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 72 degrees..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(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 form 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?

1. Only producing fish ( koi and goldfish)
2. Maintaining separate farms with separate broodstock, equipment, trucks AND employees.
3. Keeping a detailed log of who visits, when and why.
4. We use only well water, no surface waters for our ponds.
5. Our farms are protected from predatory and migratory birds AND our farms are located long distances from any other fish farms.
6. We keep current (and have served as advisors) on APHIS regulations and other government agencies regulatory rules and processes.
7. WE HAVE VOLUNTARILY SUBMITTED OVER 3300 KOI AND GOLDFISH FOR SVC TESTING. IN 2004, 2005, 2006, AND NOW IN 2007
8. 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 !
9. Not bringing back our own fish once they leave the farm - No returns on fish once they leave our farms.

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.

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 run and feel the fast buck can get you into trouble. We love what we do ...and it shows!- Joe Pawlak President Blackwater Creek Koi Farms Inc.

Mr. Pawlak participated voluntarily for several years (2003-2006) in a Spring Viremia of Carp virus (SVCv) surveillance program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services (USDA APHIS). All samples collected as part of this surveillance were submitted to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, IA and all fish from his farm sites tested negative for SVCv.

Since then Mr. Pawlak has been submitting (voluntarily) koi from his different farm sites for SVCv testing as part of a University of Florida grant project to determine the prevalence of SVCv in Florida commercially reared koi and goldfish. The protocols followed during this project are in line with recommendations for SVCv fish sampling and virus detection from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for establishing and maintaining freedom of disease. Koi from Mr. Pawlak's Blountstown site have been sampled in 2007 and 2008 where 150 koi were collected twice (for a total of 300 fish per year) when pond water temperatures were below 68C. Samples were collected under the supervision of an APHIS accredited veterinarian (Dr. Denise Petty) and samples were submitted to the Kissimmee Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Kissimmee, FL which is USDA approved to test for SVCv.

To date all samples submitted have been negative for SVCv. Some results are still pending for 2008 collection times. Test results from the 2007 samples are available upon request.

Kathleen Hughes Hartman, D.V.M., Ph.D. Aquaculture Epidemiologist