Because the Asagi resembles the Magoi, some beginners do not feel it is a Nishikigoi. There are three types of Magoi--"Tetsu (Iron) Magoi", "Doro (Mud) Magoi," and "Asagi Magoi." The last one is said to be the ancestor of the present Asagi. Asagi Magoi have a blue back with a light blue or white reticular pattern crossing it. Some scales have a blurred appearance. Hi appears on both cheeks, sides, and pectoral fins. There are two basic types, the Konjo Asagi and the Narumi Asagi. The black colour of the former is dark blue, similar to that of the Magoi. Narumi Asagi have scales with a dark blue center, shading into light blue towards the edges. Konjo Asagi as well as Tetsu Magoi are used to produce blackish Nishikigoi such as the Aka Matsuba, the Ki Matsuba, and the Ki-goi. Narumi Asagi on the other hand, are used to produce whitish Nishikigoi such as Kohaku, the Taisho Sanshoku, the Shiro Bekko, the Goshiki, the Ai Goromo, the Budo Sanshoku, and the Shusui.

Types include the Konjo and Narumi, plus the Asagi Sanshoku, also there are the Akedi or Mizu, and the Taki Asagi. As for the pattern, a spotless white or light blue head is desirable. Spots on the head quickly downgrade the koi's quality. Each blue scale on the back should be clearly seen. The contrasting white or light blue reticular pattern should be sharp and distinct. It is also a fundamental requirement that Hi appears on the cheeks, abdominal region, and fin joints. The colour of the Hi should be bright red. Red pectoral fins are called "Shusuibire"." Blue and red should be clearly divided. Brownish Hi degrades the koi. When the koi get older, their Hi tends to spread above the lateral line, which is usually undesirable. Black spots along the border of the Hi are disliked. The abdomen should be milky white. The "Akebi Asagi," sometimes called "Mizu Asagi," are light blue koi. "Taki Asagi," have a white band between the blue back and the red abdomen, "Asagi Sanshoku" have the characteristic Asagi blue back, but also have Hi markings on the head and sides and a milky white abdomen.

In order to make your Koi pond a suitable habitat to your fishes, make sure that the tap water used is mature, otherwise your fish will die. The maturity of the water can be measured through length of time. However, you can resort to pond care kits available to address fish problems and to prevent the death of your Koi fish.

Filtering and Pumping of Koi Pond

Filtration and pumping of water in your Koi pond or garden pond is essential. Koi fishes are classified as omnivorous fishes that require eight times a day of feeding especially in warmer days. As Koi fishes eat more, they also produce more solid wastes in the water which contain ammonia. Too much exposure to ammonia or intake of such substance can be detrimental to Koi fishes. This is why top quality of water should always be maintained. Therefore, as a Koi fish pond owner, you have to invest on buying filtration equipment to lower the mortality rate of your Koi fish.

How to Choose the Right Filter?

Your Koi fish pond filter should be capable of removing solid waste materials. If solid materials stay longer in the water it may cause the water to become turbid or cloudy. It may also clog the filtration equipment if the equipment used is not good enough to handle solid wastes

And to determine whether a filtration system is good enough there should be a correct pump flow in the Koi pond. There are effective mechanical filters available in the market that can do the job and these are the big filters. However, the size is important because too big filter or too small filter will not make any difference in the running the filtration system.

Your Koi fish pond or garden pond is the exact definition of an artificial environment for your Koi fishes. However, it is your duty to provide your Koi fishes a seemingly natural habitat for them to live healthy and happy. To make this happen, proper water filtration and pumping system should be installed in your pond.

Another important thing to consider when it comes to beautifying your pond is the addition of waterfalls. Surely, the presence of waterfalls will make all the difference in the overall appearance of your Koi fish pond. It will not only make it more attractive but it will consistently enhance the entire appeal of your pond. When it comes to benefits, waterfalls give bio-filtration benefit needed in nitrifying bacteria embedded or present in the stones. With this being said, there is an attempt to maintain a balance in the eco system found in your Koi fish pond and this is exactly an ignorable good benefit to your Koi fishes as well.

So, as a Koi fish pond owner, make sure that the mentioned recommendations are well-accounted for since these will surely bring benefits to the entire your Koi pond and the fishes living in it.

A Koi's health depends upon the environment provided by the human owner. Koi have a high resistance normally and succumb to disease usually only after exposure to stressful conditions that break down the normal immune system. A stressed fish becomes a sick fish. It has been said that:

Fish Disease = Stress Condition + Disease Agent

Stress is the main factor man has the most control over. Many disease causing organisms normally occur in the same environment as the fish. They usually only become a problem when present in significant quantities and/or stress occurs. Therefore, by controlling stress you can help maintain a healthy pond. Prevention is easier than treating your pond for disease.

Some causes of stress are:

* High ammonia level
* Low dissolved oxygen level
* Handling and/or moving fish
* Poor water quality
* Crowding
* Parasites
* Too high/low water temperature
* Other toxic chemicals (chloramines, oak blossoms, weed spray, etc.)
* Sharp edges in and around pond
* Inadequate and improper nutrition

Disease Agents:

1. Bacterial

* Flexibacter Columnaris (fin & tail rot).
* Aeromonas (hole-in-the-side).
* Pseudomonas.
* Vibrio

One of the principal causes of fish mortality is bacterial disease. Except for "columaris" nearly all bacterial infections occur secondarily to some other primary stress. Most are gram-negative organisms. Treatment: acriflavin, nitrofurans, oxytetracycline, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, sulfanomides, salt, etc. as a dip, topical, injection, or in feed.

2. Viral

I know of no effective treatment except to remove nodular growths by scraping.

3. Fungal

A secondary infection at the site of some other fish injury. Also affects damaged or disturbed fish eggs. Treatment: acriflavin, iodine, malachite green, methylene blue, salt, formalin as a bath, topical, or in pond.

4. Parasitic

* Lernaea (anchor worm)
* Argulus (fish lice)
* Monogenetic Flukes
* Ich
* Trichophyra
* Internal parasites

Most fish carry some parasites, but develop a degree of resistance that prevents problems. On the other hand, parasites such as anchor worms and fish lice usually are a problem whenever present. Young fish are more susceptible to illness caused by parasites. Stress situations and/or seasonal climatic variations may bring on infection. Some parasitic infections can be mistaken for bacterial diseases or viral infections and some may cause tumors. Treatment: Dylox, Masoten, Demilin, Formalin, Malachite Green, potassium permanganate or salt in the whole pond or in a bath.

Treating fish diseases is sometimes a haphazard affair because we do not always exactly know what the fish is suffering from. It is not easy to make a correct diagnosis and then, from that "guess," choose a medication and dosage. Treatments for Koi diseases are still relatively unsophisticated. There are no funds available in the U.S. for the development of ornamental fish medicine.

Note: Dead fish decompose very rapidly and generally are of little diagnostic use even if they have been frozen. It is better to have someone examine a live, diseased fish. Fish cannot be examined over the telephone!

Methods of chemical treatment, (listed from most conservative to most drastic):

* External swabbing
* Dip (five minutes in separate bath, aquarium)
* Bath (30 to 60 minutes)
* Sick tank or whole pond (low concentration for 12 or more hours)
* Feed
* Injection

Whole pond treatment advantages include apparent ease of administration and a desire to destroy all the harmful pathogens. The disadvantages are that biological filtration may be severely affected and drugs used in the treatment tend to be absorbed by organic debris in the pond. In addition, therapeutic drug levels may not be reached as pond drug dosages are usually lower.

External swabbing with antibiotics and/or disinfectants can be surprisingly effective. The disadvantage is that the fish is exposed to handling and possibly anesthetics.

Medication should be attempted after water quality and stress conditions have been improved. Partial water changes are very effective in improving water quality and relieving stress.

Beware of the problem of disease organisms that may be resistant to a particular drug. Maintain a current listing of drugs that are effective. Acriflavin, for example, is frequently used for shipping and handling of fish, and has been abused to the point that strains resistant to this drug are not uncommon.

Suggestions for a Koi first aid kit:

* pH test kit
* Ammonia test kit
* Chlorine/chloramine test kit
* De-chlor
* Dylox or Demilin
* Malachite green and/or methylene blue (note: methylene blue can kill your bio-filter)
* Rock salt ("Synergistic" some medicines are more effective when combined with salt treatment)
* Nitrofuran powder or ointment
* Panalog ointment
* Formalin.

What are Daphnia:

Daphnia are a very small freshwater shrimp like creatures. They are found in small pools, ditches and ponds all over the world. They thrive best where there is an abundance of food for them. They are filter feeders, that is they swim around and filter the water for smaller organisms. They eat rotifers, algae and infusoria. Serious oldtimer Aquarist used to go on collecting trips for daphnia every weekend and they considered daphnia the best fish food available. I don't advise collecting wild daphnia because of the potential of possibly bringing home diseases, parasites or other undesirables along with the daphnia.

Getting Some Daphnia

Daphnia are hardly ever avaliable in petshops, I have no idea why. But if you want to try them your best bet is to start a culture of your own. You can buy a starter culture from fellow aquarists or try a place like Aquabid.com which usually has some listed and I am currently offering starter cultures on the Stock Shop.

Culturing Daphnia

What you need:

• 2 one gallon jars or something similar
• siphon hose (ie airline tubing)
• brineshrimp net or the toe part of a ladies pantyhose
• A source for algae or some bakers yeast
• a bubbling air line
• a brightly lit place to keep the culture jars

Culturing daphnia is not the easiest thing to do. Some people seem to have excellent luck with them while another doing exactly the same procedure fails altogether. I have an old unused swimming pool that I let turn green with algae and use the greenwater to feed the daphnia. I also sometimes use yeastwater, a mixture of a small pinch of bakers yeast and a little water "all shook up" (ah hu hu). When using yeastwater add only a very tiny bit at a time, you want to just see a faint cloudiness, no more. daphnia die quicker from overfeeding than anything else. Once you start a culture it's a constant job, not hard to do but requiring constant attention. they need water changes just like aquariums. I usually accomplish this while I'm harvesting the daphnia. I siphon out about a quart of the daphnia jar thru a brineshrimp net, or the toe portion of an old ladies panty-hose (I use my old lady's usually, just another way to get her involved in the hobby). This catches a good quantity of daphnia that I can now feed to the fish. I then add a quart of greenwater or a quart of clean water and feed some yeastwater back into the daphnia jar. I advise setting up 2 or more one gallon cultures so if something goes wrong with one you'll have a backup. Of course a bigger container is better. The culture jars need to have an open airline running to them, doesn't need to be deep in the jar, just enough to keep the surface agitated and keep the water circulating around. This is very important because it keeps the daphnia food circulating around so they can eat. Don't use an airstone, they create too many fine bubbles that can stick to the daphnia, thus taking them out of circulation, and leaving it hopelessly floundering around the jar.

Close up of an adult daphnia moina

Other items I've read about (but haven't tried) that are used to feed daphnia are graham bran, alfalfa powder ( both from healthfood stores), blended spinach, liquid fry food, blood meal (yuk) and rabbit pellets. Another food I have just heard about is Gerbers Baby Food, Sweet Potatoes. It is said to be an excellent food for the daphnia with the added benefit of indirectly feeding the fish some high carotene food that will enhance their color. Other foods consisting of various manures have been suggested, but I really don't want to get into that crap.

One trick that I find especially pleasing is to put 10 to 20 or so adult daphnia in a fry tank. Though the daphnia are too big for the fry to eat, any baby daphnia they have will make good food, (they are smaller than baby brine shrimp) and the daphnia help keep the water clean. Of course you don't add any daphnia food to the fry tank.

There are several types of Daphnia commonly available. Daphnia Magna is about the biggest (about Brineshrimp size), followed by Daphnia Pulex a little smaller, and then Daphnia Moina, the smallest. I prefer the Moina because they are happy in water that is around room temperature, 70 to 85 F, (it's HOT in Alabama) while the other species require lower temperature, around 55 to 68F.

All species will do great outdoors in the warmer months. I use a kids swimming pool. Just throw in a handful of plant food fertilizer to get the pool green with algae first and then add the daphnia a few days later.

One of my Daphnia Moina culture jars, right after feeding yeastwater.
Note that you just want a slight haziness.
Notice the airline tubing, and yes that is a snail, doesn't hurt a thing.
Also adding a little marine type aquarium gravel or oyster shell will give
the daphnia a buffer from a low pH and supply them with needed calcium.

UPDATE:
I have read that it's not good to keep the lights on a daphnia culture all the time, but as a constant experimenter, I tried it anyway. The results were outstanding, the daphnia have doubled to tripled their production. I've been doing this for 2 months now, so there has to have been several generations raised in constant light. So far there are no bad side effects, other than having to feed the daphnia everyday as opposed to once every 3 days before. I am currently using a 10 gallon tank with an old incadescant aquarium light fixture. I feed the daphnia about an 1/8 teaspoon of bakers yeast a day, and harvest about a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of daphnia a day, everyday! Also in the tank are 100's of snails and I throw them a small leaf of lettuce every few days. An added benefit to the constant light is that the fish now have a night light, and I put microworm cultures on top of the light, the heat makes the microworms multiply and grow much faster.

Taking care of fry is very demanding and an important part of the breeding season but if carried out right it is very rewarding and makes it all worth while.
When the eggs hatch the fry are that small they look like a thread of cotton clinging to the sides, the bottom and the breeding material with their sucker. At this stage they have no mouth or fins, their gills are closed and they are living off their egg sacks. In a few days they will swim to the surface and fill their swim bladders and then they will be free swimming.
(One reason that you have at least a 4 year old female is the bigger the female the bigger the egg, and the bigger the egg sack for the fry to start on).
On day 4 after hatching remove the breeding material. The best will have hatched by now and by removing the rest which are mostly infertile eggs you will keep the ammonia level down.
The ammonia and pH levels are most important and must be kept in check (or you could loose the lot). Since there is no filter running yet and only air stones in the pond, Ammonia and pH must be monitored.
At between 5 and 7 days I treat the pond water and fry with CF 50 to reduce the risk of bacterial diseases and pathogens. At this stage the fry are feeding on infusoria and new born daphnia so no artificial food is required yet.
Now remember that you can not keep all the fry so thin them down to suit the size of your raising tank.
At around day 10 or when you can see the fry chasing and gulping down the daphnia its time to start feeding. There are many formulas but 1 I use at first:-
Boiled egg yoke and Vegemite with a little fry powder in a 1lt of water. Mix in a blender and squirt over the pond.
The daphnia love the fry powder and Vegemite but not too much at first, best to feed a little, 3 times a day.
After a week of this concoction I then go to fry powder. Sprinkle lightly over the surface 3 or 4 times a day plus a dash of yeast. Do not over feed as polution can kill them off. I also feed green water that I have been growing as well as daphnia. Always keep a check on the pH and Ammonia, if necessary do a 50% water change - but treat the new water.
Continue along these lines until they are about 3 cm long, then it's time to add a feeding dish and mix the fry powder and a little calcium powder into a past (not too wet). Roll small amounts into small balls no bigger than a small marble and drop them onto the feeding plate. If there is room, have more than one feeding plate around the pond. Feeding plates sit around 15 cm below the surface of the water.
In about a month after hatching if the fry are of a good size, it's time to start the filter BUT have a small pump not too much volume at first.