by Mike Pfeffer 

In addition to being a member of the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society, I’m also a member of the Greater Louisville Koi & Goldfish Society.  I think there are a lot of similarities in the two hobbies, and I know our bonsai club has a few members that raise koi and goldfish.  I have a lot more history and knowledge of koi than I do bonsai, and I was asked to write a little bit about that hobby.

I began with my first pond in 1990.  I started out with a very shallow pond and added goldfish and plants.  I really enjoyed my first pond and, since I built it on the back of my property, I sensed that I was entering a different dimension when I walked back to the pond to sit on my bench and enjoy the waterfall, fish, frogs and plants.  I knew little to nothing back in those days and, as time progressed, I made lots of mistakes.  I quickly developed an interest in koi and got rid of the goldfish in the first two years.  Just like bonsai, as my hobby progressed, my tastes progressed.  In the 90s, I was a sponge, reading everything I could get my hands on and traveling to see koi in other parts of the country and other parts of the world.  My second pond was deeper and larger; even more so with my third pond, all for the sake of giving my koi the best possible environment.  In the last six years I have constructed a temporary greenhouse over the pond, which uses solar heat to keep the pond water well above freezing all winter long.  While koi can survive the winter at near freezing water temperatures, many times, long cold winters can cause health issues in the spring. 

From what is known, carp farmers in China, and later in Europe and Japan, held out carp that exhibited some color, keeping these fish inside for their winter enjoyment.  All koi varieties can be traced back to magoi or common carp.  There is a doitsu (scaleless) variety that came from Europe and the more common scaled varieties that were first developed in China and southeast Asia and later imported into Japan.  Koi did not originate in Japan but the Japanese truly made koi an art form, much like they have done with bonsai.  Now there are koi breeders all over the world, but each breeder is chasing the standards that the Japanese have set.  I have traveled to Japan on four occasions for the sole purpose of acquiring koi.  After my first visit, I fell in love with Japan and each trip became less about koi and more about experiencing Japan.  My wife joined me for my last two trips as we both love Japan.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make any side trips to see bonsai, other than what was displayed in backyards and side streets.   

New koi hobbyists or newbies are often intimidated by the thought of keeping their koi alive.  I actually think koi are more difficult to keep alive and healthy than trees are.  There must be “50 ways to kill a koi”.  The most common are 1) chlorinated water (usually one forgets to turn off the hose) 2) predators (blue herons, raccoons, egrets, snakes, minks and the list goes on depending on your locality) 3) toxic water usually due to insufficient filtration or failure to do water changes or heavy rains 4) parasites that go untreated and 5) Koi Herpes Virus- (more about KHV later).  Koi are totally at the mercy of their owners.  You can neglect a tree for a short period of time and you may be okay but neglect a koi and trouble is sure to visit.  You can mother a tree to death, which is why it is recommended that you quickly purchase a dozen so no single tree is getting too much attention.  It is better that the newbie keep a small number of koi with his first pond.  The more time you can spend doing water changes and cleaning filters, the better off you are; i.e. lots of attention is good for koi.  In the beginning, it is good to make mental notes of koi behavior which many times are indicators of koi health.  Same for trees I suspect.  I like to say, koi will live until you kill them.   

The reason that modern koi can be so attractive and why their colors are so brilliant is because of the modern day koi show.  Success in shows means money for the breeders and dealers and a higher value for the individual koi.  As certain varieties become more popular, the breeders and dealers can raise the prices.  It is not unusual for grand champion koi to sell for $5000 - $10,000, with the most expensive koi sold in Japan in excess of $200,000. Koi are spawned from parent koi to the tune of a couple of hundred thousand eggs/fry, and breeders cull those numbers down in order to produce koi that have a market value.  The best koi are kept for a second or third year in order to raise the value and ultimately make more money at the time of sale.  The breeders rely on traceability (usually word of mouth or a certificate of authenticity), so that koi that do well in shows can be traced back to the breeder, elevating the name of the breeder in the eyes of the hobbyist.  That leads to more sales for the breeder and higher prices for his koi.

I had a interesting discussion with Earl Ekman and George Buehler following the May 22nd beginners’ workshop.  We were sitting in a Dairy Queen discussing bonsai shows and Earl mentioned that he had never seen a group of bonsai judged.  Earl said he had seen the results of a show but never a show judging in progress.  In bonsai, I doubt that you would ever get a judge to explain to the public all the details of the selection criteria and the reason for his or her selection; very different from a koi show.  We had 12 junipers that were styled, root pruned and potted at the May 22nd workshop, and I would have found it very educational if a couple of the senior members of the club would have stepped up and selected the best bonsai from the 12 trees that were styled.  I’m sure a lot of points would have gone towards the beginner that selected the best tree, but, again, I think I could have learned a lot.        

While the goal in bonsai is not typically to grow the trees larger, nor is the goal to keep the trees looking young, growing large and keeping a youthful look is the goal in koi that are intended to be entered into a koi show.  There are 14 varieties of koi with one of those varieties, Kawarimono, a catch all variety for those fish that don’t easily fit into the other 13.  And there are as many as eight size classes starting at under 8 inches, with the largest size being over 27 inches.  So, koi are competing against other koi of the same variety and size in what is referred to as an English style show.  Each exhibitor has his or her own tank or tanks(English style) so a judge must walk between the tanks, often with much repetition in order to compare all the koi in each of their respected categories.  A Japanese style show would place all the same size fish into the same tank, but due to KHV(mentioned earlier) there is too much risk associated with mixing fish.  In fact, because of KHV, health protocols have been put in place to eliminate any cross contamination.  KHV is a virus that will kill fish quickly given the right conditions, but does not affect goldfish or other types of fish. 

The fish are judged on color, skin quality, conformation, lack of defects (missing barbells, bent bodies, crooked heads, damaged fins) and the way they swim through the water.  Males typically do very well in shows up through size 4(20 inches) and then females dominate(typically).  Males do well because their colors are more intense at a young age but often fall apart after age 4.  Females do better later because of their body shape and the fact that their colors hold up longer.  Known females typically sell for 2x the price of males. Much debate occurs after shows as to the selection process and whether the judges “got it right”.  Judges are certified through the Associated Koi Clubs of America- AKCA- a three year program that includes a comprehensive test and candidate judging opportunities at a minimum number of shows. Show koi are often referred to as cut flowers and, as such, have a peak and a decline in terms of the show career.  And did I mention the cost of koi?  So, you think your bonsai was expensive.