A Day with the Koi in Roseburg Oregon

Sherm's Thunderbird, N.W. Stewart Pkwy, Roseburg, was host to The Oregon Koi & Watergarden Society 8th Annual Koi Show held June 14 and 15. This event also marked the 10th anniversary Celebration of the group.

I watched Dave Lugar photographing the black and white fish on Sunday the 15th. I bit my cheeks as he cautioned not to ask him why this little guy (that looked like several dinners worth of food for a small family) was chosen as Best Young. I had listened to the judge's comments just the day before so I KNEW why this one had won. It was not only on excellence but also in the condition of flesh and skin that showed a superior method and quality of care (translating most likely to very time consuming and painstaking pursuit). I had never wondered about just how a koi is shown or judged and I found the whole process very interesting. They are gently coaxed into a plastic tub to be measured and viewed closely. The selected koi don't seem to mind being touched and examined to determine muscle tone. Color patterning, size, and fin formation all seem to determine just what classifications and categories the fish compete in.

Technically Koi, cyprinus carpio, called Nishikigoi by the Japanese, are just a mutated (evolved) form of common carp. It has been introduced so widely over so many centuries that its precise origins are uncertain, but most likely of Asian origin. Before being bred in captivity(over 5000 years being bred for food and more recently pets and water garden ornaments) these fish were found in the Black, Caspian and Aral Sea drainages, east into Siberia and China and west as far as the Danube River. In the early Americas and during the western migrations,carp were dumped into any standing body of water that might support them even for a short amount of time. From settler's wagons, and holding tanks on stage coaches, and the U.S. Fish Commission actively stocking lakes and rivers throughout the country, sometimes releasing fish directly from railroad tank cars while crossing bridges over suitable streams.

In 1804, the first color variations were noticed in Niigata, Japan leading to over one hundred varieties of Koi in existence today. These once plain janes of the fish world now sport vivid and brilliant orange, black, red, yellow, blue and many combinations there of. Koi ownership and competitions have become a thriving part of the National and International Community.

"In May 1998 Scott Lander, owner of Young's Garden, Pet and Ponds asked if I would like to give a talk on Koi and pond care. The talk was so successful another mini seminar was scheduled. This time I asked everyone if they would be interested in starting a Koi and pond club.
On Sept. 26th, 1998, the first club meeting consisting of ten people was held at Young's. After much discussion about starting a club, I suggested we name the club the Oregon Koi and Watergarden Society. Then I declared myself dictator...er...president." Norman Call has written in the show catalog and also on the club's website http://www.oregonkoiandwatergardensociety.com. The club grew from there and offers members and the public a chance to view ponds and gardens and learn of the joys of these beautiful creatures and their environments.