March. 2014 issue

Beneath the Surface

Find us on Facebook as: Eastern Iowa Pond Society www.EIPS.org

In this newsletter:

Nov. meeting info...….…..1

Meeting Minutes……2,3,4,5

Harsh Winter Recovery.6&7

K.C. bus trip……………..8

Lighter Side……………….9

Membership form………..10

For Sale/ Twittering……...10

Ponding by the

Numbers…….….11,12,13,14

Contact Information:

Find us on the web at:

www.EIPS.org or

on Facebook

President: Jeff Garner,

550-6893

Eipspres2014@yahoo.com

VP : Jackie Allsup 934-3665

Sec.: Linda Nolan 363-9408

Tress.:Gary Hunerdosse-

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 6:00-9:00PM

Ramsey’s Metro Market

1120 7th Ave Suite A, Marion

We got the whole joint to ourselves!!!

Sandwiches, soup, salad...great food

Beer and wine bar as well if interested.

Guest Speakers: Ellen and Myron Kloubec

Will be talking about their Japan koi buying trip.

Know what these are? Find the answer later in the newsletter!

2/22/14 Meeting

Held at the home of Jeff G. & Kerry S.

Members Present: 23

What a great meeting to kick off the New Year!! Fun & productive!!

Eleven pots of chili were positioned all over the kitchen with a cup by each for voting. Jeff G.

gave everyone 3 beans for voting, and after sampling all the chili, the beans were placed as

votes in the cups by the chilies folks liked best. Other goodies were available such as corn

bread, brownies and toppings for the chili! Later in the evening it was announced that Jackie’s

chili was the winner and she was given a bottle of Champaign that she generously shared. Linda

N. won 2nd place and was given two candy bars that she did not generously share.

Jackie A. called the meeting to order, and stated that we needed to vote on some issues that we

wanted to change. She indicated that this would be done according to Club Bylaws. We started

with bringing up the topic of changing our meetings to once a month. After some discussion,

LuAnn J. made a motion to accept this, and it was seconded by Stephanie G. The vote was unan-

imous to drop to one meeting a month. It was decided to continue with the 4th Saturday of the

month for our meetings. It was a unanimous vote. It was stated that the host would set the

time, place and details. We talked about speakers and decided it would be great to have Jamie

Byer come to the March meeting. Jackie was going to check on this possibility.

Next up on the agenda was Membership Dues. After much discussion, Jeff G. made a motion to

lower the yearly rates to $10.00 and Tim N. seconded the motion. The majority vote carried the

motion. Since Newsletters are done via email (for the most part) making expenses down, we

felt lower dues would hopefully make it more attractive for members new and old.

It was decided that a postcard would be sent out soon with all the dates and hosts for the up-

coming meetings for this year, with a mention to “Post this on the Refrig”. Also, we felt a

monthly email reminder of the next meeting would be helpful.

The Pond Tour was the next discussion. We felt it would not be good to skip another year and

there were already 5 volunteers to show their ponds. Jeff felt a friend of his would possibly

show their pond as well. We talked about the value of having a plant sale. Nolan’s offered their

front yard for that if needed. Jim M. offered to take charge of publicity again this year. Tim N.

agreed to help encourage a general group effort to take care of pond tour details. Everyone felt

it needed to be a Group Effort – not just a few members on a specific Tour Committee!

Members offering to be on the Pond Tour: Hunerdosse, Nolan, Keller, Thompson & Bartlett for

starters

Jackie brought up the topic of another Bus Tour this summer. There is a pond tour in Kansas

City June 28th and 29th. There were 14 members who expressed an interest in going. Jackie

will check with the Northern Iowa club to see if they want to do a combined bus trip again.

Anyone that has gone on one of these tours agrees they are SO MUCH FUN!!

We welcomed new member Dave Keller and he told us all about his pond, which he dug by

himself. He showed us pictures of it on his IPad. It was great to meet him and very nice that

he offered to be on the tour!!

A sheet was sent around to sign up for meetings throughout the year and it was completely

filled in! Way to go members!

March 22nd – Bob & Stephanie Geers August 23rd - Tim & Linda Nolan

April 26th – Tom Coyle September 27th – Gary & Jo Hunerdosse

May 24th – Jim & Rose Milden - Pot Luck @ 5 PM October 25th – Larry & Erma Thompson

June 28th – Dennis & Carol Sindelar* November 22nd – Year End Meeting TBA

July 26th - Dave Keller

*June meeting could be used to welcome past members, as we had discussed a REUNION

gathering.

Last up on the agenda – Election of Officers. This can sometimes be a long and painful or-

deal – lol. However, it went great with members stepping up!

President – Jeff G.

Vice President – Jackie A.

Treasurer – Gary H.

Secretary – Linda N.

Newsletter Editor – Jackie A.

Assistant to the Editor – Tim N.

Jeff G. & Tom C. will be doing the Tour De Cure Bike Ride to raise money for Diabetes

Awareness. Donations from members will gladly be accepted.

Jeff closed the meeting.

Notes submitted by Linda Nolan

Harsh Winter Recovery—by, Richard Heimberger of

thehealthypond.com

My fish have been at 33F for the last 60+ days...not good. Dr. Nick St. Erne DVM tells us

that once koi body temperature drops below 40F, all body function is very slow. Our fish

are

in a torpor, the survival mode. They may/may not survive this experience. I have some

information to improve the odds here. Once we see the ice melting you can begin.

Snow is Bad

All rain and snow has a PH of 6 (acidic) with a KH of 15 ppm (no buffer) and a GH of 15

ppm (very soft). Snow also carries loads of airborne detritus and pollutants. Snow melt

can

cause a PH to crash. It is best to remove any snow covering the pond as soon as you

can.

Next step is to start changing out water. Generosity counts. A 30% water change mini-

mum,

is my recommendation. Make sure aeration and circulation are working properly. Use a

net

to remove any leaves in the water.

Fish Appearance

It is not uncommon for fish to have an opaque look when the water first thaws out. This is

excess cuticle, slime coat that has not sloughed off yet. It is normal for darker color fish to

display like this. This is not cause for alarm.

Cotton Like Growths

This is cause for alarm. What we see is a cold water mold commonly referred to as Sap

(saprolegnia). It may appear as white or gray patches, or even green if algae has started

to

grow on the Sap. It typically occurs on weak fish in cold water. Sap does not kill fish. I

highly

recommend you do not treat Sap. It will go away on it’s own once the water warms up.

Instead, treat the fish. We don’t know what is underneath the mold. There may only be a

lack of cuticle permitting Sap to take hold...or worse. Sap will permit water to wick into the

body of the fish, so we treat these fish with salt. Use .3% salt for 21 days.

Clean The Pond

Show me a gravel bottom pond, and I will show you a dirty pond. This is what grows all the

algae you see year long. The eroding soil and mulch surrounding the pond migrates to the

gravel bottom. You only see gravel, not the soil and fish waste. Aquascape is notorious for

misinformation, but they did not misinform regarding having to clean their gravel bottom

ponds every season. Do not clean a gravel bottom pond without removing the fish first. You

are only asking for problems. The very fish you built the pond to hold, are exposed to a

heavy concentration of pathogens and bacterial. You will generate far more trouble than the

cost of a professional cleaning will cost you. When you decided to confine and contain

these animals for your own amusement, you became responsible for their well being.

Everything you do, or don’t do, affects their quality of life.

Fish Mortality

Since we have not had our spring thaw yet, I have not had many service calls for sick fish. I

hope I don’t get any at all. The Illinois DNR just announced that we can expect rivers,

creeks, lakes, and ponds to expose fish kills once they thaw out. Unfortunately, this includes

our backyard koi ponds too. Should you discover dead fish, remove them immediately and

dispose of them.

Feeding Fish

Do not be in a hurry to resume feeding your fish. Make sure the water will stay above 55F. I

recommend the first week you start with Cheerios soaked in real orange juice. You can

feed several times a day. Remove any uneaten food from the habitat. Then you can start

feeding your regular koi food. Beware of feeding that old bag of food left over from last

season. If it has been stored improperly, or is out of date, it is not suitable nutrition for these

animals. Buy a new bag of food. Avoid food that does not have fish in the first three

ingredients on the back of the bag.

JUNE 27, 28, AND 29

EIPS AND NIKPC ANNUAL BUS TRIP AND

POND TOUR

This year’s exciting destination is…

Kansas City

Whoop Whoop!!

They have 50 ponds on their tour, so we’ll be trying

to nit pick out all the best ones to go see.

The Water Garden Society of Greater Kansas City is

already offering a possible Saturday night Kansas

City BBQ for us.

More info to come provided we get enough signed

up to go!!

Sign up begins immediately: I’ll pass a sheet at the next meeting to get some indication

on the interest for this year’s tour. If you do not plan on being at the March meeting,

please email, text, or call me to get your name on the list. This year’s trip is sooner than

last year’s so plans need to be made earlier. June is only 3 months away, but this should

be a great tour and I hope everyone can go!!! Jackie Allsup, Cedarserviceja@aol.com.

Cell 319-361-9521

P.S. If anyone is familiar with KC and knows of “must see” places, please let me know.

On the Cover: Koi teeth. Yes they have teeth or more like grinding mo-

lars in the back of their throats. In a rubber lined pond or quarantine

tank you may find them.

Eastern Iowa Pond Society, Inc.

Membership Application

To become a member of the Eastern Iowa Pond Society, Complete this form and mail

along with your dues to:

Eastern Iowa Pond Society

% Gary Hunerdosse

306 Red Fox Rd. SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

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___ New Membership ___ Renew Membership

Name: _______________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________

Phone Number: ______________ E-mail Address: ____________________

Dues are $10.00 per calendar year per family. Make checks payable to Eastern Iowa

Pond Society, Inc. ALL newsletters can now be found on line at www. EIPS.org

For Sale: 2 used Nexus Filters. Pond club member, Larry Thompson,

has them for sale after replacing them with something new when he

built his inside pond. 319-377-6481 (These are great filters if you are

thinking about remodeling. $500.00 ea or 2 for 900.00

##########The Twitterization of Facebook##########

Looking to join in on any highly specific conversation on Facebook?

Essentially, Facebook allows anyone to categorize a conversation they’re hav-

ing on the social network by using a simple hashtag (#) and keyword in their

post. Log onto Facebook and type #PondSupplies in Facebook’s search box,

for example, and you’ll be presented with all the post on Facebook coded with

that hashtag/keyword. Got something to say about the topic? Simply write a

post that includes #Pondsupplies, and voila: your company/topic is now part

of the conversation. Hashtags make it easy to find, follow or join any topic

you care about.

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Wow, I’m without words. I don’t even have a

caption for this!!

Eastern Iowa Pond Society

Our Mission Statement:

The purpose of the Association shall be to create, promote

and enlarge the hobbies of ponds, aquatic gardening, and

keeping, breeding, appreciating, and exhibiting the wonderful

world of fish.

The Association shall disseminate information about t he

above to the membership to engage in educational and social

activities related to our purposes; and to acquire and own such

property as may be necessary for any or all of the fore going

purposes.

Eastern Iowa Pond Society

Jackie Allsup, Editor

PO Box 148

Quasqueton, IA 52326