There have been koi keepers in Ireland since Koi were first imported into the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There were a number of individual members of the British Koi Keepers Society in Ireland from as far back as the early 1980s, however the Section was formed by five of them in October 1991 and since then the membership has grown. The current active membership of the section stands at approximately thirty. Member’s ponds range in size from approximately 1,000 gallons to 12,000 gallons, some in landscaped gardens, of both formal and informal design, and some located indoors. The Section exists to help all those who keep koi, from those who just want a water feature to those who like to show their koi in competition. All koi keepers face the same problem, keeping good water. By the way just because the water is clear does not necessarily good water for koi. We have all made mistakes and lost koi to health problems and while some are cheap to replace others are not. The members share their knowledge and information on all aspects of keeping koi. In koi keeping there is nothing to beat experience. We have all read the magazines and books but you just can’t get all the information from those sources. The members have a vast wealth of experience and can provide advice, without any commercial interest, on a wide range of topics such as: • how to avoid problems during the design stage of building a pond, • building techniques (not all ponds are just a hole in the ground), • how to filter the pond water to provide good water for koi, • the type of pumps which are most suitable for circulating the pond water through filters or down waterfalls, • what to look for and avoid when buying koi, • how to treat koi which are sick, and • koi nutrition. We have found that seeing how others have solved their problems is the best way of solving any problems you may have. For these reasons we arrange every year Koi shows for Koi enthuses and members of the public to ask questions. For more info email billycathcart@yahoo.com or visit www.koi-ireland.co.uk.