Grades of Koi
"Select", "Premium" and "Decorative" are grades of butterfly Koi we produce. The larger the fish, the better the quality.
 Premium Koi
These fish represent the highest grade of fish produced at Blackwater Creek. They contain all the qualities possessed in the import varieties including great conformation, color and pattern. Our premium fish always place well at the various Koi shows throughout the country. These varieties may be included; Bekko, Matsuba, Showa, Chagoi (the friendly ones), Soragoi, Karasu (black crow), Shusui, Asagi, Hariwake, Goshiki, Sanke, Kohaku, Matsukawabakke (our specialty), Kikokuryu, Ochiba (falling leaves), Goromo, Shiro Utsuri, Kin Ki Utsuri, Hi Utsuri, Kumonryu, Kikusui, Platinum Ogon, Kin Showa,Yamatonishiki, Hesei Nishiki, Hikari Moyo, Kawarigoi Mix, and many, many Gin Rin, and Doitsu varieties
 Select Koi
Our select quality Koi are of a high grade. These fish have recognizable colors and patterns that allow easy identification of variety. These varieties may be included; Bekko, Matsuba, Showa, Chagoi (the friendly ones), Soragoi, Karasu (black crow), Shusui, Asagi, Hariwake, Goshiki, Sanke, Kohaku, Matsukawabakke (our specialty), Kikokuryu, Ochiba (falling leaves), Goromo, Shiro Utsuri, Kin Ki Utsuri, Hi Utsuri, Kumonryu, Kikusui, Platinum Ogon, Kin Showa,Yamatonishiki, Hesei Nishiki, Hikari Moyo, Kawarigoi Mix, and many, many Gin Rin, and Doitsu varieties
 Decorative Koi
Decorative grade fish are a great mix of colors, patterns, and varieties. These starter fish make wonderful additions to any pond or retail sales system. They are considered decorative because the patterns are mixed and the colors mixed as well. These fish are the most common fish out of any given spawning group. As with all fish produced at Blackwater Creek, the parent stock used were from direct Japanese bloodlines. These fish are great for getting customers introduced to Koi without spending much money.
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Koi Health
SVC (spring viremia of carp) and KHV (Koi herpes virus) are nasty diseases that affect cyprinids (Koi and goldfish are part of this minnow family ) KHV is fairly widespread around the world with outbreaks happening each year in various places.
If your fish contract KHV your fish will die (most of them at least) some say its curable... some not. I don't believe there is a protocol that makes "curing" this virus 100% safe... Bottom line. Don't practice promiscuous fish keeping (buyin' fish from all over the place) Just like kissin' too many people (on the lips) eventually your gonna catch something. Those honest people who have gotten KHV in the past have opted to euthanize their fish rather than risk spreading this disease. There is a lot of good information on KHV our there. It's not a reportable disease. This means the feds will not swoop in and quarantine your location and depopulate (kill) your fish. Bottom line if you buy fish from a lot of places (that also buy fish from a lot of places) you increase your risk of getting KHV. If you don't COMPLETELY ISOLATE your new fish in quarantine above 22C/72F... you greatly increase your risk as well. KHV can be prevented. On the producer side... There are many costs. On the retailer side... it's a bit less costly but necessary. Later on I will explain these costs and why I think its just.
If your fish get SVC your fish will die (most of them at least). This disease is a "cool water" disease that typically occurs when water temperatures are less than 18C/64F (and is most common in the spring). SVC is an OIE notifiable disease. SVC is caused by Rhabdovirus carpio Now here's the worst part... Not only do your fish die, the feds will come in, surround your place, stop your business, kill any remaining susceptible species and quarantine your place by requiring drying of your ponds and all equipment... for 2 YEARS... can you afford this risk? We cannot so....
... back in 2001 I got to thinking. We were importing fish from a few places in Japan... moving through hundreds of thousands of dollars... Hey we were Koi dealers and if your not buying imports... well your just not a true Koi dealer right? Yeah OK. We bought fish from a few dealers here in the USA as well. Everything went ok however it seemed that mixing fish from different farms always had something wrong happen. I would buy some beautiful Koi from Marudoh, or Yamazaki, or others... put them in the tanks with the others and one year Marudoh's fish do great, the next years shipments, Yamazaki's do great etc... but NEVER do all of them do great mixed together. I figured out that this persons fish didn't like the bugs of that persons fish, (sort of like the pilgrims and the Indians), and we always had to battle something. So the choice was made very quietly to stop bringing in fish from outside sources and to produce ourselves. This was kept quite as many people felt "only imports" were the way to go. Well in the last few years, a lot of people are doing the same thing. We now boast about being one of the first in the USA to do this and our decision was correct.
So what are we doing to prevent diseases?
- Only producing fish (Koi and Gold fish)
- Maintaining separate farms with separate broodstock, equipment, trucks AND employees.
- Keeping a detailed log of who visits, when and why.
- We use only well water, no surface waters for our ponds.
- Our farms are protected from predatory and migratory birds AND our farms are located long distances from any other fish farms.
- We keep current (and have served as advisors) on APHIS regulations and other government agencies regulatory rules and processes.
- WE HAVE VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED OVER 3300 KOI AND GOLDFISH FOR SVC TESTING. IN 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 AND CONTINUE TO DO SO.
- WE WERE BEING TESTED BEFORE THESE TESTS WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO COUNT FOR OIE CERTIFICATION - THIS MEANS WE WERE STICKING OUR NECK OUT BEFORE IT COULD GIVE US ANY MONETARY GAIN WHATSOEVER.THIS IS A BIG DEAL !
- Not bringing back our own fish once they leave the farm - No returns on fish once they leave our farms either to customers or to shows.
Look at the letters regarding our testing. As of winter 2007 we have 3 Koi farms in production. In 2004 we had four Koi farms in production however we shut one farm down as staffing issues and remote location made it very difficult to maintain.
Click an image below to view a larger Certification.
Bottom Line - We did the right things (in our mind). It wasn't easy, and there is easier - fast-money in the industry. We are in the business for the long haul and feel the fast buck can get us into trouble. We love what we do... and it shows!
Joe Pawlak President Blackwater Creek Koi Farms Inc.
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