Where did you see your first koi and what happened then?

Love to know how other people got into this mad koi hobby!?

Where did you first see that beauty and thought...got to have it?

Did you already have a pond?

First big dealer you saw?

my first pond had a few cheap koi and gold fish and have to see i was happy with it,then my neighbour took me to a koi
dealer in oxfordshire called fishy things,i remember the day very clearly as i walked through the door and thought
wow it was just the shock of the quality and colours. i then thought i need to get rid of the goldfish and start
filling my pond with koi.and thats wot got me into koi

Dermot

I have always been a fish keeper of all sorts, since the age of about 8 years old. My dad came home with Fred the Bristol Blue shububkin for Me. He lived until I was well into My late teens.
My first thing with Koi was at a garden center. On school hloidays me and a few friends were bored at just decided to dig My mums garden up and build a pond. She was not best pleased Lined it with some black plastic I found and bought a couple of Koi from the garden center. Years later I was kicking about with a young lady, got invited back to meet the parents, and Dad was a very keen Koi keeper. Since then I always wanted a koi pond.Built My first pond in a moment of madness. My wife was away for a long weekend, my daughters where at Nans. I had roughly 2000 bricks in the garden along with a few hundred blocks that I had borrowed from George Wimpy So just thought sod it she`s not here I am going to build a pond.Pond looked nice but back then I knew nothing about filters and turnover rates ect ect. So after a few years I got more and more involved in the hobby, I am sure You all know the rest. I now have a pond I am very pleased with.
The first proper Koi I bought where from The Koi Waterlife Center. I bought 4 shiny beauties, 2 Yamatonishkigoi and 2 Kin Showa. Then My taste changed and now have a pond full of boring Go-sanke. Got to add a shiny thing to the pond again this year, although I do have a nice Yamambuki Ogon

My son introduced me to koi when he brought home 2 ghosties and a tank to keep me company whilst recovery from major surgery that was 17 years ago. Well the blooming things grew quickly so fit and well I dug a hole lined it, added a black box and hey presto you all know where it leads to. The first proper koi dealer I visited was Richdon Koi and the bug took over. First proper koi were a seki shiro, kohaku exclusive both now in duckviglens pond, a sanke I sold and the chagoi which I still have pics elsewhere of her over 70cm now.

come on then mr thorn tell all the story wot did mrs thorn say wen she got back from her long wkend




Dermot

She was not best pleased, all I can tell You she said was" beep beep beep"

I have always been interested in ponds and fish.

About 30 years ago I decided to build a pond...what did you do..you went to the garden centre and bought a preformed pond and sunk it!

This was the start.

I then made another small preformed pond and linked them...must have been about 300 gallons in total.

I was chuffed to bits

Like Justin down to the garden centre for some fish and shabumkins were the order of the day.

Next some jumbo goldfish..4in!!!

Then started looking in Yellow pages fr fish outlets.

Found a place called Sandybanks Garden centre in Harden(I bet Crissy remembers this place and John the owner.)

I saw this amazing fish..the colours..think it was a platina bt it sparkled.Had to have it..how much..too much..goldfish were only cheap.....

Bought it...

I remember the place but not visited it much. I guess I was lucky to find a proper koi dealer first off and took in all the knowledge he offered.

Its suprising how robust these early ponds were and they worked in a fashion, no air pumps K1 or BHM. LOL Pretty much like the ponds I am dealing with now LOL

After buying too many koi I decided I needed more water.Decided the cheapest way to do this was to buy a 9ft diameter corrugated stell tank with liner.

I set this up in my garage,put a woodburning stove in and I nearly lived there.Loved it with the old Black box filter.

Bought this from a dealer called Transcontinental Goldfish Company and think he is still around.

I then met a man called Dennis Wordsworth!!!

Dennis worked with Peter Waddy Waddington.

Thats when my problems began.....