Nick and Myron Kloubec

Kloubec Fisheries is one of the Midwest's largest fish producing operations with an indoor hatchery and over 100 outdoor ponds in two states. Originally conceived by Myron Kloubec's father as a hobby in the 70's, it was later developed by Myron and his wife Ellen into a permanent alternative agriculture business in 1981. Kloubec Fisheries hatches, grows and supplies a wide variety of quality fingerlings to stock into recreational areas, including private ponds and lakes.

Kloubec Fisheries sells both wholesale and retail and expanded again with the addition of their Koi division by the 3rd generation of the Kloubec family. Myron's son, Nick Kloubec, has been developing the Koi division for over 8 years. When Nick was in junior high school, he was given a wonderful Sanke and Kohaku from a farmer that the family was delivering fish to. Nick grew the Koi for three years and then bred them, only to discover some amazingly beautiful babies! This started a life long love affair with Koi.

The Kloubec’s started buying high quality broodstock from Ogata. Their first pairings were from Showa and Kohaku, but they have they are now spawning every variety! The Japanese Koi are crossed back into the domestic bloodlines periodically for improved genetics. The original goal was to produce a great selection of standard grade Koi – but they suddenly discovered they were additionally producing a large variety of elite grade Koi.

One reason for the phenomenal success of the Koi program is the regional water quality. The location for the fish farm was originally selected for the water quality needs of the game fish they were producing, but Myron and Nick soon realized that the water was even better for Koi. The water is usually quite high in pH, with a correspondingly high total alkalinity and a superior supply of readily available trace minerals for Koi development. In addition, the climate in Iowa is very similar to Niigata, with up to 22” of ice on the ponds in winter.

Myron has studied with various Japanese breeders, and he believes that Koi have a natural cycle that requires winter. When Koi are fed in warm water for the entire year, he is concerned that they develop too much hard fat on the organs which greatly diminishes the life expectancy of the Koi. Nick’s Koi are exposed to the cold water without food for several months which not only reduces overall body fat, but can help reabsorb eggs from a female that didn’t spawn that year. The fish are hardy, fit and healthy from the winter, and they eat more aggressively in the summer months to prepare for the following winter.

While some Koi farms keep their tategoi and fish to be grown out another year in indoor holding tanks, Nick chooses to place all the Koi out into mud ponds for the winter. The influx of new minerals with the snowmelt in the spring adds to the superior health of the Koi coming from these ponds. The Koi are naturally selected for hardiness and the ability to thrive in lower oxygen waters, thus making them nearly bomb-proof Koi for hobbyists!

When the parent Koi are bred, there is always a great chance of losing them due to the stress of the procedure. The Kloubec’s go to tremendous lengths to protect and keep the parents healthy and they think of them much more like pets than as farm production. No Koi are free spawned, all the Kloubec Koi are raised in a hatchery until they are about 2”. The first cull occurs at this size, and the Koi are then culled an additional 2-3 times that first year. All the culls are performed by Myron, Ellen or Nick – and it really is a family business. In the summer months – there is not a free moment for any of them with the responsibilities of so many new Koi. The Koi are sorted by size and graded as either “standard”, “choice” or “elite.”

The 100 mud-ponds owned by the family range from ¼ acre to 3 acres, with some now being subdivided for the different culls of the Koi. Their farm has a surface area of over 80 acres of water! All Kloubec Koi are spawned, hatched and grown on their own farm in Amana Iowa. No fish are ever brought into the farm from another source, and their isolated location helps to guarantee fish that are problem free – and more importantly have never been exposed to KHV.

Less than 10% of the Koi produced are ever sold in any grade, and less than 2% fall into the “elite” category. Kloubec has become known for their amazingly docile Kujaku, which come from one of their most successful pairings. Ellen feels that Showa are the most difficult Koi variety to produce, and she prefers the old style Showa that have imposing amounts of Sumi with powerful patterns. The water quality of the farm is particularly valuable to bring out excellent quality Sumi in young Koi.

One advantage of a family run operation is that they can make decisions about growing out Koi that other facilities cannot. If they have some interesting Koi from a spawn, they have the excess capacity to grow them out for a few months to see if they become more or less beautiful. They have often enjoyed a tremendous surprise when they seine one of these ponds to find rare and uniquely beautiful fish that otherwise would have been culled! Myron, Ellen and Nick really enjoy all of their fish personally, and it is the personal love of Koi that sets their business apart.

Recently, the Kloubec’s invested over $100,000 back into the business to build a new holding and specialized quarantine facility for Koi. The primary purpose of the new facility is to secure the health of the Koi for sale before they go to market. It is a 5000 square foot building located in the heart of the Koi farm. The Kloubec’s are currently researching the development of a vaccine for KHV. They would like to be able to not only guarantee the health of the Koi leaving the farm, but also to guarantee the health of their Koi if they are later exposed to KHV from another fish. They have also been working with a pharmaceutical laboratory to produce an oral vaccine for Aeromonas bacteria. These are similar to the projects they have undertaken for their other fish varieties. At one time, they were hand injecting over 1,000,000 lbs. of Tilapia per year against a deadly virus!

The Kloubec’s are now interested in working more directly with customers for their large quantity of reasonably priced elite Koi. They are working on a system which will have live web-cams offering views of Koi available for sale. They will be starting their internet sales with still pictures of the fish, and will have many sizes and varieties available.

One of Kloubec’s Tategoi was judged Baby Grand Champion in 2003 during The Midwest Pond & Koi Society show in Chicago. The beautiful Godan Ginrin Kohaku was hatched at their farm in June 2003. Many more of the Kloubec fish will be appearing in upcoming Midwest shows. While all the Kloubec’s love each variety of Koi, they also really enjoy unique non-traditional Koi that appear in the spawns. Myron’s favorite variety is Kujaku, while Ellen best loves Shusui. Nick’s favorite Koi is a huge Kigoi nicknamed the “Yellow Submarine,” and she loves to be hand fed and petted! She always keeps an eye out for Nick, and follows him around to where he feeds the pond!

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