Here’s a fun fact. A popular variety of koi is the tancho, a white carp with a bright red spot on its head; avid koi owners feel this fish resembles the Japanese flag. Members of the Santa Clara Valley Koi and Water Garden Club can learn more about koi and water gardening at club gatherings. Membership is open to residents of Santa Clara Valley who pay a small annual fee.
“Our club was started in 1987. The perks of joining this club is that you can meet koi enthusiasts and water garden enthusiasts,” says Eve Bretzke, club treasurer. “Our club offers informative speakers during our regularly scheduled meetings at the Willow Glen Library on the third Tuesday of the month. We also open each meeting with a discussion for members to bring issues they might have about their particular water feature or caring for their fish. As a club, we provide support and solutions. We have social events, such as an annual holiday banquet. Every year we also have a fundraiser that is our annual koi pond tour. This year, the tour will be on Saturday, July 18.”
Bretzke reveals that a common springtime issue with koi and water gardens is that the algae plants color the water green. So people who attend meetings can learn about remedies, such as adding fish–safe additives to the water. Other problems members sometimes report include filtration and plumbing issues, or unwelcome critters visiting their pond.
Acknowledging California’s drought, Bretzke counters claims that home ponds are bad for the environment.
“What a pond does is it supports the local environment for birds and the local insects, such as bees, because they need a water source too,” Bretzke says. “It takes more water to water your average lawn than it does to keep a pond.”
Visit http://www.sckoi.com for more information.