“So, that was it. I took a shot gun and shot it” .

In Nasville Tennessee a man, who has filed a federal lawsuit against Metro Police officers, said someone used makeup to cover up his injuries after he claimed police used excessive force to arrest him.

He said he had verbal permission from the state fish and game commission, but neighbors heard the shot and called police.

“I said, ‘I’ve got you dog.’ The neighbors claimed I’d shot my dogs and my wife,” said Vetter.

In the federal lawsuit Metro Police officers Michael Baker, Roderic Williams and Andrew Ivey are accused of violating his constitutional rights.

Vetter claimed the officers used excessive force while charging him with assault and resisting arrest. Vetter showed NewsChannel 5 photographs that he said were taken by his wife the day after the arrest. The pictures showed he allegedly had a black eye and a couple of cuts.

Read the full story here

The Central Florida Koi Show will be held at the Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Florida between the 12th and the 14th March 2010.

The Central Florida Koi Show is the largest annual judged Koi Show in the Eastern USA.

There will be over 200 show entries from across the USA, admission is free for the public and there will be seminars on Koi keeping and breeding on both Saturday and Sunday the 13th and 14th. Cost of admission to the Koi keeping seminars will be $10 for the day.

For more information visit the Central Florida Koi Show Website – www.centralfloridakoishow.org

Asian carp—the invasive fish species that have been slowly but surely moving up the Mississippi River for more than 10 years are now on the door step of the Great Lakes.

According to some environmentalists this is a catastrophic scenario for the Great Lakes with the fear that the ravenous carp could litterally wipe out the destroy the ecosystem by gobbling up the food that native fish depend on.

The Government this week announced an $80 million dollar plan proposed to halt the pest fish’s advance, but it’s not pleasing many people around the issue full story here.

The 23rd annual Koi Show is scheduled for the 13th and 14th Febuary 2010 at Del Mar Fairgrounds.

What: Del Mar Koi Show

Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar

When: Feb. 13 and Feb 14 – 9 am to 5 pm

Admission is free of charge.

The 23rd annual Koi Show is again scheduled for the 13 th and 14th of Feb  in the Activity Center at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

At this years show prize-winning Japanese Koi will be on display and for sale as well as new koi pond innovations and equipment being demonstrated, and koi retailers and dealers will be selling all sorts of koi-related items.

For more information visit the Koi Club of San Diego Website  www.koiclubsandiego.org or tel (619) 222-982.

There are several animal and bird species that will prey on Koi fish when kept in a pond, this brief post explores some of the measures we can use to minimize our fish losses to predation.

Anyone that keeps Koi fish, even just a small backyard hobby pond with a handful of fish will eventually experience the pain of the loss of a much loved fish by Pond Predators. Unfortunately it sometimes takes a few losses for new Koi fish enthusiasts to pay attention to predator control, here are some tips of minimizing fish loss in a hobby pond.

1, Learn about your local Koi Pond Predators

There are probably more potential Koi pond predators in your local neighborhood than you might think and due to changes in climate and the ongoing destruction of  wildlife habitat, more “predator” animals are showing up in residential backyards every day.

You can learn a lot about your local pond predators by contacting your council animal control department. If you are lucky enough to have a Koi Association in your area, members can be a really valuable resource for advise on the types of wildlife to watch for, and recommend safe techniques for protecting you and your property.

2, Minimize the opportunity for Koi  Predators

One of the first things that you have to do to protect your Koi is to build a deep fish pond. If Koi ponds are deep enough, then those predators like Heron Koi and other Koi predators will not be able to stand in the pond to feast on your Koi.

A deep pond will also enable the Koi to swim away and hide from air and land predators. They can hide at the bottom of the pond and no predator will have a hard time reaching them. Small ponds with shallow areas make Koi fish easy prey for predators.

If you are about to build a pond, or expand the one you have, we recommend that you build it as large and deep as possible, and with steep sides. If you plan to have Koi, a minimum depth of four feet is recommended.

Control of predators is preferable to their eradication. Fortunately, today there are many effective options including installing anti predator barriers and devices in order to protect your beautiful Koi fish and keep them alive without the need to hurt the predator species themselves.

Koi Fish Pond Predator Prevention Products

1, Covering your pond with netting can be an excellent way to control most predators. Netting can be used seasonally, for example, during spring and fall when predatory animals are most active.

2, Some predators like Blue Herons are territorial and will not intrude on an area they perceive as already dominated by one of their kind, highly realistic decoys of many different types are available.

3, Pond predators cannot eat your fish if they cannot catch them. Make sure your pond provides plenty of places for your fish to hide. Sections of wide diameter black PVC tubing can be placed inconspicuously on the bottom of your pond. These have the added advantage of providing good habitat for your fish.

4, The Scare Crow Motion Activated Sprinkler is a favorite of ours.

Motion Sensitive Sprinklers

Click here to view the embedded video.

Motion Sensitive Sprinklers

Using the ScareCrow is easy. Simply attach a standard garden hose to its base, set the ScareCrow in the ground in the area you want to protect, and then turn on the water. Once you switch the unit on, it is ready to go.

The ScareCrow uses a combination of sudden noise, unexpected movement, and a startling blast of water to create a memorable and unpleasant experience for the trespasser.

The animal immediately associates this unpleasant experience with the location, and to avoid similar surprises, learns to avoid the area. If an animal chooses to return, the ScareCrow will be waiting.

While a human may flee several steps after activating a ScareCrow, animals are typically affected to a much greater degree. In most cases they run much farther, and stay away longer. Because the unit only triggers when the animal moves, its behaviour is difficult for animals to anticipate, making it a very effective deterrent.

Modern Japanese Koi Fish or nishikigoi – Japanese for “brocaded” carp are a “man made” species. This brief post explores the history of breeding and keeping Koi Fish.

In the same way that most modern domestic dog breeds are a result of 100′s or perhaps even 1000′s of generations of deliberate matings “constructed”  by dog breeders the huge variety of Japanese Koi “types” that exist today are actually a result of Koi breeders attempts to create and fix a particular “type” of Koi fish.

All Japanese Koi have a common bloodline that can be traced back to the plain black common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Common Carp are in fact an a very old species, Common Carp fossils have been discovered in South China dating back about 20 million years.

Some authorities believe that Koi fish history originated in Persia and spread throughout the ancient world.

It is generally accepted that the Common Carp was brought with migrants and trade caravans from Eurasia to the Far East at least 2,000 years ago, eventually making it way to Japan approximately 1000 years ago through either China or Korea, where they were bred in simple mud ponds as a food source  to supplement their daily diet of rice and vegetables.

When the carp would reach about 6 inches long, the farmers would catch and salt them so they would last the long winter months.

As anyone with a basic understanding of genetics can confirm when any  species is kept and bred in a small gene pool, mutations of the species will eventually occur. In the case of Common carp, these mutations produced changes in body color.

Koi Fish are first described in writing from a Chinese book written during the Western Chin Dynasty, 265-316 A.D. At that time they were described as white, red, black and blue in colour.

The farmers who first started to see these colored mutations develop in their food stock at some point started to keep them for their visually pleasing qualities rather than just as food for the table.

When did deliberate breeding of Koi begin ?

It is believed that the deliberate breeding of Modern Koi and therefore the history of Koi first started to develop somewhere around 1840 many 100′s of years after carp were first introduced to Japan.

Though there is not much known about the history of koi breeding in the pre-1800 era, it is widely accepted that the true coloured koi originated in Japan from the Niigata prefecture during the early 1800s.

There is no official record of the first koi mutations but it is thought that it was a red carp called Hookazuki. It was from this red carp that the first all white koi was produced. When these two koi were crossbred, the result was the very first red and white carp. Originally called “Hara-aka”, Japanese for  red belly.

It wasn’t until 1930 that the breed was stabilized and officially documented as the Kohaku, still by far the most well known and popular of all the koi breeds.

History of Koi Fish

Around the same time in Japan other koi mutations were developing. It was not long before the all black mutation, now known as the Magoi, was discovered by breeding two strains of wild carp: one brown/black and the other blue/black. Also from this early mutation came the first true blue koi, the Asagi, meaning “light blue”. It wasn’t until years later that an Asagi Sanke was crossed with a Doitsu Metallic koi and the first Shusui, meaning “autumn water”, was bred.

The next stage in koi breeding is known as the third mutation of Nishikigoi. This is the stage where the Bekko varieties were first discovered and bred. This variety consists of the Shiro Bekko, the Aka Bekko and the Ki Bekko.

It was from this handful of koi breeds that all other Nishikigoi types were bred, with the exception of the Ogon variety (single colored, metallic koi) which wasn’t developed until recently. The last development of the time was a great breakthrough in koi breeding and is still revered as one of the most traditional of koi breeds. A tri-colored koi called a Taisho Sanshoku, more commonly known as the Sanke, was first seen  around 1868-1912. Though it is not known who first developed this breed, the Sanke was exhibited for the first time in 1915, when the koi was about 15 years old.

In the early 1900s, koi keeping began to gain interest around the World. Koi had become a symbol of luck and prosperity. At this time, most Japanese mansions and upper-class tea houses had at least one koi pond for viewing pleasure. Japanese koi breeders then came across a separate type of carp that brought in a new string of koi breeds: Mirror carp were introduced into Japan from Germany. Their large, shiny, uniform scales – five to six times larger than normal – became quite popular in Japan and the fish became known as Doitsu (Japanese for “Deutsche” meaning “German” in the German language).

The first successful crosses between the German carp and the Japanese carp were made in 1904. All resulting “scaleless” varieties were to be known as Doitsu Nishikigoi. These modern varieties contributed greatly to the expansion of Nishikigoi throughout the world and finally provided the genetics for last part of the koi puzzle – the Ogon.

Meanwhile, after the Taisho Sanke was introduced, the Showa Sanshoku Sanke (later called the Showa) was discovered and with it the came the end of the Taisho era. In 1927 the Showa Sanke made its debut, primarily a black koi with red and white markings (as opposed to the Sanke which is a predominately white koi with red and black markings).

In the early 1920s, a wild carp with golden scales was crossed with a koi in hopes to produce the greatest amount of golden color possible. By 1946 the first Ogon (golden koi) was produced. The name “Ogon” initially referred only to the gold form, but today it applies to all single-color metallic koi. Ogons are included within the Hikarimono category (“Hikari” meaning “shining” and “mono” denoting a single color).

All koi types bred after this time are considered modern breeds that have been developed recently, such as Matsuba Ogon (1960s), Gin-Rin (reflective scaled) varieties (early 1960s), and the Midorigoi (light green koi) in 1965.

All together, 13 colors and their numerous varieties are currently recognized for Nishikigoi

Custom made reproduction, please allow 3 weeks for painting and shipping. The pictures shown are of the original painting.Modern abstract art painting HAND PAINTED OIL ON CANVAS. Chinese Koi Fish Painting-Japanese Koi Paintin. In Asian folk art the koi fish paintings bring luck and wealth and represent harmony and balance. In Japanese koi art and Chinese fish paintings, the koi fish is a symbol for strength and individualism. Koi fish, are transformed through their efforts and perseverance, able to climb waterfalls or become dragons. In Chinese culture the Koi oil painting represents perseverance in the face of adversity and strength of character and purpose.All our koi oil paintings are hand painted by the original artist. Our koi fish paintings are original Asian artworks.

koi, free, fish, garden