This is the manuscript draft of an article that appeared in KOI-USA in volume 26, issue 1C page 42 which was published in January-February 2001 with the title 'Take a Peek at Singapore's Koi Hotel.'
A Trip to
Singapore’s ‘Koi Hotel’
by
Bruce P. Hillam
During a recent visit to Singapore to renew old
acquaintances and visit relatives, my brother-in-law, who knew of my interest in
koi and koi culture, suggested that
we visit one of Singapore’s many koi farms.
I did not have to be asked twice.
After making several phone calls to determine wheelchair accessibility (I
use a battery powered wheelchair), it was decided that we would go to the Nippon
Koi Farm. After packing up all the
nieces and nephews into a car and a cab we were off.
Singapore is a very lush, green country located on a small
island just north of the equator. The
climate seems to vary between the low 70’s in the evening to the high 90’s
during the midday. It is perfect
weather in a perfect location for growing koi.
With the water temperature always in the mid-70’s it is always growing
season there is no need to build greenhouses to maintain the perfect climate for
koi.
Compared to many American dealers, the Nippon Koi Farm is an impressive operation. As you enter you immediately note that the operation is divided into three areas. There was a breeding-growing area, the largest sale’s area I had seen (I have not yet been to Japan) , and a very large area of ponds with a sign noting that its access was restricted to ‘member’s only.’ Almost everything was under 40% shade cloth. I was in koi heaven.
The koi sales area was very large. Besides the usual half dozen ponds devoted to inexpensive
pond quality fish, there were ponds devoted to each of Nippon Koi Farm’s
suppliers. Nippon Koi imports fish
from over a dozen breeders in Japan and the Farm devotes one or more ponds to
each supplier with just fish from that source.
This makes it easy to choose fish by bloodline, which I have been told is
the single most important determinant of future koi potential.
As I strolled to the rear of the sales area there were a number of small
ponds that had fish for sale on consignment by ‘the members.’
This fish, typically 40-60 cm were very attractively priced and appeared
to be of very good quality.
The price, especially after adjusting for the strong US dollar, was
tempting but my itinerary would not allow for some excess live baggage, this
trip.
After wondering around I asked if it was possible to tour the breeding-growing area and was referred to Ms Stella Chia. The Nippon Koi Farm breeds both butterfly koi and Hariwake. Because of a couple of steps that would block access by my wheelchair, this area was effectively off limits to me. I was disappointed because there appeared to be several Olympic pool sized growing ponds that I was told were over ten feet deep. The Hariwake are exceptional but I must confess that I have never been a fan of butterfly koi. My curiosity then turned to the identity and role of the mysterious ‘members’ who seemed to have special access and privileges. Ms Chia responded that members were just people who rented ponds in the area which Nippon Koi referred to as the ‘Koi Hotel.’ She then offered me a tour and how could I refuse!
Ms Chia explained that since Singapore was a relatively small country (a population of 3 million and a land space of only 220 square miles which means Los Angeles County is 200 times larger than Singapore in land area) most Singaporeans live in high rises where they owned their own flat or condominium. Only the very well-to-do could afford ‘landed’ property and most lots were too small to put an ideal koi pond in. Thus people who wanted to keep koi had no place to practice their hobby. To meet this need, the Nippon Koi Farm built and rented ponds in the Koi Hotel. Rents varied with size. A pond that was about 8’ by 16’ with a depth of 4 to 6 feet, between five and 6 thousand gallons, rented for about slightly over a hundred US dollars per month. The largest pond, which appeared to be about 15 feet by 30 feet with a depth varying between 6 and 9 feet, about twenty five thousand gallons, rented for about five hundred dollars per month. This large pond was designed to raise jumbo koi. As a note pond capacity in Asia is done in metric tons so the above size estimates are ‘eyeball’ approximate. Rent includes filtration and the maintenance of water quality, but it did not include food and medication.
The Koi Hotel has three types of lodgers.
Often families rent an entire pond and visit regularly every weekend.
Or several individuals might combine and rent one larger pond with each
person contributing only a couple of koi. The
third group would be individuals with a home pond who would rent one or two
ponds to keep the truly exceptional fish. While
I was not able to view all the ponds, the ones I did view made this look like
all the AKCA pond tours I have been on combined into one.
The highlight was one of the jumbo suites with exactly a dozen koi, none
smaller than 80 cm and a truly spectacular Chagoi that was over 110 cm!
The filtration systems appeared to be a three stage custom designed filters. The first stage was some type of settlement area, the second was a series of mats and the third was a shelf with pandan plants planted in hydroponic media. Many people who love Asian cooking know about pandan leaves. Ms Chia said that research done in Singapore showed that the pandan plant was very efficient at removing ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and trace minerals from the water. I noted that many Americans use water hyacinths for the same purpose. Her response was that pandan was superior because it not only removed more ammonias, it did not always have to be thinned and disposed of. She also said that pandan had the dual advantage of ‘cooling’ the pond and acting as a barometer of water quality. Chinese believe that many things can be divided into those that heat (think hot Thai chili peppers) and those that cool. ‘Cooling’ is good. If the pandan is thriving, then the water quality is good. As far as I could tell, all the pandan at the Nippon Koi Farm was thriving.
Anyone visiting Southeast Asia should spend a couple of days in Singapore. The shopping, the 4000 bonsai at the municipal Chinese Garden, the Jurong Bird Park and especially the Koi Hotel at Nippon Koi Farms all make the stopover worthwhile.
Note: After this article appeared, I received several emails asking if I knew where to get pandan grass in America. I don't. My guess is that it is a subtropical and would not thrive outside the tropics. I also thought of bringing a pandan plant back but the plant importation regulations by the USDA are something to behold.