Couple to close koi shop, take fish to the Net
Koi know their owners, communicate with them, and are also sociable with fish
By Andrea L. Minium Special to the Acorn

FINNED FRIEND- Kim Cook, right, co-owner of the Koi Store in Camarillo, handfeeds her favorite koi, Ursula, in the store's show tank. Hungry koi, above, scoop up feed pellets. Many of the fish are trained to eat from the hands of the store owner or a visitor.

Patches of black, red, white, orange and gold scales push through the water's surface, and then quickly disappear back into the murky tank.

The tank water is lukewarm, but the air has a chill and the smell hints of the surrounding agricultural fields.

The koi open their mouths wide, taking a gulp of water and air, splashing each other.

Kim Cook, co-owner of The Koi Shop off Cawelti Road in Camarillo, points to one of her favorite fish, Ursula, a butterfly-fin koi, who swims up to greet her.

"Wherever you are at, they are at," Kim said.

For four years, Jeff and Kim Cook have owned and run The Koi Shop, but the husband and wife team will soon be closing their doors and continuing their sale of koi on the Internet.

Photos by IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers

"I'm finding that most of my competition are varying websites with no facility," Jeff said when asked why he was closing up shop.

After becoming interested in koi fish, the Cooks met Steve Guyette, The Koi Shop's previous owner.

Guyette owned the business for eight months, decided to retire in Alabama, and sold The Koi Shop to the Cooks, who were eager to own it.

The Cooks bought it in 2004, with Jeff performing the maintenance and Kim honing her love of koi to become the fish expert.

During the week, Kim runs the shop alone, while Jeff works in the corporate world. The pair works together at the shop on the weekends.

Not only do the Cooks sell koi, but they also have a tank to proudly display their "pets," including Ursula.

When the couple closes The Koi Shop, Jeff said that the valuable fish will probably remain with them.

The Cooks said koi are not like regular goldfish. Koi know their owners, communicate with them, and are very social with other fish.

Koi range from $12 to $600, depending on their color, fin shape and whether the fish are domestically bred or imported from Japan.

The butterfly-fin koi have feather-like fins and under their eyes they have "bows" unlike the Japanese koi decorated with "barbells" from their mouths.

The most requested are the butterfly koi, because of their beauty, Kim said.

The fish range in length; the youngest are only a few inches long. The older koi can grow to be nearly two-feet long.

The koi species originated from the common carp in the Middle East.

They were first bred in Japan in the 1820s for food, then bred as pets and kept in ponds because of their beauty.

The Koi Shop's clientele are individuals rather than wholesale, Kim said.

The facility at the Koi shop consists of multiple tanks, pools with plants for koi ponds, and a specific area for breeding.

Kim said another benefit to owning koi is the "water from the tanks is a great fertilizer for the surrounding plants."

The Cooks are not sure what other ventures they will take on after their shop closes, but it will involve their love of koi and sharing that with others.

The Koi Shop, 2710 Cawelti Road, is open Wednesday through Friday 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on weekends from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call (805) 482-1070.