The older I get, the more people annoy me. Not everyone, but way too many when I am out and about.

My yard and ponds are my little piece of heaven on earth. My place to escape from the rest of the world. Total peace and quiet.

Jojoartie
03-07-2017, 07:37 PM
Jojoartie, "Keeps me sane. Plus people suck. Oh, did I say that out loud?"

I can totally relate. The older I get, the more people annoy me. Not everyone, but way too many when I am out and about.

My yard and ponds are my little piece of heaven on earth. My place to escape from the rest of the world. Total peace and quiet.


Exactly!

DBibbins
03-07-2017, 08:02 PM
I never intended on having a koi pond. 14 yrs ago when my best friend was moving he asked me to hang onto his 2 small koi until he built a pond at his new home, I didn't have a pond only a water garden. A year later he still had no pond built and ask me if I wanted to keep them, of course I said yes as I fell in love with them the first day I got them. The following week I built them a 3500 gal koi pond, they are still happily swimming around in their forever home along with their 9 kids which are 12 yrs old.

I truly love everything about having a pond but, my sole reason is all about the koi and keeping them healthy and happy for the rest of there life. My entire life every pet I've taken in has had a forever home at my place, it's no different with the koi. I'm just hoping I'm around as long as they are to take care of them seems how they can live much longer than most of the pets I've had over the years.

jimfish98
03-07-2017, 08:15 PM
It started about 7 or 8 years ago when I was looking to get a tattoo. I wanted a family one and figured a set of Koi would work as a representation. At the time I was working a job that was stressful as all hell to the point where the company required mandatory vacations of minimum lengths throughout the year to make sure we didn't have a mental break down on them, lol. While I was out and about on the town checking in on various work projects I stopped at the local Aquascape dealer. I walked up to one of their display ponds that had some 14-20 inch Koi and the rest of the world kind of faded away. As stressed out as I was that day, it was all gone while I was in front of that pond. I had to think back, but it was a similar feeling at some ponds when I was honeymooning in Maui a few years prior. When I left I knew I had to have one.

From there it started with the challenge of building my own. Then it moved into a desire to prove another forum wrong about my ability to succeed. Then it was about growing large fish. Right now its not a competition or goal, just enjoying them and how they grow. Regardless the stress still melts regardless if I am feeding, fixing, or cleaning out there.

richtoybox
03-07-2017, 09:29 PM
Because my wife says so.



We started some 20 years ago, and I was put in charge of the water, she buys and sells the fish, decided which ones went to the shows, so I joke that the koi are hers and the water is mine. Though lectures at shows, magazines, Koiphen, and visiting with fellow koi keepers at shows, I built a knowledge base, with my favorite areas being water quality and koi health. We went through some ulcers, learned injections, learned about filtration, learned about maintenance of the pond, and migrated from proformed tubs, to water gardens to koi ponds. I enjoy the challenge of keeping the fish healthy, and the opportunity to assist others in the maintenance of good water and healthy fish.

rainblood
03-07-2017, 10:25 PM
Smart man Rich

Pond James_Pond
03-08-2017, 03:15 PM
For me, it's the graceful movement of the fish through the water, the jewel-like colors in constant motion. I love to sit at the edge of the pond and let myself become mesmerized by the ever-changing flow. It has the same effect on me as gazing into a campfire.

Secondary to that is the joy of learning about this extremely complex hobby.



I changed just a few words. This really says it for me.

steve