Koi Club of San Diego

Volume 23 Issue 12

KOI CLUB OF SAN DIEGO

December 2023

We’d like to welcome all of our Koi Club of San Diego Members to our new Facebook GROUP!

Koi Club of San Diego has a Facebook PAGE and a Facebook GROUP. Below is the explanation of the differences and how to join (you have to have or create your own Facebook account first):

PAGE

GROUP

Who is it for?

Members and general public

Only current members

Purpose

To inform public of our Koi Club, brag about it, promote and share our events.

For members to communicate and collaborate, ask questions, request help from other club members and post photos of their koi ponds.

Why should I “Join”/”Like”?

“Like” and “Share” to promote our Club to other koi enthusiasts or possible sponsors. Please “Share” with anyone who might be interested!

Join for the reasons stated above. This GROUP is for YOU!

Who can post?

Admins only, but others can comment

All current Club members can create, comment and share posts, plus upload photos.

Where do I “Join”/”Like”

https://www.facebook.com/KoiClubofSanDiego

https://www.facebook.com/groups/koiclubofsandiegomembersonlygroup/?ref=share

You will be asked three questions when joining the GROUP and your current membership status will be verified. The answers to the questions will help us with club operations, free surveys, sign up lists, and the list of members willing to host meetings and/or volunteer.

We hope to see you on our Facebook GROUP!

JOIN NOW

KOI FEEDING CHART

The data for this chart was provided by the Pond Informer. Please click HERE to read their detailed article "How Often Should I Feed My Koi?"

Photos from the November Club meeting at the home of Steve and Alexa Ford

by Bill Newell

December Koi Club of San Diego Meeting

December 10th, 2023

OUR HOSTS WILL BE

Frank and Nancy Cannizzaro

11727 Invierno Drive

San Diego , CA 92124

Social hour - 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm

Meeting begins at 1 pm

ATTENTION - SEVERE ALLERGY:

PLEASE DO NOT

bring or wear anything containing cinnamon;

you do not need to bring food or a chair.

We will be doing a Secret Santa gift exchange, please bring a gift under $25 if you would like to participate.

VIEW IN GOOGLE MAPS

PONDER PROFILE

by John Svelan and Lenore Wade, photography by Bill Newell

Nancy and Frank Cannizzaro

John Svelan wrote this article a “few” years ago. I sent it to Frank and Nancy and asked them to update it for you.

I want to thank the Cannizzaro’s who have been hosting our special Christmas event for a number of years. They go above and beyond the ordinary hosting duties to make a memorable event for us. Those of you who have hosted know what this entails, but Frank and Nancy prepare and serve ALL of the food for us, so their involvement is way beyond what is expected. I know you will appreciate spending the day with the Cannizzaro family and your fellow club members.

Frank & Nancy reside in a one-of-a-kind home on a canyon ridge in a quiet neighborhood of Tierrasanta. In the 19 years they have lived there, they have transformed the house and yard into a nature paradise surrounded by eclectic treasures created by the talented couple. Both Nancy and Frank are now retired. Nancy, with a little help from a few friends, dug out the 7,000 gallon Koi pond then with the help of Frank, they built the cover. Regardless of how you slice the projects you’ll find that teamwork is definitely the key to making this home a paradise. As you will see in the photos captured by Bill Newell, every direction is filled with a jaw dropping surprise. One example is the Huge Octopus that Nancy constructed from pvc pipes and papier-mache (and has been weathering with age over the past several years). When asked why is it sitting on top of a fence? the answer became obvious… it catches the rainwater off the roof in one tentacle and disburses the water to the canyon through the other seven! I should have known that I guess. I might add that Nancy recycles ‘everything’ into some new form of artwork from bottle caps to plant cuttings… nothing goes to waste!

This beautiful pond with 2 full size bridges is the home of 12 medium (12” to 30”) size very healthy Koi that were adopted through the Vagabond Koi Rescue Program. The extensive plants help maintain the crystal-clear water. They also have a fully enclosed junior pond for 5+- junior Koi and a hand full of gold fish for color. Living on a

canyon with hungry and curious raccoons, bob cats and cougars helped redesign many aspects of both ponds. For example… they had a bee problem. It was hot, the bees were thirsty and the pond was the place to find a little refreshment. No biggie, right? Well maybe not until they told their friends about this cool place. Before long hundreds of bees were dropping by for a visit. Frank and Nancy placed a small pond in the direct flight of the bees and filled it with landing plants so the bees mostly stay out of the big pond. This was safer for the bees as the largest Koi enjoys waiting silently where bees come to land in the big pond; then he lunges at them and smiles.

This year, the latest addition is Elephant Ear plants. They are huge and delightful. The leaves droop as they disintegrate and the Koi nibble on them. No waste – no cleanup. They also covered the bridges with fake grass. Totally different look now.

Thank you, Frank & Nancy, for sharing your home and your Ponder Profile!

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

by Lenore Wade

The first and most important part of this message is a huge “thank you” to Alexa and Steve Ford who hosted our November meeting at their home in Oceanside. If my count is correct, there were 30 members in attendance, which was a good turn-out. What makes it more special is that it took a commitment by the members to drive the 75 plus miles (round-trip) to be at the meeting. Thanks to all of you. Thanks too, to Julia who stood in for Matt and did a delightful program about koi. I hope that all of you at the meeting sampled the delicious chili and cornbread made by our hostess…it was so yummy!

I am afraid this will be a shorter than usual message since I mis-placed my notes from our steering committee meeting. I use that paper as my source for things to write about.

Those of you at the meeting were surprised that we had no gift table. It was brought to the attention of the club that we have to file a form with the state, and pay $25.00 in order to have a donation table and sell tickets. The paperwork has been filed, so I am hopeful that all will be back to normal for the January meeting in Alpine. I do want to thank the members who handed me $40.00 in cash as donations to help make up for the revenue lost.

It has been noted that some members have changed their phone numbers, or e-mail addresses in the past and our record keeping has not been made aware of it. If you find yourself fitting this notice, please update your profile on our website www.koiclufofsandiego.org or send the new info to the membership chair or to me (lenorewade@yahoo.com) so we can keep good records.

Please read the Ponder Profile in this newsletter so you will know about our Christmas meeting at the home of Frank and Nancy Cannizzaro in Tierra Santa on Sunday, December 10th. It is a fun meeting with no business conducted. As time gets closer, Nancy will be sending an E-blast so you are aware of the meeting and the special requests they make. Please bring NO FOOD to the meeting, and chairs are not needed.

If you want to participate, there is a gift exchange. The price limit is $25.00. You can bring a new gift, a re-gift, or a white elephant. Please bring something as nice as you would like to receive. Koi Jack will be our Master of Ceremonies and have total control of the gifting process.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Text Message Use Poll Results

The question in the recent poll on the use of text messages has passed (Yes-15,No-6). When the feature is setup, an email will be sent so members can consent to receiving texts from the club if desired. The text option will only be used for emergencies, urgent matters, and for a final notice of an expiring membership (after 3 emails).

In the meantime, please login and check your profile to ensure that only your cell phone is listed in the cell phone field, not your home number. In order to view the website sections restricted to membership, such as; old newsletters, koi health articles, and the club directory, you must first login.

Thank you to everyone that participated in the poll. Your input was very appreciated.

JAPANESE FRENDSHIP GARDEN VOLUNTEER NEEDED FOR MONDAY MORNINGS AROUND 8:00 AM

We are looking for a member who can help us at the Japanese Friendship Garden on Monday mornings around 8:00am.
Before there was a koi pond in the upper Garden area there was grass. That’s all. We suggested for years that we would take care of the filter system if they would build a koi pond which would become the central jewel to the Garden (there was no canyon Garden at the time). Norm Meck of our club designed the pond (with a few modifications) and Voila! we have a koi pond. We have been taking care of and cleaning the filter system since 1999 really as a community service to Balboa Park.
We would appreciate any help even if you can’t commit to every Monday. Being able to lift 35-40 pounds is necessary to open each section of the deck where the filter is located. AND you get to pick the brain of our KHA/Show Entrant Chairman, Koi Jack, who has been overseeing the fishes health since 2005

If interested, call me and leave a message at 619-200-4146 and/or email me at lpluth@cox.net.

Linda Pluth
Japanese Friendship Garden Liaison

ADDITIONAL UPCOMING EVENTS

STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, December 13th

at 7:00 pm

(earlier if you are ordering food)

ALL MEMBERS WELCOME!

Dennys

2691 Navajo Road

El Cajon, CA 92020

View in Google Maps

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Gary NG

Zhi Hu and Monica Ma

Fritz and Christy Hinrichs

WELCOME BACK RENEWING MEMBERS!

Carla Montijo and Michael Ramirez

Toni and Sasi Limvorapun

Dorene Dias Pesta and Terry Pesta

KHA KORNER

by "Koi Jack" Chapman

Winter Time in Southern California - updated

So, your pond temps are now down in the lower 60’s F and maybe or soon to hit the 50’s F. You may not need your additional oxygen with colder water temps and a reasonable fish load. You should have noticed a slowing down of all things koi do during the summer months. You should have adjusted your feeding schedule and greatly reduced or eliminated any High protein food (40+%) as your koi can no longer fully metabolize it and most of it just goes out the vent and turns into food for the bad bugs and increased potential for issues with your koi’s health come spring. Koi are a four-season fish and when pond temps drop below 56F your feeding schedule needs to be further reduced to less than daily and consider stop feeding all together at 50 to 52F.

A few general winter time reminders:

1. Reducing your heavy summer maintenance schedule during winter is not a bad thing – but this does not mean to totally eliminate maintenance for three or four months. I still recommend weekly water quality checks (pond temp, pH, NH3 – ammonia, KH - alkalinity and a 10% weekly water change).
2. Having milder winters in our area (especially on the coast) can lead to a collection of the bad bacteria (disease causing) in any detritus on the bottom of your pond. Remember this stuff (Aeromonas) continues to multiply down to around 49 degrees. So, if you have a collection of organic matter in your pond or filter system it will feed the bad bacteria and you could end up with sick koi. Note: This is all during the time when your koi’s immune system is at its lowest capabilities. Sick koi in cold water are VERY slow to respond to treatment and often require being moved to a sick tank with a heater. $$ And, while most parasites are taking a break during winter, Chilodonella Cyprini is a winter time parasite (active in the 40s and 50s degree range) and we had a couple cases last winter season. And lastly with this junk in your pond – come spring it will severally increase your chances of developing sick koi early on!!!!
3. So not the time to stop looking at your koi. With cooler water temps the koi spend more time around or sitting on the bottom of your pond (normal behavior) – and if you’ve got the bad bugs growing in the stuff on the bottom of your pond or in the water column you could have FIN ROT on the anal fin and the bottom of the tail or even pec fins. When they forage on the bottom you can even have mouth rot appear. Additionally, you will also notice a change in your koi’s color during this time of year. The sumi (black) on most koi will show improvement in all ways and very nice to see and observe during the colder water season. However, a few koi will do just the opposite as in Ochiba Shigure can lighten the sumi outlines on the scales (right down to gone). We have one at the Japanese Friendship Garden and for the fifth year now she does not look as good during winter and come spring the sumi outline will return. Also, it is the time of year that Kumonryu will increase the amount of white for the first few years of life before becoming more stable later in life. It’s a cool time to observe your koi; LOL.
4. Some people (me included) have been slow to reduce feeding as we move to winter temps (for us) and the amount of waste in the ponds has increased – just another reason to keep up with maintenance and you know what? “Early morning poop watch.” IT CAN TELL YOU SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT YOUR KOI ARE OR ARE NOT DOING WITH THE FOOD YOU ARE FEEDING. When you see a lot of waste, that’s undigested food from the koi and food for the bad bacteria. Maybe it is time to reduce amount and review food choices. It’s the one thing that makes me change my feeding regimen.
5. In winter your koi don’t assimilate (digest) protein as well from animal sources. So, it’s time to look closer to what’s in your koi feed, even the All Seasons labels, and consider the wheat base koi feed for this time of year.
6. Don’t change from your winter-feeding schedule just because it has been or will be warmer for a couple days. Just Don’t Do It! With pond temp at 58 degrees in the AM – it’s time to consider not feeding every day (maybe every other day); at 55 degrees maybe every third day; and at 50/51/52 degrees consider stop feeding. I like to have my no-feed time to be four to six weeks each year. Usually about Jan15 to Feb15 as that’s the recorded coldest time of the year for my location.
7. When I get into the temps contained in paragraph 6 (actually at 63 and 58 degrees) I change out some of my higher protein food for cooked long grain rice. This is fed at the same time as edamame (all season food for my koi) as both sink along with chopped cooked red yams. And yes, I also add Manda Fu when my pond temp reaches 58 plus the all-season manufactured feed as my 63-degree protein change. But we all know how much I love experimenting with all things we feed our koi, but you can rest assured your koi will do fine with a diet of just commercially sold koi food pellets developed for winter time, and a proper feeding schedule.