LINTNER: R.I.P., Bernie Lintner

I hope everyone was paying attention to Doc Lancaster’s pet care advice last week. It’s difficult to lose a family member, even if it’s what some would call “just a pet.” We lost three of our pond fish in the recent heat wave. One of these was Bernie, our biggest and oldest koi.

Bernie was rather nice, as fish go. He’d thrash his tail to warn the smaller fish when squirrels got too close, and he always was happy to accept the nightcrawlers that Larry brought him. At 4, he was nowhere near reaching his intended lifespan, but heat does bad things to ponds.

When the heat rises, so do water ammonia levels. At the same time, oxygen levels drop. We don’t know for sure that this is what killed our fish, but we took the initiative of draining, cleaning and refilling the pond after they died. While we may not get another serious heat wave for a while, we will be stepping up our usual maintenance routine. Like many other animals, fish often show no signs of illness or other problems until it’s too late.

Believed to have originated in Persia, koi were selectively bred in Japan from Cyprinus carpio, a common type of carp. Yep, those big submarine-looking dudes in your pond are cousins to the “floating jewels.” Some records indicate that the koi was bred as a protein food supplement, and go on to suggest they were spread throughout the world by way of Middle Eastern trade caravans.

Barely 1/16 of an inch when hatched, koi can reach lengths of nearly four feet. Within this size range is an amazing variety, most of which have lyrical Japanese names that give my spell-check fits. The most recognizable name is “butterfly koi,” an apt description if ever there was one. Our other koi, Angelo, is a dark bronze butterfly koi with long, silvery fins. He looks like he’s flying when he moves through the water.

Koi are famous for being beautiful. Their flamboyant colors and pattern rival anything you’ll see on the Fourth of July. But they’re not just pretty fishes, er, faces.

Did you know koi have exceptional hearing? Frequencies of up to 3,000 hertz are believed to be within the koi’s hearing, as opposed to the usual fish-ear range of 1,000 hertz.

Koi also have a highly developed sense of taste and apparently have taste receptors over much of their bodies. Those little nostrils on the koi’s face? It seems they really do serve an olfactory function, allowing the koi to get a whiff of his environment.

OK, here’s something I didn’t know: Koi can blush. In times of stress, koi will show a reddish tinge under their scales, similar to varicose veins. I’m not in the habit of randomly grabbing fish to check for pink cheeks, but it’s an indicator to keep in mind if you suspect an unhealthy pond.

If you’d like to keep koi or any other decorative fish, there are plenty of resources available. A cool and groovy library is a good place to start. Read, read, read. If you find some interesting facts, send them to me and we’ll spread the word.

In the meantime, we’re gonna go entertain some lake fish. Ever hear “Stars and Stripes Forever” on the banjo?

Have a great Fourth, everybody.

E-mail Audrey Lintner at gardenherald@hotmail.com.