I've started a blog

Hi there. My name is Adam Byer and I am a koi hobbyist.
I often hear of fellow hobbyists taking trips to Japan to see the koi farms, bringing back a few special koi and talking about their fantastic experience. I also see great work being done in the uk at our own koi farms.


I think the hobby in the UK would be in a far better state if we had more successful koi farms, producing a wide range of koi varieties and qualities for us locally in the UK. It would give more pond owners the chance to engage directly with koi farmers which will help them understand the hobby a little more. And that can only be a good thing for the hobby in general.

Koi UK's website says the farm is shutting down this year, which is a move in the wrong direction! I believe we have the talent in the UK - fish farming as an industry is doing well. It's just that we don't have the critical mass of enough successful koi farm businesses, so a large number of koi are being shipped thousands of miles from Israel or Japan for us to enjoy in our ponds which doesn't make sense.
One thing I've learned in the hobby is that creating a good quality koi is a numbers game - demonstrated by the scale applied in koi farms. And that may explain why we don't hear much about hobbyists breeding koi, because we just can't replicate the scale. We hear a little about hobbyists breeding koi in Australia, where koi imports are banned, and there's the odd story among UK hobbyists about some home bred successes; but that's about all I've heard on the home breeding front.
My next project grapples with koi breeding, and I aim to win a prize at a koi show with a koi I've bred, beating atleast one other koi in the process; benchmarking my home bred koi like this is the only way I feel I can quantify my success.

This project is one of the most difficult challenges I've taken on; it's a big investment in time and materials, and I'm reliant on the help and support of my friends in the hobby. Through such an in depth project, I expect to learn a great deal on all aspects of the hobby which I will share with you through this blog and ad hoc articles.
Happy koi keeping
Adam