The SOUTH HANTS KOI CLUB is one of many sections of the BRITISH KOI KEEPERS SOCIETY around the country and our object is to promote and encourage the hobby of KOI KEEPING within our area and to aid fellow members where possible.
The Section was founded in 1990 and some of the founder members are still active in the club, which is presently thriving with nearly two hundred members in over one hundred households.
We meet at 8p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month, at the All Saints Church Hall in Hambledon Road, Denmead. We normally have a guest speaker from the world of Koi keeping, passing on advice about all aspects of the hobby, from filtration, pond maintenance, water quality etc., together with advice on treatments for sick fish. We have a well stocked library of books and videos, together with some equipment which can be borrowed. Our Equipment Officer also keeps a small stock of T-shirts, sweat-shirts and other clothing items that can be personalised with your name, the club logo etc.
Throughout the summer months the club arranges various activities, trips etc and we sometimes exchange visits with other BKKS sections and Koi Clubs.
Our auction has become a popular event and this year we will again be splitting the wet from the dry. The dry auction is now held on one of the club nights where as the wet auction is normally held at Chidham Hall or a members garden.
On our own open days, maybe two each year, several members open their ponds to other club members and these days we finish up with a barbecue or buffet in the last garden. This is another splendid way of becoming acquainted not just with fellow members but also with the many variations of Koi ponds and filter systems.
If YOU are thinking of upgrading your goldfish pond (and that is where most of us started) or starting from scratch and would like to learn more about these lovely fish and their requirements, then you could do a lot worse than join our club and try to pick what little collective brain we have left. Learn from the mistakes of others, (between us we have probably made most of them), rather than make the same, sometimes expensive, often heartbreaking, mistakes yourself.
Honestly, although Koi have been rudely likened to aquatic pigs, they do need a clean, stable environment and will not thrive in a basic unfiltered goldfish pond.
We have successfully run classes for beginners over the past twelve years and intend to continue supporting our newer members in this or a similar manner.
The classes were aimed at those with little experience of Koi-keeping and those who might feel a touch embarrassed to reveal their ignorance by asking ‘stupid’ questions at club nights. We have all been there and, believe me, most of us are still asking stupid questions. It’s just that we don’t feel embarrassed any more.
So, if you feel that you would like to join us, or would like to know more about our club, which has members from all over Hampshire, from the New Forest to Worthing and even further afield then please, contact our membership secretary or send in an application form which you can find on this website here.
