Questions have been raised in various venues about the propriety of the Koi Dealer Best Health Practices Certification Program (the “BHP”) project. We hope that the following in a Q&A format will answer many, if not all of those questions. Summary statement The BHP can help stop KHV from being passed on to hobbyists from participating dealers and it is believed that this is currently the most practical and effective way to control the disease within the limits of Project KHV’s objectives and finances. Question and answers Q. What is the BHP? A. Short answer: The BHP is a voluntary program designed to help Koi dealers keep Koi herpesvirus disease from entering their Koi for sale. Compliance with the program requirements is verified by licensed veterinarians. Longer, more detailed answer: Independent, licensed veterinarians help interested dealerships prepare and implement the Essential Requirements of the BHP. When ready, the veterinarian inspects the facility. If the dealership is compliant, a Certificate is issued. The veterinarian continues to monitor and verify the Dealership’s ongoing adherence to the Essential Requirements by requiring:

• Proper facility configuration and maintenance,
• Proper quarantine of all incoming Koi,
• Ongoing and appropriate bio-security procedures,
• Appropriate record keeping and
• Personnel training,
• Regularly scheduled dealer reports,
• Immediate reporting of suspected KHVD, and by
• Periodic veterinary on-site inspections.

Certified dealers will have agreed to quarantine all incoming Koi at the permissive temperature for a time adequate for KHVD to show itself. If no symptoms are observed, the fish are released for sale. If KHVD is suspected, the veterinarian directs and monitors the dealer’s investigation and any required corrective action. If KHVD infected or exposed Koi are identified, they are destroyed and associated tanks and equipment are sanitized. The veterinary assistance, certification process, continued veterinary monitoring and vet support are paid for by the dealer directly to the certifying veterinarian. No one else is involved in the transaction. Q. How is the BHP project consistent with the goals of Project KHV? Or, why is Project KHV spending the donations money on this project? A. Short answer: A major goal of Project KHV is to promote the control of KHV. The BHP does that. OBJECTIVES: The AKCA-Project KHV will solicit donations that will be used to fund targeted KHV research, development of technology, and education directly related to establishing short term control and longer term eradication of koi herpes virus. Longer, more detailed answer: The goals of the Project KHV have not changed since virtually the inception of the Project. Those goals are given below from a 2004 press release for Project KHV: The objectives are given again in more detail here http://www.akcaprojectkhv.org/index.php?limitstart=40 but the essence of the goals is in the first sentence given below: AKCA - PROJECT KHV OBJECTIVES The Project seeks donations to support KHV research and education projects to develop new technologies and education projects directly related to short-term control and prevention and longer-term eradication of KHV. Potential areas of research that may receive grants include: Developing and/or testing of KHV vaccines; other potential preventatives; more accurate, available and economical tests for KHV; and recommendations to appropriately deal with KHV exposed and/or “recovered” koi. Potential education projects include: dealer and hobbyist information and training on KHV identification, prevention and control of KHV; and a Best Practices Certification program for dealers to intercept and destroy KHV infected fish prior to distribution. The same objectives are given here: http://inlandkoisociety.org/Newsletters/03-2009IKSNewsletter.pdf at the bottom of page 6, and here: http://www.akcaprojectkhv.org/ and here: http://www-k.gluetext.com/content/k/KHV//KHV.html. The BHP program was pursued because it is believed that it is the best way to protect hobbyists from KHV short of an effective vaccine project for which Project KHV does not have the resources. Stated another way, since the BHP can help stop KHV from being passed on to hobbyists from participating dealers, it is believed that this is the most practical and effective way to control the disease within the limits of the Project’s objectives and finances. 2004--AKCA created and is fundng the organizational and administrative costs of the AKCA-Project KHV so that 1000% of all money donated will go directly into KHV research. There has been some confusion possibly caused by a couple of lines in that original 2004 press release in which an attempted was made to convey that AKCA would be paying for Project overhead so no donations would be used for that purpose. It is unfortunate that the language was not more carefully chosen. That excerpt is given below: Similar language may exist in other places but the intent is still the same: to convey that AKCA will pay the overhead. Those involved at the time (2004) were aware that the intent of the statement was to communicate that the donations would not be used to pay expenses typically associated with overhead. Anyone who donates to a charity that works to combat disease knows there is more to that fight than just research, e.g., breast cancer charities typically promote education about screening with mammograms. Project KHV regrets any misunderstandings that the poor choice of words may have produced. However, the other information available in the original press release, reports made to the Board, web site postings and numerous articles in KOI USA and other magazines has provided sufficient information to make the Project objectives clear. Q. What is a hobby-group like the AKCA doing sticking their noses into the Koi dealers’ business, i.e., specifically with this BHP project? A. Short answer: Hobbyists hoped for, and encouraged others to step up and develop, an effective program for KHV control. After waiting for literally years after the discovery of the disease with no signs of progress, Project KHV decided to act. Longer, more detailed answer: The AKCA and Project KHV are advocates for Koi hobbyists. We believe that, since: The dealers are generally the last ones to have Koi before the hobbyists receive them, if we can help stop KHV at the dealers, we can help protect the hobbyists. We had hoped that the Koi dealers would take on this project and some associated with the ACKA and Project KHV tried to encourage such an effort literally years ago but it gained no traction and to this day, we are unaware of any program by the dealers (other than separate individual efforts) resembling a uniform and/or professionally vetted program to stop KHV at the dealer level. Additionally, we had hoped that the veterinary community, being aware of this need for years, would develop such a program. We are aware of two such attempts, one lost momentum as it was just getting started. The other sought Project KHV sponsorship but was inflexible in their view of what was needed even after Project conducted extensive market research that unequivocally revealed that the proposed program was not acceptable to the Koi dealers. Hence, sponsorship for that proposal was rejected. It was at this juncture that Project KHV decided to take the lead by sponsoring and developing a program, getting it successfully up and running and to then stepping back and allow another group to manage it. To date we remain unaware of any similar program underway or even being considered in the U.S. by anyone or any group to address this problem or fill this gap. Q. Why is the AKCA trying to tell the dealers what to do? A. The AKCA is not telling the dealers to do anything. All involvement in the BHP is completely voluntary. The program requirements were prepared by animal health professionals, not the AKCA. Only licensed, independent veterinarians will certify the dealers. The only involvement of hobbyists in the program is to manage and sponsor the Program’s start-up and development, i.e., they are not involved in the certification of dealerships. Once the program is up and running, Project KHV will withdraw leaving the management and maintenance of the program to professionals. Q. Why can’t the BHP guarantee a KHV-free fish? A. Short answer: Science is not yet ready to guarantee KHV free fish from testing alone and some of the science that does exist that can be helpful is too expensive and/or too lethal to be applied to all Koi. Longer, more detailed answer: PCR testing is effective if lots of KHV DNA is present in the suspect fish, usually during or shortly after an acute outbreak of the disease. Also, some PCR tests can determine if a very small amount of the viral DNA is present in a sample. However, there is scant evidence indicating exactly which tissue to sample if and when very small amounts of the viral DNA are suspected. And in most cases, sampling the tentatively-identified tissues likely requires killing the fish (for liver, kidney, brain and base-of-the-gills samples). Only one sample is able to be taken for low-level viral DNA w/o killing the fish, the white cells (from a blood sample). Additionally, there is only one group of scientists that seems to consistently find the viral DNA in white cells and their work has not been widely confirmed to date. All this may, of course, change over time. A prior KHV infection may be inferred if a Koi has antibodies to KHV and has not been vaccinated. To determine this, two things are required: 1) the history of the fish needs to be known (vaccinated or not) and 2) an accurate test for the presence of antibodies needs to be done. If the test is positive and the fish has not been vaccinated, the fish may be deemed a likely carrier. If the test is negative, the fish is likely not a carrier but this cannot be determined for sure as insufficient data exist to show that a) all survivors of a KHV infection develop antibodies to the disease and b) if antibodies do develop, how long they are able to be detected in blood samples with the current technology. Bottom line: testing can increase the confidence that as koi is neither sick with KHV disease nor is it a carrier of the viral DNA but the current state of the science does not allow a post-testing living fish to be declared “KHV free” based on testing alone. Q. If a KHV free fish can’t be guaranteed, what good is the BHP program? A. Short answer: Finding and stopping some KHV, which the BHP is designed to do, is better than finding and stopping none of it. Longer, more detailed answer: Quarantine at the temperatures and for the time specified in the BHP will reveal active KHV disease (KHVD). This is the most virulent phase of the disease and therefore the one that will typically be the most infective and kill the most Koi the quickest. Finding and stopping KHV in this phase is highly desirable from both the perspective of the dealers and their customers. Q. What do a bunch of dog and cat vets know about fish? A. The BHP program was written by animal health professionals most of whom have extensive experience with fish in general and with koi specifically. The program has also prepared and will offer an online course to help educate interested veterinarians to better deal with Koi and Koi dealerships. Market research indicated a strong desire on the part of interested veterinarians to bring “value added” to the BHP program; they said they wanted to be more that just the “BHP police.” Additionally, all veterinarians are trained in herd or animal-group disease control. Q. A piece of paper doesn’t make dealer knowledgeable and, even if they know what to do, it won’t make them act responsibly. So what good is a BHP certificate? A. These requirements were developed by competent animal health professionals most of whom specialize in fish. Certification is issued only after a licensed veterinarian verifies that the dealership is in compliance with the minimum Essential Requirements of the BHP. The dealer agrees to continually employ and maintain these requirements and the veterinarian will verify this with regularly-required dealer reports and on-site visits. The certifying veterinarian has the right, the ability and the obligation to revoke a dealer’s Certification any time they believe the dealer is significantly non-compliant with the BHP requirements. Q. Why would the BHP issue a 10 year certificate? A..There was a (singular) mistake during the Beta testing phase of the program and that has been rectified. All BHP certifications are now, and are expected to be so in the future, issued for a one year period. The maintenance of the certification will be contingent on satisfactory reporting and continued compliance of the dealership with the minimum Essential Requirements of the program. Recertification will be contingent on the foregoing and on-site inspections. Q. Why did Project KHV pay for dealers and vets to participate in their Beta testing? A. Short answer: It was believed appropriate to compensate the “guinea pigs” in order to obtain the feedback necessary to improve the Program. Longer, more detailed answer: We believed it was necessary to subject the BHP requirements and the proposed online veterinary course to a reality challenge. The intention was to uncover any significant difficulties experienced by dealers and veterinarians in their attempts to implement the as-written document requirements and to evaluate the adequacy of the online course for its intended purpose of training and assisting veterinarians to certify dealerships. This reality challenge was dubbed the “Beta testing” phase. Subsequently and to the extent possible, modifying the BHP requirements is planned to make the document more user friendly with out giving up the principles and conditions necessary to meet the goals of the Program. Modifying and improving the online course is also planned. It was viewed as appropriate to compensate those who volunteered to be “guinea pigs” as they would be subjected to all the shortcomings of an unrefined program. We pre-arranged reasonable fees with the veterinarians for their work and allowed them to freely take the draft online course in preparation to certify the dealerships. Dealers were required to write their own Standard Operating Procedures to obtain the in-depth perspective necessary for the feedback sought. This coincidentally reduced the vet fees. Note: Project KHV encourages and solicits other opinions presuming coherent rationales for those other opinions are included.

Accountability is an interesting word and concept. A journalist is a person that gathers facts and corroborates that information to verify that it is fact with tangible evidence before writing an article, column or making a statement. Another journalist made an interesting observation, that there is no reason not to lie. Since the invention of what I have dubbed the “Seinfeld” mentality (early nineties forward) there has been no accountability for actions taken or miss-information given. Unless it benefited the discloser in order to discredit the targeted person. I am reminded of the movie, The Fisher King, with Beau Bridges and Robin Williams. A strange dark movie about a talk show host that berated Yuppies, (you remember Yuppies), and would do tirades about how yuppies were ruining life and they should all be shot on sight. One day one of the listeners took his advice and shot several Yuppies at a restaurant. The talk show host, Beau Bridges, claimed that he was not responsible for what one “whacked out” listener decided to do. As a writer one must accept responsibility for those words you extend to others whether spoken or written. The term “defused responsibility” covers this Un-accountability of the Fisher King perspective and it was the same one used at Nuremburg, the “I was just following orders”. In our “civilized” country there has been a lack of “defensive life skills” instilled. By that I mean like the defensive driving classes that affect every young and some older drivers. One of the most important matters of life and death are driving skills. My neighbor was hit and her car demolished by a semi. She has since recovered. The corner the accident occurred at has a stop light and her light had changed to green and that meant she could go. She did and was broadsided. In defensive driving you look before moving, the tag line was, “You can be dead right” Regrettably many have come to accept that, “my light was green and they were supposed to stop” have difficulty accepting when things don’t go as planned. They lack those “defensive life skills” necessary to adapt and overcome. Accountability is not just what your accountant does or what you do with your check book and Quick Books it’s having solid information to base a decision upon. When a product is faulty, we as consumers attempt to return it a.) To the place you purchased it or b.) The manufacturer. With the advent of the Internet, we now have websites like Angie’s list or Craig’s list or rip off dot com or what ever web site you choose. All of the information is posted as gospel and not a verifiable letter any where. Like the chat sites, Face Book and My Space, there are photo shopped pictures and mis-information and taunting and ugly stuff said, with the disclaimer “I didn’t mean it or it was a joke or I can’t help how somebody else reacts to what was posted.” What this is all about is marketing! We as a collective of people believe the benign advertising for aches and pains and drivel that the talking heads babble on about 24/7. One of the advantages of being “old” at this stage of the game is that I haven’t lost the memory part or the ability to watch with fascination this marketing manipulation. To show you how this works consider this; in the 1970s it became clear to oil users and oil filter producers that only two things break down oil, heat and dirt. If you could keep oil clean it became oilier and a better product. Now the marketing takes over. Auto manufacturers started to require oil changes every 3,000 miles. This benefited the auto manufacturers and the oil industry. Here is the today’s dollars amount for a complete oil and filter change. Locally it costs $42.79 for an oil change in the wife’s ’95 Caddy, it takes 7 quarts. This car tells you the percentage of oil used and that you need to change oil. Now given the statistic that the average driver drives 12,000 miles a year that would mean 4 oil changes a year or $168.00. The numbers available for new auto purchases in 2005 was 16,690,280. If you figure 4 oil changes a year at 5 quarts per oil change at retail cost of $2.49, the cost for under warranty vehicles for 2005 is $824,949,944.00. There is a reason that you have been marketed oil changes and NOT oil filters. There is a reason marketing is important in the market place, but marketing that is not factual or mis-leading and not being held accountable is a travesty. Rocke’ Huntington President 2009 In the last installment we discussed circulation a great deal. The reason circulation is an important topic is that everything that lives in the pond depends upon circulation or lack of circulation. Water circulation takes place both in the pond and outside the pond. To circulate water outside the pond it requires a force on the water to get it to move. This force commonly is either gravity, a pump or air. Gravity and pumps are commonly used to circulate water outside a pond and are usually used in conjunction with each other. A pump is used to either lift water above the level of the pond so that gravity can be used to move it back to the pond. Or a pump sucks water out of a container attached to the pond, such as a skimmer or vortex settling chamber, and gravity returns water to the container to replace the water that has been removed. Now I would like to discuss pumps. Pumps are usually classified as one of two types; submersible and external. Submersible pumps are designed to run submersed in water. If they run out of water, they will over heat. They are usually located in the skimmer or in the pond. Most submersible pumps are filled with oil to transfer the heat from the motor to the water. They usually have a life span of less than four years if used in a pond. It is usually not recommended to rebuild submersible pumps. Submersible pumps are easier to install and less costly. For these reasons, submersible pumps are used in ponds. External pumps are located outside the pond and are cooled by the air. If an external pump is submersed in water it will short out the motor. External pumps use air for cooling. They usually have a life span of 7 to 10 years and normally can be rebuilt with no problem. External pumps are generally more energy efficient. Regardless of the pump used, it should be matched to the application. Another concern is the amount of energy consumed as the typical pond in this area runs about 8 months a year, 24 hours a day and seven days per week. What sounds like a good deal when you buy the pump could end up not being the case. How do you determine what is the best pump for your application? This is not a simple matter. First you must determine exactly what the application is and how much water will be required. Then the static and dynamic head pressure the your system will have must be calculated. This can then be matched to the pump curve and that will determine which pump will work in your application. Another means of circulating water is the use of gravity. Gravity is a constant force that pulls toward the center of the earth. Since water is a fluid, gravity is always going to try and pull the water to the lowest point it can flow to until it is contained. Once water is higher than the pond, as long as there is a path for the water to flow back to the pond, it will flow there. This is how a skimmer works or how a waterfall works. If you are using gravity to move water through a pipe, the sizing of the pipe becomes critical. In this case you should consult with an expert to make sure the diameter of the pipe is the correct size. Gravity is the cheapest way to move water but may not be the most efficient. Using air to move water is a very efficient method if moving the water to a very limited height. The devices used are called air lift tubes. An air stone is placed in a body of water and then a pipe is placed over the air stone. The air going up the pipe moves water with the air out of the pipe. This can move a lot of water. Why would water be circulated outside the pond? Some possible reasons could be to run a waterfall, stream, or filter. I have discussed water circulation and equipment extensively for one reason; the better the circulation, the better the pond is going to operate. The poorer the circulation, the more problems there will be with the pond. In the next installment I will discuss filtration. Mike White White Water Filters

Tranquil Waterscapes owner Alexander Castro began his career in the Horticultural Industry more than 10 years ago. After earning his bachelor’s degree in business from Barry University, Alex pursued his love for nature and earned his Arborist Certification from the International Society of Arboriculture. After 5 years in the tree care industry and numerous horticultural certifications, the desire to do something unique and meaningful became clear. Following his love nature, the water, and fishing... Tranquil Waterscapes Inc. was born. "I love the opportunity to create something truly unique. Uniqueness is something I have been searching for in the Horticultural Industry for years". Tranquil Waterscapes has produced numerous water features in the South Florida Area, every feature is different from water gardens to Technical Koi ponds, all unique, all Tranquil. Call us and experience why at Tranquil Waterscapes Inc. Tranquility is truly what you get.

Ponds and water gardens are the fastest growing segment of the outdoor living industry. There are many new products available to help you create natural, low-maintenance water gardens. Ewing offers a complete line of pumps, filtration, liners, aerators, and water chemicals from major manufacturers. Ewing also offers complete pond kits and underwater lighting, as well as Microbe Lift’s® all-inclusive water garden maintenance kit. Ask about our upcoming pond-building seminars in your area.

Water Works Ponds is the premier water garden installer and supplier in the greater Edmonton area. Over the years we have developed and refined out techniques for building and maintaining beautiful water features. Water gardening in general is filled with misinformation perpetuated by a lack of field experience. Many so-called experts claim they know what best works in water gardening, but don't have the actual hands-on experience. Our philosophy towards water gardening has proven successful through the years of building and maintaining water features. Using quality products and construction techniques has substantiated out results. We believe crystal clear water can be achieved without complicated filtration techniques. We construct water features to look completely natural without exposed and unsightly liner, pumps, plumbing, and filters. The Water Works Ecosystem was developed to alleviate the common problems that have tainted the perception of owing a water feature. Nightmare ponds that looked unnatural had green water, leaks, overflow issues and water under the liner, is often the view people have of owning a pond. However, some of our happiest customers are previous owners of nightmare ponds. Despite a bad experience, their desire for a beautiful water feature gave them a reason to try again. They now enjoy low maintenance, problem-free ponds.

In view of the very serious drought which Californians are now experiencing, what can be done to save water if one has a water feature? Some commercial and municipal entities has actually drained their water features and put up signs which basically say the water features were drained, in order to conserve water. Must we go to this extreme to save water? NO! If we give thoughtful consideration to water conservation in water features, we can significantly reduce water loss and keep our water features going. Is it realistic to think that everyone will drain their water features? NO. So we must explore what can be done to help others. As a whole, water features can be broken into 2 categories… 1). Bodies of water filled with plants and animal life called eco systems or Ponds....... 2). Bodies of water with water only, these are usually filled with chlorine and chemicals to keep the algae to a minimum. These waterfeatures take on many shapes and are called by such names as "fountains" "pondless waterfalls" and fountain technology". This article with briefly deal with ways to minimize water loss to both kinds of water features. Ponds or ecosystems are bodies of water which house fish and plant life. To accommodate the living organisms in a pond, minimal, or no chemicals are used. The pumps on these water features must keep going 24/7. One way that water is lost is through evaporation. Running water is lost at a faster rate than still water. If you have wet hands, what happens when you rub them together? They water evaporates. This also happens with a large waterfall. If possible, perhaps a second, lower volume pump could be added to the system, along with a pressurized filter which would filter the pond and return the clean water to the pond, rather than through the raging water fall. This would do two things. It would lower your electricity bill because it draws less water and it would reduce water loss due to less friction. Fountains and pondless waterfalls are bodies of water which are used purely for aesthetic purposes. No animal life is found in these bodies of water,therefore, the water does not need oxygen to support life. Chemicals are used to keep this water clean. These water features should NOT be run without a timer. Why would anyone run a water feature in the middle of the night? The timer for this type of water feature should be set to go on in the morning and go off in the evening, when the day is over. Also, sitting water being hit by direct sun evaporates quickly on a hot day. Water which is protected from direct sunlight is much slower to evaporate. Perhaps an overhang could be added over the water feature, thus creating shade, thereby reducing water loss. If a shade structure is not possible, then, adding a "milk crate" type of bottom to the entire bottom of the water feature might be another water saving device. These plastic boxes are commercially available through pond company manufacturers. The nice thing is they hold huge amounts of water and allow water to pass through. They can be covered over with cobble rocks for a real attractive look. They keep sitting water from being in contact with direct sunlight. These are just some of the simple solutions we can do to keep our water features going during the drought. This amounts to having our cake and eating it too. Our environment is in trouble. The Green industry is rising to the challenge by giving us technology so that we can be a part of the solution, not part of the problem. We must look beyond local resources and use the internet to research what the world has to offer in the way of electrical conserving pumps. CLCA is your best resource for water saving technologies and methodologies. You can contact them on the web at http://www.clca.org Author Mike Garcia is the founder of Enviroscape, INC and can be reached at http://www.enviroponds.com