Newsletter: Carol Mathis & Lisa Freeman

Transcription

1 March 2011 Issue Fish House Chatter Editors: Carol Mathis & Lisa Freeman By Don Manus We held our monthly meeting at The Captains Galley Seafood restaurant in February and had 11 members in attendance. What is it about koi people that we meet at fish houses to hold our meetings? Whatever it is, the food was excellent. We discussed several items of interest to the club. We voted against hosting a koi show this year and to shoot for 2012 instead. Some of the ideas we discussed were the fact that we need to secure a venue that has a high amount of both foot traffic and vehicle traffic it needs to be easily assessable. I would like to thank Tracy and Tonya McCorkle for volunteering to host it at their home, as it would be a good venue as far as cost goes but there is just not enough traffic in their area to make it feasible. We talked about checking out the Embassy Suites to see if the lower deck would be suitable and also to check out the Charlotte farmers market to see if it would be available to us. Both of these would save us the cost of renting a tent which by the way is our biggest cost. There was also chat about limiting the number of vendors, but we decided this would not be done as it did not work out in the past. I realize the vendors pay for the show and without them there would be no show, but if we limit the number of vendors we will have to increase the price for vendor space. I will check out both of these venues myself to see what can be done and will report at the next meeting on Saturday, March 12 th. There was some discussion about attending the Charleston Showa Club s Pond tour, which we think is in June, and we conversed about renting tanks to the Koi club from SC, which was voted on and approved. Myrtis and I and probably Tracy will be attending this show. Keep in mind, that the next meeting has been relocated to my house at 1400 Pinecrest Avenue in Charlotte (zip 28205). Anyone showing up without a covered dish will be flogged! Directions to my house are elsewhere in the newsletter Thanks, Don Manus, President PKWS 2011 OFFICERS: President: Don Manus VP: Terry McClain Secretary: Mary Ann Penix Treasurer: Allen Lee APPOINTED OFFICES: Show Chairs: Rebecca & Russell Trull Membership: Allen Lee Property Manager: Tracy McCorkle Newsletter: Carol Mathis & Lisa Freeman Webmaster: Mike Long Treasurer s Report: Not available

2 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 2 MARCH SOCIAL MEETING Saturday, March 12th at 5:30 pm Don & Mytris Manus Home Address: 1400 Pinecrest Ave, Charlotte NC Telephone: Traveling on Independence Blvd. take exit 245B/Eastway Drive. Go to the top of the hill, and at the traffic light turn left on Woodland and go to the first street on the right named Oakmont. Go to the last house on the right; The house is on the corner of Oakmont and Pinecrest Upcoming Social Meeting Dates: Mark Your Calendars! March 12...Don & Myrtis Manus April 9...Brannon & LeeAnn Raines April 16 or 23..Koi Sale at Leo Bollinger & Carol Mathis May 14...Terry & Mary Ellen McClain June 11...Don & MaryAnn Penix July 9...Larry & Phyllis Rosen August 13...Lisa Freeman September 10...Allen & Regina Lee October 8...Mike & Heather Long November 12...Eleanor Ubry December 10...Tracy & Tanya McCorkle MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 12, 2011 MEETING Submitted by Secretary Mary Ann Penix The February 12, 2011 meeting was held at the Captain s Galley Restaurant in Matthews. Nine members were present. President Manus opened the meeting at 5:55 PM. New Business: Tracy McCorkle stated that Greenville desires to rent our tanks again this year. MOTION TO LET GREENVILLE RENT OUR TANKS BY CAROL MATHIS. SECONDED BY SECRETARY MARY ANN PENIX. MOTION PASSED. Our Koi sale will be held at 12:00 PM on April 30, 2011 at the home of Leo Bollinger and Carol Mathis. If you sell fish, you must help set-up and tear-down. We will advertise on Craig s List and possibly the Asian Paper. Allen Lee reports 36 paid members. Darlene Shotts will order a pallet of HAI FENG fish food. Cost will be $ $ per portion. Notify Don Manus if you wish to purchase. Old Business: After much discussion---motion to plan Koi Show for 2012 by Myrtis Manus. Second by Brannon Raines. Motion Passed. At our March Social, committee nominations will be made for 2012 Koi Show. Discussion: Add Koi Netters web site to PKWS web site. Leo Bollinger has a pump to loan if anyone needs it. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM.

3 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 3 Cheap DIY Fish Hatchery Instructions By Lisa Freeman Last month I shared some ideas about making DIY spawning mops, and this month we need something to put those mops into so the fry can safely hatch until they are big enough to safely go in the pond. This is a great project for a rainy day that is both easy to make and inexpensive. Grab a bunch of PVC (that you might even have laying around), and let s make a cheap DIY hatchery for hatching eggs and raising fry. You're looking to make a rectangle, and I happened to have a whole bunch of these ½ PVC parts on hand: Next, just put all the parts together to form corners. Just a tip: If I would have had a can of black spray paint on hand, I would have sprayed the pipe black or used ABS pipe to better disguise it in the pond.

4 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 4 Now, put all your pieces together to form the top and bottom frames. I made my hatchery particularly large (34") because I wanted to potentially use it to separate a fish in the pond if I had to, or to put in a specific breeding pair of goldfish. You can make yours any size you want by cutting the PVC length accordingly. Put the pieces of PVC in between the top and bottom now to build your box: Next comes the screening. I happened to have this (see photo below) in the house. It's pet screening that is not metal like window screening, but rather plastic so it's nice and pliable and soft. It was not wide enough to fully go around the frame in one piece, so I cut the smaller side panels out. Buy the absolute smallest weave/hole you can find. Instead of the pet screening I used, the perfect variety is the window screening used to prevent mosquitoes or no-see-ums from coming

5 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 5 through as fish fry are remarkably small and can easily squeeze through standard screen sizes. Initially, I was planning on sewing the screening together, but I had no fishing line on hand to do so. So, I thought about my favorite zip-ties, and figured I could use 'em! If you ve got patience, you can sew your netting together onto your frame with some thin fishing line and thicker needle. Don t use standard thread, as this will only rot in the water and fall apart eventually. The thread has to be waterproof and plastic coated.

6 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 6 Here's the hatchery after all the zip ties (or cable ties as some folks call 'em) cut to make things nice and neat: Once in the pond, the hatchery will naturally float. I've got the two spawning mops with eggs on them in there (hard to see). As I said, if you spray paint the pipes black or used ABS, you will hardly see the hatchery in your pond. But it's only something you use a short period, so it wasn't a big deal to me. I figured the hole thing took about an hour and 15 minutes to make and cost under $15 bucks to make. Happy DIY'ing! If you d like to learn more, you can visit my pond forum at

7 PKWS MARCH 2011 ISSUE PAGE 7 WHAT S THAT ON MY FISH? From our friends at Nature s Coast Koi & Watergarden Club Aeromonas hydrophilia, also called ulcer disease or just Aeromonas, is the number one killer of Koi. It does not kill nearly as fast as a virus like KHV, but if not treated, a Koi will usually eventually succumb to the disease. Aeromonas is always present in water, it is also an opportunistic bacteria. Koi will only get an infection if something else has harmed them in some way, especially if portions of their slime coat have been stripped away. Aeromonas and Pseudomonas usually exhibit the same symptoms. The skin ulcer will grow bigger and bigger until muscle tissue is exposed. After that, the infection turns septic and spreads throughout a Koi s blood stream. The kidneys usually fail next and then a Koi s ability to osmoregulate fails. This causes the condition known as dropsy, or pine cone disease. The Koi will expire, usually with two weeks as more and more bodily functions fail. Nowadays, many strains of Aeromonas are very resistant to antibiotics. This is due to the abuse of antibiotics by the Koi breeders over the years, so they could lower mortality rates and increase profit. Koi can get Aeromonas Infections from stress, parasites, abrasive pond or tank surfaces, rough handling, bad water quality. Or other immunosuppressant conditions (cold water, moved too much, being frightened) Chilodonella Killer Don as referred originally by Dr. Jack Gratzek. This is the one that kills so many fish so fast in the springtime. Treats easily with salt, and I have never seen an exception. Clears almost overnight, so salting saves a lot of fish. Salt levels of 0.3% tend to be quickly curative. Under the scope you may see a heart-shaped organism or a large round organism full of tiny bubbles. Alive, the Chilodinella resembles a heart shaped onion, with a fuzzy end where you would imagine the onion roots would be. These are actually cilia. Dead, Chilodinella are motionless round balls full of tiny bubbles. They may resemble ich but they do not have a crescent nucleus nor do they move in their dead, rounded state. Leave the salt in for 14 days, and be sure to supplement aeration, as gill damage d/t Chilodinella may be severe in the survivors. Chilodinella should be suspected anytime large numbers of fish are dying on the surface, or who roll over on their sides except when disturbed when they tend to dash madly away. Salt Against Ciliates By Doc Johnson (DrJohnson.com) I recommend that you use salt, before you try anything else for parasites. I recommend salt so often because it has so many benefits over other medications. Namely: 1. It does not burn the majority of fish species. 2. It does not push sick fish over the edge. 3. It eliminates QUICKLY, 7 of 9 parasites I can easily recall. 4. It does not get bound out of the system by organics or sunlight. 5. It does not pose a health risk to humans contacting it. 6. It s CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP 7. Lastly, it won t harm your filter. Salt: Remove submerged plants. Perform a fifty percent water change and clean the pond as well as reasonably possible without causing undue delay in treatment. Apply one teaspoon of non-iodized table salt per gallon of water every 12 hours for three treatments (3 tsp per gallon). Alternatively, for larger systems, dose one pound per hundred gallons of water every 12 hours for three treatments (3 pounds per hundred gallons). Add all at once in the case of epidemic mortality. Salt is a superior remedy for many different reasons, many of which will show up in a search of my website. Kosher salt, Sea Salt, non-iodized table, rock and ice cream salt are acceptable. Do not use salt intended for livestock if it contains any minerals or trace elements. CAUTION: No YPS or Yellow Prussiate of Soda should be in the salt. Prussic Acid is hazardous to fish because it dissociates into Prussic Acid in water.

8 PKWS M E M B E R S H I P F O R M The Piedmont Koi and Watergarden Society (PKWS) is a not for profit organization. The membership year runs from January 1st through December 31st. Annual Membership Dues for a family for the first year are $55.00 AND INCLUDES UP TO TWO (2) NAME BADGES. Additional nametags may be purchased at a cost of $15.00 each. For renewing members the dues are $24.00 Please complete the following form and return it with your membership dues to: ALLEN LEE 900 Club Drive Monroe, NC Please print clearly (this information will only be used for club records). Please print your names) as you would like them to appear on your name tag(s). You can also find an electronic copy of this form on our website. Last Name: First Name(s): Address: City: State: Zip: Signature: Date: Address: Telephone # Membership Dues: (New member) $55.00 or (Renewal) $24.00 (Circle One) Additional Name tags ($15.00) TOTAL ENCLOSED: Visit us on the web at Newsletter Layout & Design: Lisa Freeman