`KOI BOY' IS ALL ABOUT FASCINATION, BEAUTY OF JAPANESE FISH.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

SAUGUS - The labyrinth of ponds and fountains at Todd Boswell's home is more than just landscaping - they house the very creatures that earned the DWP lineman the moniker ``koi boy.''

Some guys are hooked on watching sports, others build model airplanes. But this husband and father of a 13-year-old girl is into the intricacies of fish: Habitats, spawning and the evolution of the centuries-old Japanese hybrid fish known as koi.

``I work with a lot of lumberjack-, rodeo-type guys. They started the `koi boy' thing a few years back,'' said Boswell, who got his first aquarium when he was 10. ``Everything is fish in my life. You've got your stuff that you geek on.''

The large fish - some bright orange, others marked with black and red patterns - have been around since the 1600s and often grace fountains at upscale shopping malls and corporate courtyards.

Boswell came by his fascination with the colorful species about 13 years ago when a friend gave him a four-inch koi.

``It had outgrown his tank so he asked me if I'd take it,'' said the 41-year-old Los Angeles Department of Water and Power employee. ``I had a little pond - really just a plastic liner - in the back so I put it in there. There was no filtration so I couldn't see it. I'd feed it worms when I was out digging in the yard.''

A few years later, Boswell decided to replace the murky water. To his astonishment, the little four-incher had grown to at least a foot.

``I was fascinated. I decided I had to build him a bigger house.''

That's when the real digging began.

The Boswell home now features a brick-bordered reflecting pond in front - ``A neighbor asked me what it reflects. I said I guess it reflects how much I like fish,'' he said, along with four other fish ponds with natural filtration systems.

As he grew more interested in koi, Boswell decided to learn from the culture that created the hybrid - the Japanese.

``They have all kids of magazines about koi. I got some written in Japanese and had a friend at work translate them for me,'' Boswell said. ``I wanted to learn everything.''

He even took a class at College of the Canyons that examined the science of water.

While he admits he will never know everything about the nature of fish, Boswell has breeding down pat. Spawning season recently ended, so he's been busy handling the estimated 100,000 offspring that hatched in recent months.

During spawning season, the females' bellies grow distended as they fill with roe, or eggs. Boswell isolates a female in a large bucket and gently applies pressure on the abdomen with both hands, resulting in a steady stream of tiny, sticky eggs that sink to the bottom of the bucket.

The male koi fertilize the eggs after the female releases them, so Boswell next submerges a male in the same bucket and shakes the fish, mimicking the vigorous motion the male fish make when fertilizing the eggs. The males release milt that attaches to the eggs.

Three to five days later, thousands of tiny fish hatch, many so small that, if he did not keep the babies separate from the adults, the fully grown fish would likely mistake the babies for microscopic insects and eat them.

Of those, Boswell said he is successful if he is able to raise 5 percent to adulthood.

He breeds goldfish, too. But those that swim in one of his backyard ponds are hardly the same as those that swim in small bowls on the dressers in kids' rooms across America.

The split-tailed, round-bellied beauties that Boswell breeds and feeds are called Orandas, many of which have gigantic eyes and silky looking, bubble-like growths on their heads.

Boswell's wife of 16 years, Barbara, a finance manager for the city of Santa Clarita, jokes that she has lost her husband to his backyard hobbies, calling herself a ``yard widow.''

``Sometimes I come out and I find myself yelling, Are you there?'' she said. ``But I just enjoy it. Some people are into sports or other toys. He loves this. It improves the quality of our lives.''

The Boswells never serve fish - she doesn't like the taste - but while he occasionally orders fish at a restaurant, he would never go fishing.

``I don't like to fish,'' he said. ``I spend so much time trying to keep them alive, why would I just go and catch them?''

Boswell estimates he currently has between 800 and 1,000 babies swimming in various fountains and containers. He spends hours examining them, deciding by the color, markings and tails which ones will likely grow into the beautiful adults that have made koi fish famous.

The Boswells' daughter, Stacie, said she can't imagine her life without the hundreds of fish - not to mention the tortoises, dog, cat, bunnies and lizard that also live at the house.

``I get to name them. And sometimes I go with my dad to pick out new fish. I get to pick the ones I like,'' she said. ``All my friends get a little jittery about it at first, but it's totally normal for me. And it's fun to watch the fish.''

Her father agrees, saying that unlike many other hobbies, his offers a continuum of change and fascination.

``I love all of it. I love breeding them, watching them hatch, deciding which adults to breed to make the most interesting fish,'' he said. ``I'm just all about fish. It makes it easy for people to get me stuff for birthdays and holidays. Basically I love anything that has a fish on it.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) The Saugus back yard, left, of Todd Boswell, right, reflects his passion for koi fish and includes pools and fountains.

(3) Colorful koi, like this one in Todd Boswell's collection, date back to the 1600s in Japan.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer