Celebrating 28 Years of Koi Friendship. Visit us on the web at: Koi Chatter

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1 Celebrating 28 Years of Koi Friendship Visit us on the web at: Koi Chatter The January 2014 publication of the Lone Star Koi Club Houston Texas Newsletter Editor s 2014 Opening Message As I write this, I am in Connecticut as a result of my grandson deciding to enter the world a little earlier than scheduled, and my wife and I are working away helping out around the house with various and sundry duties. I mention this as being in the Northeast, the weather (at least for this Texas boy) is abysmal. Melanie s complaints pale in comparison to what I m experiencing now. The reason I mention this, other than a forlorn hope in gaining sympathy, is to point out just how lucky we are in our part of the world when it comes to our hobby. One of my daughter s neighbors has a pond. At least that is what she says it is. When driving by, all I could see was a hole in the ground with a sheet of ice covered in snow. We are at least able to enjoy our ponds and fish year round without the incredible labors involved in keeping a koi pond in this Eastern climate. In conversations with a fellow koi keeper in NY, this time of year he has to keep them in a heated pool in his garage, all with a separate filter system etc. and just mark off the days until spring. We might indeed have bumps in the road, with the occasional spat of miserable weather, but reality dictates that we re pretty lucky. We had the officer s meeting at Melanie s house the early part of the month and really feel that we ve kick started this year with many positive changes and a revamped website as an added bonus. Won t be seeing anyone at the Feb meeting at the Sartorious but Scott and Linda are always the greatest hosts with a nice relaxing pond to round out the day. Scott has informed me that the main course will be a Seafood Gumbo. Best to all Paul Moss 1

2 Message From The President: Melanie Nau Hello a-fish-a-nados, I am writing this as temperatures plummet again for the umpteenth time, and I am wishing for a way to protect my poor koi. T is a pity to watch them numb from cold. It seems each week they yo-yo from top to bottom of the pond. Some even flash for a day or two. See Ray Jordan's wise advice on our winter woes: RapidChillingStressTips.pdf Seldom recently has the water warmed to the mid fifties so they can feed, and then not too much as the biological filters are slow to process waste. Koi colors are terrific now, but their skin doesn't seem as silky. Even after fifteen years of koi-keeping, I often feel inadequate to diagnose what is causing a change in appearance. I am so looking forward to our June AKCA Health Seminar to shed light on what I see. In the meantime, I want warmer temperatures to arrive and stay! February and March will be busy organizational months, so please join us at Scott and Linda's home at 2:00 on February 16 for our first 'whole club' meeting. We can share opinions on all the upcoming koi sales, and decide if LSKC wants to 'shop' together! The January business meeting was dynamic and as a result, several items targeted for action are already underway. Look for Joel's website updates coming soon. You can help by sending fav pond/koi photos to me for him. Stay warm, Melanie 2014 Dues are due! And don t forget to sign up for the pond tour 2

3 Lone Star Koi Club Directory Melanie Nau: President Paul Moss 1 st Vice President Paulbkm@gmail.com Don Bayer: 2 nd Vice President dgbayer@up.com Buddy Bush: Treasurer buddybush@sbcglobal.net Pat Bush Membership Director buddybush@sbcglobal.net Jamie Jameson: Secretary Joel Anderson: Webmaster janderson@tiburonsystem.som JOIN THE LONE STAR KOI CLUB: To subscribe and/or to pay your 2013 dues, make check payable to Lone Star Koi Club (LSKC) and Mail To: Buddy Bush LSKC Treasurer Keneva Dr. Cypress, Texas Include with your check made out to: Lone Star Koi Club (LSKC) Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Home Ph: ( ) Work Ph: ( ) address: Dues Level: Individual $25 Family $25 Corporate $100 3

4 2014 MEETING SCHEDULE Month Date Host Speaker/Topic January 11 th Nau/Green Officer s Meeting but all are welcome February 16 th Sartorius March. Black April May June July August September Nomination of Officers. October November December Please stop by the Welcome Table at each meeting, check in and pick up a nametag if you don t have one so new members can get to know you. LKSC Membership News If you have anyone contact you about koi needing homes or homes needing koi, please contact Paul Moss, paulbkm@gmail.com. Thanks to our rescue partners. 4

5 Invitations & News from Other Koi and Pond Clubs, Associations or Societies From our good friend Ray Jordan and the Texas Koi And Fancy Goldfish Society Rather than cut and paste snippets to intersperse in our newsletter, I have chosen to link their website as there is much useful information including details of their upcoming show in the fall. Comments And Observations Here is a wonderful tool from the Koi and Water Garden Society of New York that I mentioned at a recent meeting during my talk regarding the use of potassium permanganate. It is a calculator used to figure the exact amount of salt, sodium thiosulfate etc. plus weight based on length and other applications. The caveat is that you must know your exact pond volume in order not to overdose or underdose. Just click on the link as save to your favorites. It really is a useful thing just to have around as you ll never know when you ll need it. 5

6 Koi Terminology. Discovered this rather thorough glossary of koi terminology on the Tri-State Club s website Lone Star Koi Club Advertising Rates are posted below. If you are interested in placing an ad, please the editor at Newsletter & Website Ad Size (w/link) Combined 6 mo Per Yr Business Card $60 $100 ¼ page $80 $150 ½ page $100 $185 Full Page $150 $250 The Annual Pond Tour Booklet rate is $200 CLASSIFIED ADS We welcome ads for Koi, equipment, and other items from members. Members are requested to keep the ad Koi related and please donate a portion, (5%), of your proceeds back to the club. For Sale: Need to list something? Let me know. 6

7 Looking for something? It won t hurt to mention it here, again let me know CORPORATE SPONSORS 7

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11 Paul Moss (713)