Hawley Editorial Feb. 18, 2007

I'm not sure it matters to koi-kichis as I've not seen much on the subject form them, but what do koi-kichis suggest hobbyists do with their pond wastewater? How much is created and is it put down the stormdrain possibly with koi fry to repopulate some nearby stream and create the dreaded invasive problem that regulators rail against?
Polyculture, the raising of other species such as freshwater mussels that feed on the algae while essentially treating the water is one method being encouraged in the industry at large. I'm considering running some in a bog system separate from our koi, but connected for the purpose of water treatment. Then the wastewater from weekly water changes will be filtered off into flower beds not to go down stormdrain, which in our part of Florida do feed into the St. Johns River. What do others think of the issue and what are the koi kichis saying about it?

I talked to one long time koi keeper this evening that thought it perfectly fine to do as he does and plumb his pond drain directly to the storm drain, which runs directly into a tributary of our river. I guess the regulator in Vermont had a good point.


"Cox, Ken" <Ken.Cox@state.vt.us> wrote:

Mr. Hawley,
The book that the recent newspaper article seems to reference is titled Fishes of Vermont. I am one of the three co-authors. The book is primarily a field identification guide to the 92 species of fish ( native and naturalized) known to occur in the state, as well as provide distributional, biological and general habitat information on each species. Nowhere in the book is it stated or implied “that "koi" are found in the wilds of Vermont .” Vermont does have several naturalized populations of wild-type common carp Cyprinus carpio, as you know to be the progenitor of koi, but no discernible populations of the ornamental strains are known yet to occur in the wild here. Carp became established in the wild here in the late 1800s. In more recent years, interest in maintaining koi in small private ponds and ornamental pools has increased among some Vermont landowners. Frequently the species has successfully reproduced in these small ponds and in some cases to nuisance levels. The principal source of koi has been the aquarium trade and garden suppliers.

Vermont state regulation Title 10 § 4605 (Placing fish in waters; fish importation permits) states: “(a) A person shall not introduce or attempt to introduce: (2) any fish, except trout or salmon, into any waters except private ponds lacking access to other waters of the state (emphasis added).” Unfortunately, many pond owners are not informed of this regulation, or perhaps in some instances elect to ignore it, and release koi into their pond. With few exceptions these ponds were constructed with outflows that discharge to public waters providing the opportunity for koi, especially their young progeny, to escape from the pond and potentially obtain access to public lakes, ponds, large rivers and wetland habitats, where their presence is of concern to this agency. As an exotic species with the potential of altering aquatic habitats and fish communities, the expansion of the species presence in the state is not wanted.