Watermen Gardens, 1634 Campus Road, Elizabethtown, PA 17022; 717-367-9752; cell 717-572-1912; Email pondmang1@aol.com; web site www.watermen-gardens.com
Take 283 West to Rheems exit. Head towards Rt. 230. Before you get to Rt. 230, turn right onto Schwanger Road. After a short distance bear right onto Campus Road. Watermen Gardens will be on your right.
AUGUST 2006 Up-Date: I'm sorry to announce that Gorden R. Hostetter has closed his business and moved out of the area. At this time, we do not know if anyone else will take over the business or not.
Our host, Gorden R. Hostetter, Owner of Watermen Gardens, talked to us at length and shared his extensive experience raising Japanese Koi. Thanks, Gorden!
Some Club members at one of several ponds on the property
The thing in the middle of the picture above is a breeding tank. It's a large, inflatable, kids swimming pool about 3' deep and filled with water hyacinth and algae... and several very large (2-1/2 - 3 feet) koi that had just finished laying millions of eggs.
This is a very large windmill and water wheel. It is all decorative, but it provides a giant water fall (huge pumps raise the water to over 10 feet high) and the water wheel actually turns. The windmill also turns.
Among the many things that Gorden told us about:
* Use a little salt in your ponds... about 1lb per 100 gallons... for a 1% concentration. Then every so often check the saline level with a test kit since the plants will suck some salt out of the water as they grow. Saline test kits can be bought for about $7.00.
* Use a little hydrogen peroxide to kill algae.. about 10oz of 3% per 100 gallons; or about 8oz of 35% per 100 gallon... not real critical, but be sure to shut off your bio-filter for a few hours as the peroxide will kill the "good" bacteria. The peroxide converts back to plain water very rapidly. If the peroxide reduces too much oxygen in the water, the fish will be stressed, so be sure to have plenty of aeration available if needed. It is possible to kill your fish by using too much peroxide.
* Bio filters need lots of surface area. Gorden uses black plastic strapping as it provides tons of surface area and is inert in the water. It also cleans easily. Bio filters need to be re-seeded at least once a year since the cold of the winter will kill off a lot of the bio colony.
* Gorden likes the idea of designing an "under the gravel" filtration system for ponds. Just like under-the-gravel filters used in home aquariums, such a system is constantly sucking debris (that settles to the bottom of the pond) out of the gravel and moving it to the filtration system where it can be broken down by the bio filter. Without such a system, very toxic waste can build up on the bottom of a pond making it necessary to clean the bottom every 3 - 4 years.
* Salty water is very good for fish parasites and injuries. Also, iodine and mercurochrome can be applied directly to an injury with repeated treatments for several days until healing begins.
* Koi can be "sexed" by observing their "vents"... the male will have a single slit while the female will have an "X" opening. It helps to wait until they are 8 - 10 inches long.
* The feeding of "corn" (as an ingredient in the food) will tend to add "fat" to the fish which can be detrimental to its long term health the same way that obesity in humans isn't real good.
* Koi can be "force grown" by keeping them "awake" during the winter (use warm water like in a green house) and creating currents in the water which tend to force them to swim more and become hungry and eat. This way they are eating and growing all year long instead of just during the summer months. Some koi have been known to reach 4 feet long or more and live to over 170 years. About 80 years is a more normal life span for koi.
* Heavy fish "loads" (lots of fish in a small pond) are easily possible if you provide heavy filtration to keep the ammonia and other toxins down. And, you will need to feed them.
* Koi do not breed "true to color" and, instead, will produce many different colors.
* The Japanese produce such great specimens because they cull their baby fish very aggressively, keeping only the very best.
* Koi are vegetarians and love vegetables, especially algae and pond plants. Feeding high protein food (with built-in minerals and vitamins), however, does promote growth and color.
WebMaster: Since I wasn't actually taking notes during Gorden's talk, if I have made any mistakes in the above comments, please let me know and I'll get things corrected. Also, if I've left anything out, let me know and I'll get it added in.