I was born in 1962. I am a GP by profession. I have a wonderful family. My real facination for koi began only in 1991. During our childhood days, my brothers and I did rear a few locally bred koi in an aquarium but that hobby didn't last long as one by one, we went abroad for our tertiary education.
In 1991, 2 years after graduation, I started keeping koi again. Initially I used a kid's paddle pool to rear a few koi. It was quite a success and that enhanced my interest in koi keeping even further. Unfortunately this method of koi keeping was not very ideal as the depth of water was restricted to the height of the paddle pool which was only 15in. This was far too shallow for the larger koi.
In 1993, I had my first concrete pond constructed. My interest in koi was ever increasing. It was a kidney-shaped pond measuring about 14ft x 6ft x 2ft deep. A large and nice waterfall was constructed too. The filter measuring 2ft x 8ft was quite sufficient for a pond of this size. For the first 2 years, the koi were doing really well, healthy and growing. After awhile, it became apparent that the pond was not deep enough for the larger koi.
Due to inexperience about quarantine, many of my older and larger koi became ill and died one after another in that unforgettable short period of time. We managed to save a few after emptying and cleaning the whole pond and filter system. I was left with just a few koi and had to start over again. A few years later, my koi was beset by another disease. It was a skin disease called ‘Hikkui’. The source was the dirt that had accumulated in the coral chips in the filter. The filter was serviced more regularly since then and the disease did not spread.
In May 2000, we decided to renovate the house and so demolish the old pond and build a new one. At that time I was already a member of the local koi club and had been quite active in the forum discussing about koi. This time I had everything planned out carefully. We decided to use the services of a koi pond specialist. The cost was not cheap but they did a commendable job. During the construction, I used two large fiberglass tank to house the koi. The pond and renovation of the house were completed in December 2000. Since then my family and I have been enjoying ourselves looking at how well the koi are doing in their larger, new and more ‘state-of-the-art’ home!
Click here for some information on the pond and filtration system.
