• Here’s  a selection of pictures of the progress were making on the new extension, this will house 4 new display ponds ranging in size from 650 galls to just over 1000 galls, these will flled with hand selected Japanese Koi, there will also be a 3000 Gallon display pond which will be home to several large koi.
• There will also be a dedicated Quarantine area away from the main sales tanks & will be fully functional for treating ill & sick fish, we will operate a strict Bio-security regime in this area to prevent any cross contamination.Hope you enjoy following our progress & don’t forget to check out our blogs on Twitter & Face book to subscribe to our RSS Feed.
• Sharon & Steve

Well today i was back out on site at the Folkestone project, cracking on down there putting up the Kent grown Chestnut feather edge board, this was a change on what we were originally going to use, which was locally scourced Ash, but we couldn’t find enough that was stable enough to use.

There wasn’t alot done on the extension today as Sharon had a few customers in the shop & she gave the shop a good spring clean to boot!!

We’ll be uploading some picture’s of the project @ Folkestone over the next couple of days were you will see the “boat house” start to transform.

Sat 08/05/10

Shop was fairly busy today so we didn’t manage to get much done in the extension except have a real good clear up so we are ready for the next stage.

Fri 07/05/10

Another good day in the extension, the quarantine room walls have been sanded & have had the first coat of paint, Sharon made short work of it.

I finished the staircase alteration’s which is now ready for Sharon to put the sealer coat of varnish on over the weekend.

Were planning something special for the outside of the quarantine walls but you’ll have to follow this blog & check out the gallery to find out what were going to do!!

Thurs 06/05/10

Had a really good day in the extension, Sharon set about the staircase, preping it ready for varnishing over the next few days, but she’ll have to wait for me to finish altering the wall by the stairs which i should have done tomorrow.

Also managed to get the second coat of filler on the quarantine room walls, this will be sanded on Friday ready for painting.….…..but you’ll have to guess the colour!!

Tues 04/5/10

Today we had a really good day working on the extension, Sharon continued “cleaning the brickwork” down, Ezz our 20yr old son was on had today to give us an extra boost, he spent the day on site & got the first coat of “jointing filler” on the quarantine walls & concreted a trench that is no longer required.

I finally got the stairs finished with all the ply riser’s fitted, along with plaster boarding to the top of the stair well which leads into the loft space, every one was happy at the end of the day.

Mon 03/5/10

•  Sharon was in the shop today taking care of things whilst i was out fibre-glassing a pond for a customer in Ramsgate & Tuesday i will be back on site at Folkestone cladding the Boat house with the Ches nut featheredge

Sun 02/5/10

•  I managed to get the remaining sheets of plasterboard up on  outside of the quarantine room walls today, another job done.

Sat 01/5/10

• We had a real busy day in the shop, with a lot of customers in, i only managed to get couple of sheets of plasterboard up on the quarantine walls.

Fri 30/04/10

• Sharon was on “brick cleaning duty” today, the front of the new display vats needed some attention after the render went on  a few weeks ago, so with brick acid at the ready she set about the task!      

Thurs 29/04/10

• I was out on site today at Folkestone cracking on down there. Sharon spent the day in the shop with customers & doing the water changes in the display tanks.

Tues 27/04/10

• Sharon had a busy day in the shop today with customers in & out, so she didn’t get much done in the extension, she managed to do some touching up & had a real good tidy up!!

Mon 26/04/10

• Both Sharon & I had a day in the extension & we got a load of little jobs out of the way, Sharon had the red paint out again & second  coated the back walls, I managed to get a head start on the back wall electrics & got them all in the conduit, I’m really glad that job is out of the way!

Sun 25/04/10

• I managed to finally get the first lot of electrical sockets fixed & in position on the front walls, all that now remains to be done on these walls is to fit the security bars to the windows.….….….….…but I’ve still got to make them.

Sat 24/04/10

• Today was a busy day in the shop with customers & we had a special visit from our close friends’ from Holland, so not much got done in the extension.

 Fri 23/04/10

• Sharon has been a busy lady over the last couple of days with the paint brush & roller, the walls are looking really stunning now, we can finally start to see it all coming together.….……slowly!!

Tues 20/04/10

• Sharon had the paint brushes’ out again today, her mission was to second coat the front 2 walls that i had second fixed the electrics on Monday & after returning from Folkestone i must admit they looked stunning, its a deep red color which really suites the Japanese theme were creating in the shop extension, now the walls have been done i can finally fix the socket drops onto the wall & that’s the last thing i need to do to these walls only 3 more to go!!

Mon 19/04/10

• Today was an odd day really; i had some chasing around to do for the project at Folkestonesorting the roof tiles for the Boat House, the afternoon was spent second fixing the electrics with there protective conduit now in place, i only managed to get both the front walls sorted as the take a little time to do each socket drop but the end result was very pleasing.

Thurs 17/04/10

• Painting was the order of the day again & Sharon was on tap again with brush in hand, Red paint was today’s color, the front walls were cut in & painted, the back walls were also cut in again with there second coat ready for there final coat which will go on next week.

Fri 16/04/10

• Today was a busy day at  the shop, not a lot got done in the extension as we had deliveries arriving ready for customers orders’ plus the normal Friday business with customers calling in getting all the weekend bits ready to go.

 Tues 13/04/10 

• Work on the extension resumed today after a few days break, I’ve been busy down on the folkestone project getting the roof pitched.
• Sharon has been busy with the paint brush again, there are a lot of walls to be painted & as usual Sharon is just the lady for the job.

Mon 06/04/10

• Today seemed to “going backwards”, the water main that we put into the quarantine room just wouldn’t stop dripping! So we tried a different type of pipe & fittings & it still leaked, so to allow us to continue we have just put a stop end on the water main & left a gap by the waste water gully for a connection late on, this wont hold us up, it will allow us to finish the room & retro fit the water service on after the walls are finished.
• Work in the extension is on hold for a few days this week as the weather is dry & good so work on the Folkestone project can now re-sume, the Boat house roof is going on Tues/Weds, check out the Folkestone Project page for up to date pictures.

Sun 05/04/10

• Although it’s Easter Sunday work in the extension still went on, we carried on with the stud work walls around the quarantine room & now that were happy with its position, were able to plan how we are going to set the inside of the room out.

Sat 03/04/10

• The shop was quite busy today so work in the extension seemed a bit slow, although we did manage to get the Quarantine Room set out & the some of the stud work walls laid out.

Friday 02/04/10

• Thursday was spent on site at Folkestone as the weather was good & the roof timbers were being delivered to site, so nothing happened in the shop, Friday 02/04/10 saw the weather ease slightly (heavy showers through out the day), but it did allow me to finally get the last few bits on the front of the shop sorted, the gutter & facia needed attention after the winter snow & was dually removed, cleaned & replaced, Sharon continued with the painting inside, only 1 white wall left now, then the whole shop will need a second coat!! (Sharon cant wait until it’s finished, she’s sick of painting now, but she’s still got the render on the tanks to do as yet)Over the Easter weekend we will be uploading some pictures of the shop build for you to look at.

Weds 31/03/10

• Today has been a bit of a wash out all round, rain has stopped play on the outside of the shop, the drainage runs at the back of the shop wont go in until the trench is empty of water (currently 6″ in the bottom of the trench).

Tues 30/03/10

• Today’s progress seemed slow after yesterday’s efforts on the staircase, Sharon spent the day preparing around the stairs ready for painting, i had to organize some materials for the project at Folkestone, which seemed to take most of the morning, the afternoon was spent working on the double barn doors which havebeen clad in tongue & groove to match the outside, but the weather was rough this afternoon which held up some of the work to the doors.

Monday 29/03/2010

• After spending what seemed liked months going backwards putting in drainage for the fish sales’ tanks, the water mains to the various points around the shop, putting up ceilings, rewiring the entire shop, building the display tanks we are now seeing some light at the end of our tunnel, we’ve been working on our shop expansion for just over 7 months now, the unit we are expanding is a 1200 sq ft barn adjoining our existing shop, this is going to be dedicated purely to house Japanese koi for sale after quarantine, & was a basic empty shell with floor & wall’s but nothing else, electric supply was there working one light, & there was no running water in the building.

                    The Koi Cradle Retails for £79.99

• To accurately detect any koi parasite causing an infestation of your koi, we will need to take a skin scrape from an infected fish this involves using a microscope slide to carefully remove a small quantity of mucus from the koi, The mucus is then sandwiched between the slide and a cover slip and inspected through the microscope
• If you suspect you have a koi parasite problem, skin scrapes need only be taken from two or three koi and if parasites are found, it is safe to assume all koi are infested by the parasite and therefore the entire pond will require treatment
• Before any parasite treatment is used in your koi pond, it is vital that you know the exact volume of water and temperature, and that adequate filtration and airation is provided, Parasite treatments will lower the dissolved oxygen levels in the pond so we recommend adding additional airation when using any chemicals in your koi pond. You must also switch off any ultra violet sterilisers / clarifiers and ozone equipment

Trichodina

• Is one of the easiest protozoan parasites to detect under the microscope as it is almost perfectly round with hundreds of hooks which resemble cilia found its periphery and it constantly rotates as it moves through the mucus, causing tissues damage.
• It attacks both skin and gill tissues of our Koi, and can often cause more damage to gills than realized.Classed as a warm water parasite, it can survive for some time without a host. It causes vegetation of the skin giving rise to a grey white opaque appearance on the body of infected Koi which exhibit the classic symptoms of flashing, rubbing and lethargy.
• Trichodina is another small protozoan parasite which is commonly found on koi. Microscope identification is necessary, as it has an average size of 0.07mm in diameter.
• This parasite is circular in appearance, and is often seen spinning and moving very quickly when viewed through the microscope. The parasite attaches to the koi using tiny hooks and holding discs.
• The koi parasite Trichodina can quickly cause severe damage to the skin of a koi (as can all parasites) leaving the koi open to secondary infection from bacteria such as Aeromonas.
• Trichodina can swim well and therefore this koi parasite can quickly infest an entire pond of koi, especially when the stocking level of koi is high. Trichodina multiplies by division.

Dactylogyrus/Gill Fluke

• This koi parasite is very similar to Gyrodactylus in appearance, it has a set of  hooks with which to attach itself to the host koi and these are surrounded by a number of smaller hooksThe two parasites differ however in their method of reproduction, this koi parasite is an egg layer, and can lay up to two– dozen eggs per hour. Water temperature is important as the reproductive rate increases in warmer water, and decreases in colder water. The same applies to the time required for the eggs to hatch
• In warmer water hatching can take only four days, whilst in colder water it may take as long as thirty days. This is a very important fact to remember when treating this koi parasite as most treatments will not kill the eggs, and they can hatch even after treatment and re-infect the fish
• For this reason either the initial treatment has to stay active for at least four days, or you must do a second dose of the treatment.

Gyrodactylus/Skin fluke

• Gyrodactylus is one of two common worm type parasites which the koi keeper may encounter, the parasite is worm like in shape and it has hooks with which the parasite attaches itself to the koi, this koi parasite reproduces live young being hermaphrodites, all of the adults are capable of producing young, and each one will carry a single larval parasite in its abdomen,
• turther more this unborn parasite is also developing a larval parasite in its abdomen before they are even born, and in as little as one day after being born, those young can also give birth, So it’s easy to see that this koi parasite is very prolific, and one individual is capable of reproducing into thousands in a short period of time
• When viewing this parasite under a microscope you can often see 3 or 4 developing parasites within each other
• Once this parasite is attached to a host koi, it lives and feeds on the mucus skin and blood of the koi. The parasite is capable of surviving without a host koi for five days.

White Spot

• The white spots on the skin, gills and fins are individual protozoan cells that are under the skin and feed on the body fluids and cells, they then punch out of the skin and fall to the bottom of the pond collect together and begin breeding, the offspring then re-invest the fish, white spots symptoms are scratching and swimming into the water inlet, failure to feed and lethargy, It is fatal if untreated, fortunately  commercial white spot remedies are widely available
• Classed as a large protozoan parasite, white spot must initially be detected through the use of a microscope, however if left, its effects becomes identifiable with the naked eye, Koi infected by white spot appear to be covered in white spots the size of salt grains, where the parasite has burrowed through the outer skin layer
• To multiply the adult parasite leaves the host koi, it then forms a capsule around itself Within the capsule it divides and multiplies producing up to 1000 tomites (babies) These are then released as free swimming parasites to go in search of a new host koi
• This reproductive cycle is rapid and so early detection of this koi parasite is essential.

 Argulus

• Argulus is a type of crustacean, the parasite attaches to koi using suckers. The parasite then punctures the skin of the koi and feeds on blood and body fluids. It also releases a toxin when it punctures the koi, this toxin may cause erratic behavior of the koi as the effects cause intense irritation, the punctured areas of the koi will also be open to secondary bacterial infection, this parasite can be introduced to the koi pond by visiting frogs and toads.
• Argulus reproduce by laying eggs, After mating the female detaches from the host koi to deposit her fertilized eggs on the pond walls or any other surface, Upto 500 eggs may be laid, dependent on water temperature the eggs take between two and four weeks to hatch, the newly hatched parasites will swim to find a host koi, they will reach sexual maturity after 20 to 50 days depending again on the water temperature of the pond then the cycle starts again.
• To treat an Argulus outbreak you will need to sedate and inspect every koi in the pond, removing all adult parasites with tweezers, the pond must then be treated to kill off the juveniles, this treatment should be repeated two or three times at intervals of seven to ten days,
  the most effective treatment is Masoten. 

• A large Natural pond & Boat House situated within a hedged part of the garden, which cannot be seen from the main part of the garden.
• The boat house is constructed from brickwork & timber frame to replicate an old country barn, the roof on the boat house is a recliamed slate roof with a lead & mopstick flashing to the ridges.
• The cladding which will cover the walls of the boat house is a locally sourced Ash & will be cut into feather egde board & protected with a colourless sealer.
• Planting around the pond will include a variety of native marginal’s & bog plants including Gunnera, Flag Iris, Primula & bull-Rush, a pathway of “waterside meadow turf” which will flow down to the waters’ edge.

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Given below are a few tips that you can make use of when dealing with Koi fish to ensure that they remain healthy at all times.

Follow these tips and keep your koi healthy.

• Keep the Koi pond water clean by making use of Mechanical, Biological and UV filter media.
• If possible try and avoid the use of concrete ponds as they can increase the pH level of water, make sure to use proper coating on top of the concrete to reduce this.
• Feed Koi with a quality koi food
• Be sure to keep the water properly airated, having  an air pump is a great idea in a Koi pond
• Make sure you clean the pond filter every week, even if the pond water looks clean
• Ensure that the fish is not subjected to sudden water temperature changes which can happen when changing pond water. Pond water should be changed gradually to avoid this
• Check your Koi regularly to ensure they appear healthy, Fish that appear sick should be treated immediately and proper precautions should be taken, so that other koi in your pond are not affected.
• If your tap water contains chlorine or other salts, make sure to treat it properly using  a De-Chlorinating liquad or Carbon Cartridge Purification before the water is added to the pond.
• Always make use of gloves while handling Koi
• koi are colonizers and like to be in the company of other koi.
• Be sure to feed the Koi one to two times a day, more  during hot seasons preferably at the same time. Feeding can be reducing and eventually stopped during extreme winter
• Never handle Koi by hand if you are not an expert, Improper handling can damage their outer protective slime which gives them protection against fungus and bacteria
• If your area is frequented by Herons or other fish eating birds, it would be advisable to cover your pond with a net.
• Check your pond water regularly for an increase in pH, Ammonia and chlorine. If possible you can get yourself pH test kits, Ammonia test kit and chlorine/chloramine test kits that are easily available in the market.

 Koi are very delicate fish and requires high levels of attention