ABOUT US
Tategoi Koi has been formed by the independently successful businessmen Ronnie Lawton and his brother David Lawton. Ronnie has been responsible for starting and developing a number of diverse businesses over the last 30 years and since the current businesses are now managed effectively by his daughter and his wife he was anticipating a relaxed semi retirement. David Lawton originally trained as a mechanical engineer but similar to Ronnie, has unparalleled business acumen and has enjoyed over 20 years experience in the retail sector. Following a round of golf, the germ of a new business idea began to form which would enable Ronnie to develop a hobby that he had begun to care passionately about. David was keen to put his engineering skills to good use and had developed a keen interest in Ronnie’s new koi pond – and so Tategoi Koi was born !
When Ronnie and his wife Lisa moved house over 10 years ago, they inherited existing disused pond which they restored to full working order. With the renovation of this pond a passion for koi began which has seen them progress from buying koi from the local garden centres, to buying British koi from aquatic shops to buying Japanese koi from specialist dealers until their journey led them to finally understand the beauty and elegance of top quality koi direct from the best breeders in the world i.e. Japan. After 4 years, their small original pond was becoming overstocked and it was further extended. Of course, it is hard to resist the lure of buying new fish and it wasn’t long before pond mark 2 became inadequate for their needs. Fortunately this coincided with plans to move to a larger house and so when house hunting, a pond or space to create a new state of the art koi pond was the main criteria when looking at potential properties. The ideal opportunity arose when the perfect property came on the market with its own large natural pond together with space to install a new koi pond.
Work on the new pond began in March 2006 and was completed in August when the koi were successfully and without loss, transferred to their new home.
When Tategoi Koi was set up, David put his engineering skills to excellent use and was responsible for building a fish house using state of the art filtration, temperature control and lighting systems. Our fish house contains three 15,400 Litre tanks, each is completely isolated with its own Nexus 300 filtration system, bio-security, nets, bowls and exacting temperature control. David and Ronnie had to conquer a learning curve steeper than Mount Everest but with tenacity and determination proved the old adage that problems are only opportunities in disguise and have created one of the most efficient, advanced and koi friendly facilities in the UK.
Of course we recognise that a natural mud pond cannot be surpassed as the true ideal for koi and with this in mind are negotiating the purchase of our own Tategoi Koi mud pond in Japan.
TRADING POLICY
Because we only supply top quality koi to serious koi enthusiasts, all viewings are strictly by appointment either by phone or email or in person at our retail premises in Timperley. However, we are extremely flexible with appointment times and can accommodate most requests for any time or day. Most koi dealers place as much emphasis on the sale of dry goods and ancillary products and whilst we do offer these products as a service to our clients, these are merely by products to our main objective of providing the opportunity of purchasing top quality Japanese tategoi to the UK. All our fish available for sale are premier quality which is reflected in their cost. We are not interested in supplying vast quantities of “cheap” koi which only prove the saying “you get what you pay for”. Our sister website www.koibreedersdirect.com was launched in April 2008.
Our future is dependent on repeat business thus we offer a personal service to all our clients and use our best endeavours to establish long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with every one of them. Since buying this level of quality koi is a serious investment, we offer a personal delivery service for the majority of our fish so that we can ensure our fish settle into their new home with a minimum of stress.
HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES
All our tanks are strictly temperature controlled and temperatures are checked twice daily. The health of our fish are our utmost priority and water quality is closely monitored with Hannah multiparameter meter checks to ensure that we provide the optimum environment for them. Our fish are shipped from Japan by an experienced handler who does everything necessary to ensure that the journey for the fish is as safe and comfortable as possible. I am sure most of us have endured long flights and can sympathise with the fish who need lots of TLC when they arrive to help them recover from their journey. All fish carry infection within them which can flare up when induced by stress. During the first few weeks following their arrival it is crucial that they are fully rested, closely observed and placed in the correct water conditions. In a similar way when clients purchase fish from ourselves, we can acclimatise the fish to their new pond temperature prior to delivery.
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