The legs of the structure are being placed today, and everything else pretty much set out and ready for the big push next week. Its quite complicated to set up but should be easy to actually put together. The main job will be getting the polythene on at the end. The pond will be cleaned out this coming week and it really should start taking shape.
Its also been a very busy week for exporting, some very special fish made their way to Durban in South Africa this week, 30 hour trip and all arrived fine! Hoping to see them doing well over there in the near future!
Today was a massive day. The poly tunnel structure arrived from the manufacture, there was quite a bit of stuff which needed unloading.
The concrete is all ready and set out now, we can start getting the structure up next week. The poly tunnel was to wide to be standard so we have had to piece 2 bits of steel together to get the entire span. The tunnel should take about a week to get up and then the polythene sheeting to be fitted.
The main pond is drained and will be worked on and dug out over the weekend ready for the fitters in the next week. Cant wait to see it finally up. A quick change then off to the airport to send Koi to France…
Products are being added all the time on the dry goods side of the store.
As the new season approaches we will be adding as much as we can to the site. It is also a good way of seeing what we have down at the shop. Apart from the big products we carry everything else so you can always pop down and pick things up yourself. If there are items you need which are not on the site give us a call, we can get most things.
If there are any problems/Issues with the site then please let us know so we can fix it.
Cheers.
After leaving here at 3am this morning to deliver fish to Oxford to get back before the concrete came, which was late anyway! We finally got both sides poured.
The right hand side was easy because we could pour the concrete straight into the machines bucket and then spread it all down the channel. The access to the left hand side was much more difficult…for the concrete company anyway. They had to barrow around 10 cube of concrete to complete the left side, however it was done and pretty quick too. 2 loads of concrete were poured in just under 2 hours.
There are some more holes on the back side of the pond to fill but they can be done with the mixer. We just need to wait for the concrete to go off and we can start building a single block all around.
The construction of the 200,000Gallon pond has today started. The size of this project is pretty enormous.
We will be laying a concrete channel down the FULL side of the pond, on both sides. So the channels have been dug out today and the steel to add extra strength will be placed into the channels then we will get the concrete delivered tomorrow morning. The actual structure will be here by the end of next week and everything should be ready to just put it up.
There is a new machine on its way as well with a giant arm on it so we can take out all the debris and rubbish from the pond making it all nice and smooth. We will then dig a little deeper to make sure we have all fresh clay before whacking it down. Its going to be some pond!
The ‘Store’ is now open for business. Sorry for the delay.
We had some new fish in from Matsunosuke last night very late on, and we were also shipping Koi out to Malta. Its been a very busy week.
Please have a look at the store and email us if you see any mistakes or anything that shouldn’t be there. We will be adding products as we go on. We hope you like the layout, we have put in a lot of hard work. Take your time and have a browse. If possible please register on the site so you can receive genuine offers. We will not spam your in-boxes with useless junk.
Along with everything else that has been going on of late, we have finally started to get the on-line shop up and running.
Within the next week it will be launched. We have the Koi on at the moment with added video on the majority of them which should help in picking Koi and also just to view. The payment system is now in place from HSBC giving you full confidence when buying.
Dry goods will be added in time and it will be updated all the time with new products.
We hope you will enjoy the new layout and hope you find it helpful and easy to use.
Click the images to enlarge.
The company who have been given the job to make the huge structure to go over our main outside pond came yesterday for the final measuring. The structure will be delivered at the end of this month, will be up by mid March.
We will now get everything we need to do built and ready for when they arrive to put the structure up. A normal Poly tunnel cannot span the width of this pond so it has to be made just for this job, its all custom built.
We will now build 4 sumps in each corner for circulation pumps and we will clean the pond out and get it down to fresh clay before whacking it down again. Its a massive project, the biggest of its kind.
Planning permission for another 4 poly tunnels has also just been granted, 2010 is going to be another big year.
I have just received these pictures from Saito San from Shintaro Koi Farm.
If you think we had it bad in the UK a few weeks ago then think again. It is very beautiful though. The roads are cleared very fast too, hardly ever get snowed in.
I got sent this picture from a client in South Africa yesterday. Its a picture of a Hasegawa Kohaku he bought from us in June 09. She was then 36cms. I couldnt believe it when he had told me she had grown almost 20cms within 6months and was looking as good as she was. This was not a crazy expensive fish. She was in the region of £500. A complete bargain!
We have now released our Koi from the Autumn harvest from Quarantine, and all our tests have returned negative.
Yesterday we finished taking photo’s of all the new Koi with a few exceptions which will be added daily to the site. I got the easy job of taking the pictures, I think im getting a bit better! A large selection of our Koi are now on the site, if you are in need of any extra information about any particular Koi please shoot me an email.
The full selection will be ready for viewing in our retail facility after January the 4th. We look forward to seeing you all.
From everyone at UKNishikigoi, we wish you a very happy new year.
UKNishikigoi will be closed from the 23rd of December until Monday the 4th of January.
If anyone would like to visit between these times then drop me an email and you will be welcome. While we are closed we will be getting all the new Koi out of Quarantine and getting them settled in the barn. We will still be working here even though we are closed.
Thank you and a merry Christmas to everyone.
Today we had one of our inspections from Cefas. UKNishikigoi is an SVC clear farm. We need this license so we can ship to many countries around the world.
Today one of the Fish health Inspectors came and took 30 samples from our ponds and actually dissected them on site. It was all done very professionally, the Koi were killed in a very humane way. They needed a sample from the spleen, kidney and brain.
Along with the ability to ship Koi world wide it also benefits our clients knowing that we have very safe fish and are tested unlike any other Koi outlet. Having a good relationship with Cefas is something we are very proud of.
I have attached a few pictures of the fish health inspector who did the inspection today. I really dont think people want to see him dissecting the Koi here at UKNishikigoi. However if you really do then feel free to email me and I will be happy to show you.
The new Koi are now at 24C and will stay there for another week. They look fantastic!
The new Koi arrived in perfect condition around midnight. They settled into their new ponds overnight and looked great this morning.
However they now needed to be inspected. Anchor worm can be a problem when importing new koi from Japan. Some breeders remove them and some breeders leave them for us! There were a few but nothing we couldn’t manage, we had to put the Koi under anaesthetic and remove them. Only a few of the Koi we looked at had them. A couple of Koi had a few split fins which we treated. The water was at 16C this morning and will be ramped up to 24C and kept there for a good 10 days before I drop it again. Cefas will carry out their inspection of the Koi next week too.
Extremely happy with the Koi, they look superb! Will be on the website ASAP!
UKNishikigoi’s latest shipment of Koi from the Autumn harvests will arrive tomorrow evening. Tuesday the 1st of December.
When they arrive we will place them in our state of the art Quarantine facility where they will be checked in person by Cefas and samples taken away for further testing. We are the only Koi outlet in the UK where this happens. This is why our Bio Security is second to none.
Koi from Yagenji, Shintaro, Yamamatsu, Isa, Hiroi Seiji, Torazo, Maruhide and Marudo will be arriving tomorrow. Nisai up to 85cm jumbo Koi.
We will not be rushing our Koi through Quarantine as we believe its the Koi who will make the decision when they are ready to go on sale. This is usually between 4 to 6 weeks. When we are happy that the Koi are parasite free and the results have all come back to us we will take pictures of the fish and add them to our website.
Please keep checking back to see when this is going to be done and for further updates.
Below are pictures which I have just recieved from Japan of our Koi being loaded onto the truck in Mushigame to start their trip to Heathrow in around 28 hours!
The Autumn news letter is now available for viewing.
During our Autumn buying trip we bought 10 very special Shintaro nisai Tategoi.
These Koi were bought for us and our clients to grow on in our 900 ton pond. Saito San who is one of Niigata’s most famous Go-Sanke breeders. His Koi have won shows all over the world including the UK, Holland, Belgium and America to name some. His use of the Matsunosuke bloodline really has brought him into his own for breeding high class Koi.
These 10 Koi are all circa 50cms which is a great size for Nisai. With the slight changes Saito San has made to the Matsunosuke bloodline he has introduced bigger bodies while the Koi are still in early development but has not lost the quality of the bloodline. This will give us optimum growth in the big pond and we are expecting these Koi to shine.
Im sorry that a lot of people will not straight away see the quality of these Koi. Thats we bought them. The Skin and over all quality of these Koi are the best. They are of course available for our clients to buy which some have already shown an interest but they are for us to grow on too. I will post these pics I took while in Japan this year as we bought them. Then I will take better pictures in better light when they arrive back in the UK.
Click to enlarge.
UKNishikigoi are one of the very few who dont use any agents and we do all our own paper work and invoicing. We are just finalising the packing lists now so will know by Monday/Tuesday when the Koi will arrive.
We hope to have them back in the UK and into our Quarantine facility within the next 10 days. Keep checking the website for further updates.
UKNishikigoi have now returned from our Autumn harvest trip to Niigata, Japan.
I think in all the years I have been visiting Japan I have never seen a better selection of Koi in the mountains. If it wasn’t for the exchange rate still being poor it would have been a perfect year. We have bought far to many fish but they were too good not to buy them really. Our main purpose of going this year was for client orders and to find Koi which we can grow on in our 200,000 Pond next year. We have stunning Nisai from breeders such as Isa, Shintaro, Igarashi Kazuto, Yamamatsu, Yozaimon, Hiroi Seiji, Toshio Sakai, Marudo, Torazo and Yamazaki…We believe there will be no better 2 year old Koi in the UK, all from amazing breeders.
The Koi we had in Japan has ALL exceeded our expectations. The Sanke and Showa which were at Matsunosuke are out of this world, The Sansai Kohaku from Yamamatsu, Yozaimon Showa and a Sansai Sanke which is 70cms from Toshio Sakai owned by our clients are all fantastic. The Kohaku and Showa will now come home while the Sanke will be left to grow another year. Shintaro’s #1 Nisai has been purchased along with Hiroi Seiji’s #1 and #2 Nisai Kohaku. An 80cm Torazo Sanke has been purchased and will be returning to England in a couple of weeks. A very special Isa Showa and Kazuto Kohaku will be going direct to a client in Singapore. A great trip for high class Koi.
Please keep an eye on the website for the dates of the fish coming home. Of course they will be fully quarantined and checked for virus’s by Cefas. If you are in the market for special Nisai or you just want to come and look, everyone is welcome.
Our final day in Japan now. I write this last post from the Hilton in Narita.
We started our day at Isawa Nishikigoi centre. We wanted to get some better shots of the Koi we had there and to see if there was anything else we needed. The 2 Koi we have here are just stunning. They are by far the best 3 year old Koi we have seen during this trip. Other breeders who have seen the Koi have been trying to buy them through out this trip. The Sanke is very much the Koi of the harvests. They will both be entered in the All Japan Koi Show in February.
Toshio also bowled up his best 2 year old Kohaku which was stunning. The body on this Koi was expectional. Already 58cms. He also bowled up his best 3 year old Kohaku, the beni on this Koi was so soft. Both koi 100% tategoi.
This has been a great trip! I will write a summery when i get back.
Today we drove to Isawa Sakai in Isawa. Roy Pillay left us this morning so there are only 4 of us.
Arrived down at Isawa Nishikigoi Centre around 1pm and had lunch. We had left a Sanke here in Spring which went into one of Sakai’s special mud ponds, she looks beautiful. Cant wait to get ger back to the shop. She is 4 years old now and the skin is just in a different class.
Sakai bowled us some really nice larger Koi, A 83cm Sanke which was harvested yesterday, such a quality fish and I expect to see this again in the future…
More pictures from INC tomorrow, stay tuned!
Today is the anniversary of the terrible Earthquake that devastated much of the Yamakoshi area. There are fireworks being fired all around as I type.
Today we visited a few breeders as usual to inspect their stocks. We called in Fujio Oomo and had a quick look round, he has some really nice Showa, huge nisai! Very impressed. We then went up to Marusho and saw a very nice Ochiba, great body. Oomo had harvested a pond the previous day and had his very best Sansai Showa - staggering!
Off then to Isa to look at a few new Nisai, ended up getting a tancho Showa! They seem to be all the rage…
We then got taken to see one of Isa Sans staffs Koi Hiouse. You often find that staff of the larger breeders breed Koi aswell. They are training and working but still produce their own fish. Well Mauhide took us to his place where he breeds all Doitsu GoSanke. Some really nice stuff…and we had to buy! Check out the ones we bought. Will be really good value too, email me for price info.
Early start and up to Yozaimon where a clients Showa which has been left here for a season was harvested. The Koi was 72cms when we sold her and today she was almost 80cms. That’s some growth. She will now be heading home. What a stunning Showa.
Michael who is with us today has been to Japan a few times before, his first trip was in 1997 and his last trip previous to this one was 2004 just after the Earthquake hit. He cannot believe how much the area has changed and he is even more shocked at how much the Koi have changed…for the better! He is still finding it hard remembering where certain places used to be.
Popped into Torazo and had a look at a few other big Koi. The shop is going to look absolutely amazing!!
Enjoy.
We had to Harvest some of Shintaro’s larger Koi today. they were kept in a smaller pond bit only 16 Koi. They all grew very well.
Out of the 16 about 10 of them were Koi I had sold! Crazy. Anyway they all looked pretty good. Chris decided to get in and do a bit of harvesting and Saito San asked if i would lift the Koi into the Transport Container, was a great day for us all. Roy Pillay had a large Sanke in this pond which has been here for a few years, it has now put on body and looks awesome.
After the Harvest I popped back to the Hotel to pick up Michael who had flew in from America, then straight out and straight to Torazo again to take a look at the Koi we bought yesterday, still look superb! Izumiya had brought in the monsters so had a look in there, they are such a sight.
Up to Yamamatsu to see some of his new Nisai just being harvested, also a superb Sansai Sanke. A bit slim because she dropped eggs in the mud pond but what a quality Koi.
Then we dropped back down to get some Nisai Yamabuki and some really nice Kujaku for taking home. We ended up getting them plus 4 75cm Chagoi…
Very busy day for us in the mountains today. Roy Pillay from South Africa has joined us to check on his Koi he already has over here and to buy a few more to add to his collection. He bought a great Nisai from Torazo today! Very good tategoi. Roy had 4 Koi at Shintaro and everyone had improved, he was a very happy man. I picked them for him in 2008 when they were nisai, now all Yonsai and all over 65cms. I will post pictures soon.
Torazo harvested a few more Nisai yesterday so we went down to take a look, we ended up buying 6 very special Nisai, they really are good, must be seen when we get them back.
Before we left Torazo we thought we would ask a price on a 80cm Showa he had in his main pond…after 30 minutes we had bought 10 pieces…all over 75cms! Some over 80! Superb Koi. I’m just glad we have plenty of water back at the Shop!!
Was a great day. The news of our Sanke at Matsunosuke which was harvested in the pictures further down this page had gotten round and we were grabbed by Hiroi Seiji in Yozaimon who was in love with the Koi. Not that he knows anything about good Koi!
Enjoy the pictures!
Another great day. So many fish up here at the moment and selling very fast. Business seems to be pretty okay for the breeders we have seen. Hirasawa is much busier than last year.
With a brief stop off for tea with Yamamatsu we had a quick drive round to Igarashi Kazuto to see when the big fish will be harvested. As luck would have it he had just brought in some new fantastic Nisai so we bought 8 cracking Koi, real high class Koi. he also had a really different tancho Sanke there, not a lot of Sumi yet but only 3 years old and already 70cms. Very good tategoi.Will look great back at the shop.
We then went on to see Saito San who had harvested some more new Nisai which were very special. We ended up getting 10 of these, all will be for the 200k pond. I will post pictures of them soon. Really high class tategoi.
Then down to Hirasawa to try and fill a few customer orders I had, found his very best 4 year old Hi utsuri and immediately sold it, picture dosent do the Koi justice. it will be staying in Japan another year…
Another crazy day! Up early to see Yamamatsu, then we left to go and secure some stunning Nisai kohaku from Hiroi Seiji for our client. These Kohakus were bred from a Momotaro Kohaku some know as ‘Bently’ which is 98cms. They are 60cms and only Nisai, incredible.
We then went to Shintaro to check on our Koi which had been harvested and we were very happy. They have all come on so well. They are huge!!
We then went to check out the Auction Koi from Matsunosuke and Yamamatsu. There were some really nice Koi going through, I swore I wasn’t going to get involved but couldn’t resist 2 Koi! Was good times. Along with the American contingent having a blast, there was Alan Coogan out bidding all for some very nice fish!
We then headed to see Yagenji, bought some very special Nisai. The pictures speak for themselves really, very high class Nisai all for the shop and the 200k pond next spring.
A great day!
We didn’t harvest all day you know!
We did actually go to a few other breeders too. After we left Matsonosuke we went straight to Yozaimon to see their stocks. Ended up buying some fantastic Doitsu Showa. Really nice fish, very good value! Shoot me an email if you need prices. They are around 50cms and start at around £500.
We then went onto Isa who as usual dose not disappoint. We bought 12 of his Showa Nisai. Very good quality. These will be ideal for putting into the 200k pond next year for growing. Excellent fish.
We also called in at Hirasawa’s new facility where we found Hirasawa San working hard as always. Hoping to see some fish from there in the next few days.
What a first day!
We set out early this morning to see probably the most famous and the best harvest in the area. The Matsonosuke harvest!
Most people have heard of this guy, if not then please read this article I wrote on him for Koi Carp Magazine earlier this year.
There were 2 ponds done today, the first being for Koi up to Sansai (3 years old) Koi that are now actually around 30months old. Then we did the Koi aged over 3 year old apart from a select few, some Sansai including one of our clients went in the main pond because it was already a massive Nisai.
As usual I got my usual place on the truck to get pictures of the fish being lifted into the containers by Toshio Sakai, who is just as unbelievable as ever. There were 2 very special Koi which were harvested out of the first pond. A Showa and a Sanke we purchased in April of this year and left them here to grow on. They both grew well. The Sanke coming out at 65cms and the Showa matching it. They were 50cms when bought. The Showa was Toshio Sakai’s very best nisai and is now his very best Sansai Showa.
UKNishikigoi have arrived in Japan. Please bookmark the site for updates which will be posted daily, starting with a VERY special day tomorrow!!
We have been extremely busy with the new Shintaro Koi. They are looking out of this world. For anyone looking to grow on some top class Koi over winter, these must be seen. Expect pictures on the website this coming week. They really are a different class. We will also be growing some on for ourselves.
Our Poly Tunnel is really looking the part now. We have 7 ponds all up and running and another one which we have just blocked up which should be around 6000 gallons running on Cetus sieves and Nexus. This will then give us 8 ponds with a total gallonage of around 32,000gallons all for Quarantine. We don’t believe there is any better facility to do this in the UK.
The last summer shipment arrives at UKNishikigoi tomorrow evening. These are all from Shintaro Koi Farm, the Koi have been a huge success this year. We have growing facilities to grow the ones we havent sold on through the winter, will be nice to get the chance for us instead of our clients to see how well they do.
Keep an eye on the website for when they will be released. I have also attached a link at the bottom to view Shintaro Koi Farms recent KHV test results.
On another note, Saki Hikari have now stopped producing the 15kg bags of their food. I received the last 6 15kg sacks of Multi Season yesterday. 4 have already been sold leaving me with 2. They have only just arrived in the UK and are very fresh. If anyone would like one of the bags then call me or email ASAP. Once they are gone, that’s it. Of course Saki Hikari is still available in 2kg and 5kg bags. We also have the 15kg Wheatgerm sacks in stock.
I received some pictures from Shintaro yesterday. As you can see he was feeding his mud ponds and hopefully our 5 fish plus our clients Koi. We are expecting some massive growths this year.Fingers crossed!!
New Shintaro Koi have just been brought into the main shop and more coming over each week. Some fantastic tosai to be had.
We also have the new 7.5Kilo Wheatgerm food in stock from Evolution Aqua, same price as 5kilo’s. A great buy and you will have it all ready for winter. We now have Saki Hikari growth and Hikari Wheatgerm sacks back in stock after selling completely out of both.
UKNishikigoi today received one of their yearly visits from The Fish health inspectorate.
The visit went extremely well and Robert Packham from Cefas was very impressed with the stocks we had and the conditions they were in. Our BioSecurity program passed with flying colours.
We will continue to work closely with Cefas.
We have also added a few new articles to that section on the website. Feel free to have a browse.
Work continues here at UKN.
We demolished an existing shed that was already here. Now have a new base to build a few more ponds…
We have now began work on our main outdoor pond. Estimated gallonage now is about 200,000 Gallons.
The base of the pond will be fully cleared and scraped. Then the clay will be compacted and ready for the fill. Was great to see progress on this pond, we want to have fish in it this year.
The sales ponds outside are running very well indeed. The Nexus 200’s easily coping with the job. The fish have been selling really well from these ponds and the indoor ponds, fresh fish are being brought over all the time so there are always new koi to pick from.
The Niigata shipment is looking fantastic in the poly tunnel. All now settled right in and will be out of Quarantine for next weekend. The Shintaro tosai are just breath taking. We have Ochiba, Goshiki, Beni Kumonryu, Shiro utsuri, Harewake, Kujaku, Kohaku, Sanke, Showa, Shusui, Purachina and Doitsu Purachina. We also have a limited supply of some of the best 1 year Chagoi from Marusei you will find. They are already 14″. We will only be selling 12 of these.
Not sure if anyone has noticed but we have decided to do a feature on some of our customer ponds. Which can be found in our media section of the site. This we hope will give idea’s to people thinking of building a pond or even upgrading their existing systems. There are 7 on at the moment ranging from 1500 gallons to 30,000 gallons with more being added all the time.
Apologies for the delay in recent news. The place has been manic with both customers and continued work.
Also shipping Koi to Malta and South Africa, its really been crazy.
The new Koi have been selling very well, havent even had the time to get them up on the website, very soory to those who are waiting. It will be very soon though. Hoping for a quiet day next week to get some added.
The outside ponds are all up and running. Look really nice now. Shame about the temprature drop last week though, it was a blazing day when we moved them out of the poly tunnel.
Now arranging the next shipment of fish from Shintaro, Yamamatsu, Yamazaki, Seitaro etc etc.
Keep an eye for more news coming soon.
The weather has yet again held us back in finishing the outside ponds.
Fibre glassing has been impossible because of the rain. Progress has still been made. The ponds are all finished and just need fibre glassing and adding the tops. The pagoda is well on its way and will be finished by tomorrow. The Nexus 200’s all arrived on Monday and all the pipework is in. Plumbing up will start tomorrow also. Im sure you can see how far we have come in a very short amount of time. Over 100tons of stone have been delivered this week to level off the area where the outside ponds are. Its been a busy week!
The new Koi are now out of Quarantine. The new fish will be moved to our inside ponds tonight and will be ready to buy from tomorrow morning. The full range will be brought over for next weekend when the outside ponds will be finished. Just need one clear day for the fibre glass. Work will be carried on all over the weekend anyway.
We put up our new shelving upstairs this week and new stock has been arriving through out the week. We now have a full range of both the 2kg and 5kg Saki Hikari along with the bulk sacks of Hikari wheatgerm.
We will also have a few special deals over the weekend, should be very good.
Everything still very busy here. The new ponds are full steam ahead after the rain delayed us last week. We should be fibreglassing before this weekend.
The outside pond will be split into 4 separate ponds. They will be 2 feet above ground and 2 feet in the ground. All using Nexus filtration. These are for the smaller Koi which are now in Quarantine.
The new fish look better and better each day. Not a single parasite just ALOT of food. Since we switched to feeding them Saki Hikari multi season they have really improved. The skins are now really starting to sparkle and the health of the fish is the best it could possibly be.
Id just like to say a big thank you to all our customers and I thank you for your patience in waiting for the new Koi. They will be worth the wait though. The fish will be on sale from Saturday the 23rd of May. The new ponds will be ready and the Koi will have been fully Quarantined.Outside temperature is still around 12/13 degree’s. I wouldn’t want to sell them until it starts to creep up to at least 15 degree’s anyway.
The new Koi are looking fantastic. They will only need another week in Quarantine now.Not a parasite to be found. Very happy with them.
Feeding like crazy. We are going through around 4kilo’s of food each day with them and using Saki Hikari which they are thriving on. Also another big mention to the Nexus filters that are doing a sterling job. The Eazy working very well to keep all the muck in one place. There is alot of it too.
I will update the site when they can be viewed.
Quick update for everyone.
The new fish are looking fantastic. We haven’t had the tests back on the Koi yet so they are still not available for viewing. We feel keeping the fish away from the public is the safest and the best for our Bio Security. It will only benifit our clients, and make sure they have the safest possible fish to add to their collections.
Having been concentrating so much on the new fish and the work we have been doing outside we havent really had time to move fish into the main 10,000 Gallon tank upstairs in the main shop…Until today that is. The pond looks amazing with the new fish in there and they are very much enjoying it in there! This is making room for the new Koi to be moved into the shop after the quarantine period is over. The fencing is now finished outside the main shop, looks really good now. Its really all coming together.
The Saki Hikari is selling extremely well. Anyone who wants to get some over the weekend pop in. Its a bit late in the year but we have a limited number of Hikari calendars for people who take the Saki Hikari. I also have 10 x 15kg bags of Hikari Wheatgerm coming in next week. Email us for special pricing.
The new Koi arrived late on Thursday night, they are already coming on really well.
Already feeding like crazy, and with this many fish is a fantastic sight to see when they do. If this continues the Quarantine period should be a little shorter. There is now a custom disinfection foot bath as you walk into the tunnel and we even change footwear to go in ourselves. Please be aware that they cannot be viewed until they have finished the Quarantine period. We do of course have Koi that are available in the main shop.
Last night UKNishikigoi received its first shipment from the spring buying trip to Japan. 104 boxes containing 3400 Koi all from Isawa Nishikigoi. Matsunosuke. They arrived in excellent condition.
The Koi are now in full Quarantine, and will be for 4-6 weeks. These Koi will be kept away from our customers until we have recieved our blood sample tests back from Cefas and are happy with the condition of the Koi.
The Koi consist of Tosai and Nisai and some larger Koi. Varieties include Sanke, Showa, Kohaku, Goshiki, Gin Rin Kohaku, Tancho Sanke, Showa and Kohaku, Goromo, Beni-Goi, Yamabuki Ogon and more. They are stunning fish and very much worth the wait. Please keep checking the website for further information.
UKNishikigoi are proud to announce we are now a Saki Hikari premiere dealer. 
We will be stocking the full range of Saki Hikari Koi foods including Basic, Growth, Colour and Multi Season.
We believe Saki Hikari is the best Koi food in the world which is why we will be feeding all our own Koi on Saki Hikari foods. As a premiere Saki Hikari Dealer we can offer some very good deals throughout the year so its worth checking with us if we have any deals on with the Saki Hikari.
Along with being an Evolution Aqua Master Dealer and now with the Sakai Hikari deal we are making strides within the industry.
Now is a very busy time for us here at UKNishikigoi.
We have just started building our new outside sales ponds which are directly behind the main barn. There will be 4 ponds ranging from 1200 gallons to 2000 Gallons. These will be mainly for the smaller Koi. Pricing will start at £15.00 for good quality Japanese Koi which we picked on our recent trip to Japan earlier this month.
The poly tunnel is now ready to take our new stocks which will start arriving this week. The Matsunosuke Koi arrive this coming Thursday and will be fully Quarantined in our new facility. This will include blood samples and heat ramping and full parasite eradication. This period depending on the Koi should take between 4 and 6 weeks. Regular updates of their progress will be added on the site. If you want some of the best Koi available from Japan then they are very much worth the wait. There will be close to 3000 fish arriving on our first shipment giving our customers the best and largest selection of Japanese Koi in the UK.
Sorry for no recent updates, been full speed ahead here.
We have been busy getting the poly tunnel up and running. We are now ready to fill the 3 largest ponds which will give us an instant 18000 gallons for the new spring shipment. This will allow us to Quarantine the new stock and keep a close eye on them. We can then do the blood testing and heat treatments. This area wont be open to the public.
New ponds are now being built outside the main facility which will be for the smaller Koi, these will be finished by the time the new fish are out of quarantine.
UKNishikigoi will be in Japan at some of the top breeders in Niigata and of course Toshio Sakai from Isawa Nishikigoi Centre. We will be bringing more Matsunosuke Koi than anyone else in Europe. The selection of tosai, nisai and larger fish will be superb. Very much worth a visit. If you keep an eye on our website you will see the dates of the fish coming in and when they are due to come out of Quarantine.
April is an ideal time to find high class 1 year olds. The breeders use this month to select which Koi they are going to keep to grow on. With limited mud pond space not all can make it so it is an ideal time to find true tategoi. Which we hope to find.
We will be bringing in some special tosai which we plan on growing for the rest of the year, the results should hopefully be very good. Having the ponds to grow our own Koi can only be good for the hobbyist at the end of the day. Quality fish at a cheaper price.
The website will also give you daily updates on our trip to Japan, so pictures and blogging will be available every day. Anything you may want to ask then please feel free to email me through the contact form. If there is anything fish wise you would like pictures of then dont hesitate to get in touch.
2 bits of very good news.
The main pond is now up and running, looks brilliant. Almost 10,000 gallons!!
Outside has come on so much, the first Poly tunnel went up yesterday, fantastic job they did on it. The main drains have been put in and buried now, all the drains coming up into one place where the Nexus filters will be housed, all 7 of them! Fibre glass will arrive tomorrow and we will get the first 3 up and running for next weekend, exciting times. They will be ready for the new Koi to arrive from the spring trip to Japan.
Phase 2 is now in full swing. The curbs are being laid for the carpark which is going to be pretty big when all finished. It will be planted up and then the entire area all leveled.
The ponds in the poly tunnel are ready to be fibre glassed, we are just awaiting the new poly tunnel to go on which should be in the next week. Then we can glass the ponds and get them running.
After 6 weeks the new Koi will be ready to be taken this weekend. So anyone who has bought Koi and are waiting to pick them up this is a good time to do so.
Will also be a great time to pop down this weekend and all 5 ponds In the main facility will be fully up and running. The big pond is filling as we speak, thats the last pond to run. Will be a great Saturday morning firing it up.
News just in that this years All Japan Champion is a Showa from Yamatoya.
Looks very nice indeed.
.jpg "2009 All Japan Champion")
For the full story please check out
Another quick update.
Got the 2 new sofas for downstairs, will get some for upstairs when the new floor goes in. Finally got the covers for the 4 Nexus 300’s upstairs. Now safe for us to walk on.
Koi are looking absolutley fantastic. Will try and get some pictures up on the site for this weekend.
Have to thank everyone again for a great weekend. Im still amazed at how well the new fish have settled in. Eating like crazy, only parasite found is white spot(Now dead white spot). Great condition.
Sofas have arrived, coffee machine tomorrow. More pictures have been added upstairs. Not far off being finished now. Still got a couple of bits to do on the main pond before filling but only minor things then we can get that filled and running. The pipework is all finished.
Will be getting the new koi on the site ASAP. Not long now.
First of all I would like to give a huge thanks to everyone who came down this weekend, was a great weekend. We will have a coffee machine by next weekend though! Thanks to all who purchased Koi this weekend, some great Koi were had. They should be ready to be picked up or shipped abroad in a month or so.
Going to give a big thumbs up to the Nexus units. Running a week with brand new media, brand new water before we added the new Koi. The Koi are in amazing condition, we have a few readings in one pond which means the filter is already kicking in. I have been dropping the ‘Eazy’ every morning with no trickle back in for now. Very impressed.
We are now in the process of heat ramping the Koi, This will be done twice. Depending on when the Koi from Isawa arrive we will blood test all together.
We hope to start adding the Koi to the website for next weekend. The wait will be worthwhile. Sansai Izumiya Yamabuki’s, Yozaimon Goshiki’s and the Hasegawa Kohaku’s all superb.
As you can see by the video clip. After 4 days they are already feeding like mad.
All the Koi have settled in and looking great considering they only actually got here early Thursday morning. All the work has been done on them and now are relaxing and starting the Quarantine period. As you can see by the pictures they are hungry fish. Have to feed them slowly at first, they haven’t been fed for a while because of the shipping.
Evolution Aqua came down and fitted the racking and products. The shop is now looking like a shop!
The fish can now be viewed, thanks for all the people who came down today.Hope to see old and new faces over the coming months. If everything goes to plan we should have the fish on the website by next weekend.
The Niigata shipment arrived safe and well. I think its the fastest I have ever known them get through customs. We were all done by 7!
All settling in well and looking good. Thursday and Friday we will be getting them all sorted out. Best to come down at the weekend for viewing.
A great day!
The upstairs ponds all now have the handrail fitted. They look excellent. All stainless polished steel. Each section easily lifts out, making netting and bowling very easy. The 2 smaller ponds will be filled tonight and tomorrow so should both be running tomorrow night.
The fish are arriving on Wednesday the 14th. On Thursday we will be spending alot of time with the new fish making sure they are all in good condition and getting the Quarantine started on them. The best time to view the new stocks will be at the weekend, you will not be disappointed.
Depending on the Koi, we should be getting the fish up on the website after about 7 days.
I will update the site before then of course. Will post pictures of the Koi arriving on Wednesday night.
If there are any questions, please feel free to send us an email.
First id like to wish everyone a Happy New year and all the best for 2009.
Finally we have 2 ponds up and running. 2 more by the end of this week. Just waiting for the tops to be finished upstairs, which will be done by Thursday. Then we will fill the 2 smaller upstairs ponds and get them fully up and running. The floor has been finished downstairs looks really good now.
Due to a small delay on the ponds I have pushed back the arrivial of the Koi until next Wednesday, the 14th. Thats booked in and done now. No turning back. So they will be ready for viewing the weekend of the 17th. Ill add more news on that nearer the time. Thanks to all who have braved the weather to pop in and say hello. Next time the fish will be here!
Final update of the year!
Still been busy all over the Christmas period, 2 days off only and work started again.Thanks for all the Christmas wishes.
The stainless steel clad is up now all around the balcony, looks very nice indeed. Really looks the part now. Pipework has finished on both downstairs ponds and are filling as I type. Pipework is well underway on the upstairs ponds. Should only be a few days after new year to get them finished.
Koi are still on target to be here by the 8th/9th of January, with the Matsunosuke Koi following on soon after.
Anyone who hasn’t been down to take a look at how the place is shaping up feel free.
Finally we would like to thank everyone for continued support and would like to wish everyone a Happy new year.
Tim and everyone at UKNishikigoi.
Hi everyone.
First of all a big thanks to all the kind wishes with the business, its been amazing. Huge thanks to French contingent over the weekend. Sorry we didn’t have any fish, I hope the pond visit made up for it a little. They will be available very soon!
Big news is we have started filling 2 tanks. The pipework is done and looking great. Will start to get them up and running with K1 over the Christmas period.
The Niigata shipment from, Shintaro, Yamamatsu, Izumiya, Yamazaki, Yagenji, Seitaro etc will be arriving on the 8th of January! Exciting times!
Upstairs is just awaiting the flooring to be done which should be the first few days of the new year, as soon as the stainless cladding is up around the outside of the balcony, which I hope is tomorrow. We have already started to plumb in the upstairs ponds. The valves and such will be underneath out of the way, making it very easy to maintain the Nexus. Only 10minutes a week anyway.
The main downstairs flooring is almost complete, pictures dont show how good this actually looks. It really is superb. Will really keep a barn feel to the place even with everything else being ultra modern.
I shall leave you with the most recent pictures of the place, the filter set up looks really good.
UKNishikigoi wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
As usual another busy day.
The paving for the inside floor arrived so we got to laying it straight away. Should be finished in a couple of days. Looks really good.
The main 175,000Gallon pond was today rotivated and limed. It is now fully cleaned out and totally disinfected, more news about that tomorrow.
Plumbing has started aswell, we will have water running this weekend.
Sorry again for the update delays. Alot of things have been worked on but difficult to see mass changes.
All the glass is now in around the balcony. Looks really good, awaiting the chrome hand rail that should arrive tomorrow.
Will add more towards the end of the week.
Sorry for the posting delay. Painters have been hard at work and until it was finished there isn’t much need for updates. They have now finished, great job they have done. A few skirting boards to finish off today, then all done.
The flooring has now gone into the smaller room with the 2 ponds, looks amazing. Anti Skid with red, black and white specks. Needs to be seen really. Pictures have started arriving to go on the walls. Will really look stunning now. More to go in upstairs when thats finished.
All the fibreglass work is done. So no more horrible smells to put up with. We are waiting on the glass to come for the balcony tracks and the main downstairs flooring, quick pipe up and done, fish will then arrive!!
December is now here. If anything we are looking about another week for the main shop to be finished apart from a few details. This week should see it all fall into place. Painters start tomorrow. Which means the poly floor can be fitted Friday and over the weekend. Lights are also all going in tomorrow so the place should be very bright.
We are almost ready to start moving the builders outside now. We need to build all the ponds outside up to the same level, drop the filters and pipework in and get them all covered.
Hi all,
Just a quick update today. The final block went in the inside shop today. Smiles all round.
Plumbing, painting and fish is all we need now.News on the fish very soon.
So much was done today. Very busy day.
The main pond is now finished. Topcoat on and its a great finish. One of the smoothest ponds I have seen.
The stairs were finally put up today. Not only making it easier to get around the place but look superb. They will be sprayed later to the same finish throughout the building. Then wooden steps will be added with a none slip coating.
So by next Monday we should be really looking like a shop!
The stairs arrived today, well worth the wait. Not only do they look good, we can get on with the new upstairs floor.
The main pond was given a second coat of resin and will be top coated tomorrow so it will be finished. The second smaller pond now has a base in it, the one thats built is kingspanned. Should be all go at the weekend now and ready for the painters.
Been a really busy weekend.The barn is now fully insulated which helps while this cold spell has suddenly come in. The outside ponds have all been cut out. We will pipe them up with new drains tomorrow, then backfill ready for fibreglass to go on.
The second of the smaller indoor ponds is ready for the false bottom which should be finished tomorrow. Then kingspanned and glassed by the end of the week leaving next weekend for piping up. A busy week ahead.
The main pond has been glassed now, we will get the top coat on ASAP.
The weather has been terrible this weekend but thanks for all those who braved it and popped down. Also a big thanks to Evolution Aqua for a great day at Anfield watching the football.
One of the smaller upper ponds is almost finished now. The next will be started on in the morning.
We have started work on the outdoor ponds today, cutting the old drain lines out and directing the new ones to where we need them to be. It really doesn’t take long with the jack hammer. The new drains are being made as I type and will be ready to be piped up tomorrow. Really is coming along.
Picked up the fiberglass today for the main pond which will be done over the weekend.
Just waiting for the new flooring to go into the raised part of the shop, then we can finally get water into 2 ponds. The main pond is being fiberglassed on Saturday, so should be done by Monday.
The 2 smaller ponds are well on the way now, we are putting a false bottom in them because we don’t need the full 8 foot depth. 5 feet will be enough.
Work has started on the next 2 indoor ponds. Already taking shape after a day.
Lights being installed over the show ponds, better do that before the fill!
The steel stairs are now made and are being sprayed in the same finish as the pond tops, they really will look superb.
More pics as the week goes by.
The main pond is now built. Kingspan will be finished today, then we will start getting it fiberglassed ASAP.
You can now see where the 2 other ponds will be going on the far side of the main pond. With a walkway all the way round. The new staircase is now being made, it will be sprayed in the same stuff as the pond tops, will look really good. That should be up sometime next week.
The 2 show ponds will be filled and tested this weekend. Look out for the pics.
While in Japan alot has been going on at the new shop.
The Stainless has gone on the front of our ponds and looks amazing. We thought it may be a little bright but its perfect. Will really give the ponds a nice finish.
The main pond is now all the way up to the upper floor. We will come out a little further to add stainless to that aswell. All now fully plastered, the electric main has just gone in, water main is now in, more brickies arriving to get the final 2 ponds up, its all go. The main pond should be ready for fibreglass tomorrow, the kingspan is going in today.
