Ferndale koi expert honoured with international award
Prolific koi writer receives award from Koi Organisation International.
A Ferndale-based koi expert and writer has been presented with an international award for distinguished service for his volunteerism, dedication and leadership.
Chris Neaves knows a lot about this breed of fish, and how to be successful in the hobby of breeding koi. As a founding member of the South African Koi Keepers Society, and current avid researcher and prolific writer, he knows more about promoting the growth, health, immune system strength, and brightly coloured scales of koi than just about any other South African.
He has even formulated his premium koi nutrition, which he sells.
Despite all this, Neaves has never asked for payment when sharing his knowledge with international koi societies and publications. He does what he does for the love of koi.
“I don’t think I will ever stop writing articles about koi,” he told Randburg Sun. “I like to explain things slightly differently from other people – analyse something in its simplest form and then explain. It is easy to use long scientific terms but the average person just wants to understand the concept, how something works naturally, and doing that will help them best.”
The award from Koi Organisation International means a lot to Neaves, who also wrote the health manual for the SA Koi Keepers Society. For Neaves, the secret to growing large, healthy and pretty koi is having a good water control system so that the same water is always used.
“When the hobby was first starting in South Africa, we were advised by people in Japan to start our own society, which we did. Many wanted to know about how to get healthy koi, and getting them from overseas is extremely expensive. I set out to find out what I could. I learned a lot from aquatic vets and other breeders.”
This journey of discovery has lasted more than 50 years and Neaves hopes it will never end.
Ferndale Residents Association chairperson Erica de Jager congratulated Neaves and thanked him and his wife Marlene for hosting community events at their home and for their general community involvement.
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