- ISBN: 9780470099131 | 0470099135
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 3/12/2007
Patricia Bartlett grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and began keeping fish at age 10. She has journeyed to Costa Rica and Peru to net and write about angelfish, discus, and knife fish. She is a recent convert to the wonderful world of koi.
The Bartletts have co-authored numerous pet care books, mostly centering on reptiles and amphibians.
Introduction | p. 7 |
About This Book | p. 1 |
Conventions Used in This Book | p. 2 |
What You're Not to Read | p. 2 |
Foolish Assumptions | p. 3 |
How This Book Is Organized | p. 3 |
Koi Basics | p. 3 |
Living with Koi, Inside and Out | p. 3 |
Caring for Koi and Keeping Them Healthy | p. 4 |
The Big Leagues: Koi Breeding and Showing | p. 4 |
The Part of Tens | p. 4 |
Icons Used in This Book | p. 5 |
Where to Go from Here | p. 5 |
Koi Basics | p. 7 |
Going "Koi Kichi" - Crazy for Koi | p. 9 |
Appreciating the Beauty of Koi: The Underground Fad | p. 10 |
The Three Types of Koi-Keepers | p. 10 |
Knowing the Essentials for Any Koi-Keeper | p. 11 |
The winner for "Most Obvious": Koi | p. 11 |
A transitional home for your koi | p. 11 |
A permanent home for your koi (most likely a pond) | p. 12 |
Pond gadgets: The filter and pump | p. 12 |
Understanding the Demands of a Koi Pond | p. 13 |
Keeping Koi Healthy: A Brief How-To | p. 14 |
Joining a Koi Club: What It Can Do for You; What You Can Do for It | p. 15 |
Magnifying Your Pleasure: The Many Ways to Enjoy Your Koi | p. 16 |
Knowing Your Koi | p. 17 |
In the Beginning: A Brief History of Koi | p. 17 |
Taming of the carp: Koi's grand pappy | p. 17 |
Moving from food to art | p. 18 |
Launching a hobby | p. 19 |
Assessing the Beauty Marks of a Koi Today | p. 19 |
First things first: Understanding the difference between goldfish and koi | p. 20 |
The anatomy of a koi | p. 22 |
How big are we talking? The size of koi | p. 22 |
Recognizing the finer points of koi | p. 23 |
The Confusing Part (Made Simple): Koi Varieties | p. 26 |
Color me koi: The rainbow of many shades | p. 27 |
Simply brilliant! The divisions of metallic and nonmetallic koi | p. 28 |
The Popularity Contest: Which Varieties Take the Trophy? | p. 31 |
The Karate Kids of Koi: Tategoi and Their Potential | p. 32 |
Making Sure Koi Are Right for You | p. 35 |
Do You Have the Space It Takes? | p. 36 |
Calculating a koi's fin-flippin' space | p. 36 |
Estimating the space your koi's habitat requires | p. 37 |
Is Time on Your Side? | p. 38 |
Keeping up a koi pond | p. 38 |
Being prepared for a lifelong commitment | p. 39 |
Do You Have the Bread to Buy, House, and Care for Koi? | p. 40 |
The cost of the fish alone | p. 40 |
The equipment that gives your koi a home | p. 41 |
The necessary funds for koi maintenance | p. 42 |
Building a Pond? Construction Costs to Consider | p. 43 |
Securing the necessary permits | p. 43 |
Digging the hole | p. 43 |
Buying a preformed pond | p. 44 |
Installing a pond liner | p. 44 |
Pouring a cement pond | p. 45 |
Accounting for Your Climate | p. 46 |
A Koi Buyer's Guide | p. 47 |
Oh Where, Oh Where to Buy My Koi? | p. 47 |
Recognizing the major markets: Japan, Israel, and the United States | p. 48 |
Visiting your local garden store (or pet store or aquarium shop) | p. 50 |
Heading straight for the source: Local breeders | p. 51 |
Going once, going twice, sold at a local koi auction | p. 51 |
Surfing (online) for koi | p. 53 |
Going "away" for your koi | p. 53 |
Determining What You See and What You Get | p. 55 |
Choosing colors and patterns to suit your style | p. 55 |
Considering size: What's right for you? | p. 56 |
Selecting healthy koi | p. 57 |
Best bets for the indecisive: Advice from yours truly | p. 59 |
Buying Koi "To Go" | p. 60 |
Living with Koi, Inside and Out | p. 61 |
Preparing for Your Koi's Homecoming | p. 63 |
Deciding Where Your Koi Will Live (Temporarily or For Always) | p. 63 |
Taking Necessary Precautions: Preparing the Quarantine Tub | p. 64 |
What you need for the job | p. 65 |
Rub-a-dub-dub, setting up the tub | p. 66 |
Shopping for Initial Supplies | p. 68 |
Getting Your Koi Home | p. 69 |
Bringing home local koi | p. 69 |
Shipping your koi | p. 70 |
After You Get Home-Sweet-Home | p. 72 |
Easing your fish from bag to quarantine tub | p. 12 |
Let the quarantine begin! | p. 74 |
Transferring koi into the aquarium or pond | p. 75 |
Planning Your Koi Pond | p. 77 |
Considerations to Toss Around Before You Dig | p. 77 |
Avoiding potential problems | p. 78 |
Cutting your way through the red tape | p. 79 |
What if you already have a pond (or pool)? | p. 80 |
Deciding to take it indoors: Knowing what you're taking on | p. 81 |
Planning for weather changes with an outdoor pond | p. 82 |
Looking at Your Pond Options | p. 82 |
Choosing your material | p. 82 |
A good design now makes a difference down the road | p. 84 |
Where to Dig Your Pond - Location, Location, Location | p. 86 |
Finding the Right Filtration System | p. 87 |
How a filtration system works | p. 88 |
Choosing the right features for your system | p. 90 |
The cost factor: What does a pump cost to run? | p. 92 |
Building Your Pond | p. 93 |
Who Will Dig (And Build) Your Pond? | p. 94 |
Doing it yourself | p. 94 |
Hiring a professional for the entire project | p. 95 |
Converting a Swimming Pool into a Koi Pond | p. 97 |
Selecting the Building Materials for Your Spanking New Pond | p. 100 |
Going with a Liner-Alone Pond | p. 101 |
Starting with a pond wall ring | p. 101 |
Excavating and adding the drains | p. 103 |
Inserting the liner | p. 104 |
Creating a Pond with a Liner and Concrete-Block Walls | p. 106 |
Shoveling dirt: Dig time | p. 106 |
Laying the block walls | p. 107 |
Aligning the drains | p. 109 |
Adding the liner | p. 110 |
The all-concrete-block pond | p. 110 |
Identifying (And Adding) Other Construction Components | p. 112 |
Installing the filtration unit | p. 112 |
Adding lighting | p. 113 |
Skimmer units, protein and otherwise | p. 114 |
Finishing work | p. 114 |
New Pond Syndrome and What to Do about It | p. 117 |
Aging the pond water and the biological filter | p. 117 |
Making It Pretty: Landscaping the Pond | p. 119 |
A Habitat Fit for Your Koi: Furnishing Their Digs | p. 119 |
Avoiding the holey-plant problem | p. 120 |
Opting for plastic to avoid the hassle | p. 123 |
Stepping over the edge (of your pond) | p. 123 |
Creating the Landscape of Your Heart's Desire | p. 124 |
The two popular styles: Japanese and just plain wild | p. 124 |
Putting fish first and landscape second: Controlling the sunlight | p. 125 |
Finding plants that suit your fancy | p. 126 |
Pond-edge plantings: Balancing heights, textures, and colors | p. 126 |
Setting the Mood with Lighting | p. 129 |
Lighting up from down below: Submersible lights | p. 129 |
Lighting your koi from above: Accent lights | p. 129 |
Adding the Finishing Touches: Garden Accessories | p. 130 |
Planting a statue | p. 130 |
Positioning a bench | p. 131 |
Going the Extra Mile: Adding a Patio or Deck | p. 131 |
Patios - Simply beautiful | p. 131 |
Decks - Naturally versatile | p. 132 |
Maintaining Your Pond | p. 133 |
Maintaining Your Equipment | p. 133 |
Testing for Proper Water Chemistry | p. 134 |
Ammonia | p. 135 |
pH | p. 136 |
Nitrites | p. 136 |
Dissolved oxygen | p. 137 |
When You Need to Change the Water | p. 138 |
Maintaining a Stable Temperature | p. 139 |
When the weather gets cold | p. 140 |
Dealing with hotter temps | p. 143 |
Keeping Predators Away | p. 144 |
Caring for the Pond through the Four Seasons | p. 146 |
Falling into a slower routine | p. 146 |
Settling into winter | p. 146 |
Spring into (careful) action | p. 147 |
Easing into summer | p. 148 |
Keeping Koi Inside | p. 151 |
Addressing Humidity and Its Effect on Your Home | p. 152 |
Planning Ahead for Your Indoor Spectacle | p. 153 |
Considering the aquarium option | p. 155 |
Deciding on the setup type | p. 155 |
Figuring out how big to make it | p. 155 |
Buying the necessary indoor pond equipment | p. 156 |
Getting Down to Business: Setting Up Your Indoor Pond | p. 159 |
Starting out simple with an aquarium | p. 160 |
Setting up a preformed pond | p. 161 |
Building and setting up a timber-and-liner pond | p. 162 |
Monitoring Water Quality | p. 165 |
Adding the Finishing Touch: Releasing the Koi | p. 167 |
How to Tell When Something's Wrong (And How to Fix It) | p. 167 |
Caring for Koi and Keeping Them Healthy | p. 169 |
Koi Nutrition 101 | p. 171 |
Eating Right: It's All about Variety | p. 171 |
Making the Best Commercial Food Choices | p. 172 |
What to look for in koi food | p. 172 |
Sinking versus floating food | p. 175 |
Adding Some Simple (And Lively) Treats | p. 176 |
Avoiding Foods that Do No Good | p. 177 |
Supplying Supplements | p. 179 |
Feeding Koi through the Seasons | p. 180 |
Establishing the Timing and Right Amounts for Feedings | p. 181 |
Feeding times | p. 182 |
Hand feeding | p. 182 |
Using automatic feeders | p. 182 |
Diffusing Koi Stress | p. 183 |
How Can a Fish Possibly Feel Stress? | p. 183 |
Signs Your Koi Are Stressing Out | p. 184 |
Sources of Stress and How to Fix Them | p. 185 |
Water quality | p. 186 |
Low oxygen levels | p. 186 |
Crowding | p. 187 |
Moving your fish | p. 187 |
Temperature extremes | p. 189 |
Other potential causes | p. 190 |
Spotting and Treating Common Koi Ailments | p. 191 |
Empowering You, Because Koi Vets Are Few | p. 192 |
Taking a Close Look: The Do-It-Yourself Koi Exam | p. 193 |
Catching your koi | p. 193 |
Examining your sickly fish | p. 193 |
Dealing with Mild Traumatic Injuries | p. 195 |
The Most Famous Parasites of All | p. 196 |
Anchor worms | p. 197 |
Apiosoma | p. 198 |
Chilodonella | p. 199 |
Costia | p. 200 |
Fish lice | p. 200 |
Flukes | p. 201 |
Ich | p. 202 |
Bacterial Infections: Bad News Anywhere | p. 203 |
The exterior attack | p. 203 |
The inside attack: Internal infections | p. 205 |
Preventing bacterial infection | p. 205 |
Swimmer's Gill (Or Skin): Fungal Infections | p. 206 |
Got fungus on the gills? | p. 207 |
Fluffy white fur isn't always a good thing | p. 207 |
The Three Greatest Viral Threats: Pox, SVK, and KHV | p. 208 |
Forget the chicken - koi get carp pox | p. 209 |
Spring viremia of carp: Predator of koi at their most vulnerable | p. 209 |
The quick, sneaky killer: Koi herpes virus | p. 210 |
Keeping your old koi safe from viral infection | p. 211 |
Setting up the Hospital Tank | p. 211 |
Sedating Your Koi, Giving Injections, and Other First-Aid Tasks | p. 212 |
The Big Leagues: Koi Breeding and Showing | p. 215 |
Breeding Koi | p. 217 |
To Breed or Not to Breed: That Is the Question | p. 217 |
Predictions You Can Make (And Those You Can't) | p. 218 |
Preparing for the Dirty Deed | p. 220 |
Gathering the necessary tools | p. 220 |
Getting the breeding grounds ready for showtime | p. 221 |
Casting the stars of the show | p. 222 |
Grooming your koi for the rendezvous | p. 224 |
Getting Down to Business | p. 225 |
Beginning the breeding | p. 225 |
Letting your koi have at it | p. 225 |
Reaping Your Reward: Parenting the Eggs Till They Hatch | p. 226 |
In the beginning | p. 227 |
Moving on up | p. 228 |
Low-Maintenance Breeding: The All-Natural Love Pond | p. 229 |
Sectioning off the in-pond romping grounds | p. 229 |
Preparing your pond for babies | p. 230 |
The Small Fry: Bringing Up Baby Koi | p. 231 |
Feeding Fry | p. 231 |
A fry's feeding schedule | p. 233 |
Hatching brine shrimp | p. 236 |
Culling: It Ain't Easy, but Somebody Has To Do It | p. 237 |
What to cull | p. 238 |
How much to cull | p. 239 |
Evaluating Your Young Koi | p. 239 |
Koi Shows: Your All-Access Pass to Koi Kichi-dom | p. 241 |
Showing Your Koi - Why Bother? | p. 242 |
You win gold in terms of knowledge | p. 242 |
You get to know your koi better | p. 242 |
You see what you're up against and what's in vogue | p. 243 |
Finding a Show Near You (Or Even Far Away) | p. 243 |
Showing Off Your Pride and Joy | p. 244 |
Registering for a show | p. 244 |
A brief rundown of the affair | p. 245 |
Surveying the many ways to win | p. 246 |
The judging process | p. 247 |
After the show: Packing up and heading out | p. 249 |
Attending a Show Just for Kicks and Giggles | p. 250 |
Playing Host: Setting Up Your Own Show | p. 250 |
House-to-house shows | p. 250 |
Regional shows | p. 251 |
The Part of Tens | p. 255 |
Ten Things to Do When the Power Goes Out | p. 257 |
Lower the Fish Load in Your Pond | p. 257 |
Stop Feeding Your Fish | p. 258 |
Do a 30-Percent Water Change | p. 258 |
Test Your Water Daily for Ammonia and Nitrites | p. 258 |
Add Salt or Zeolite | p. 259 |
Use an Inverter to Power Your Air Pump | p. 259 |
Let ol'Sol Power Your Pond | p. 259 |
Mist Your Pond | p. 260 |
Use Compressed Air | p. 260 |
Use a Portable Battery System to Power Your Filter | p. 260 |
Ten Things to Check If Your Koi Seem Sick | p. 261 |
The Pond's Water Quality | p. 261 |
The Pond's Water Temperature | p. 261 |
Your Koi's Scales | p. 262 |
Your Koi's Gills | p. 262 |
Your Koi's Finny-Fin-Fins | p. 262 |
Your Koi's Underside | p. 263 |
Your Koi's Body | p. 263 |
Your Koi's Belly-Side Behavior (Are You Being Flashed?) | p. 264 |
Your Koi's Swimming Style | p. 264 |
Your Koi's Social Savvy | p. 264 |
Index | p. 265 |
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