By Adam Rachman and Marlon Ngo Tri-Star Koi
As passionate koi hobbyists living in Tennessee, we have traveled across the country attending some of America’s premier koi shows, including events in Orlando, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles and St. Louis. Everywhere we went, we kept asking ourselves the same question: Why doesn’t Nashville have a koi show?
That question eventually became the beginning of something much bigger: The Music City Koi Show
Adam, a dedicated koi hobbyist, and Marlon, a Tennessee-based koi dealer, had each experienced the koi world from different perspectives. Together, we felt that combination made for the perfect partnership to create something special for the koi community.
Nashville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and home to some incredible koi collections, yet there had never been a major koi event there. What started as casual conversations quickly turned into ambitious plans for building a world-class koi show in our home state.
From Idea to Reality
While attending a koi show in Raleigh, we shared the idea with our friend and fellow hobbyist Herbert Fritch, one of the top koi hobbyists in the world and a proud Tennessean. Known for having one of the largest private koi collections in America, Herbert immediately embraced the vision. As someone who travels internationally competing in koi shows, he understood Nashville’s potential to become a true destination event for the koi community.
Herbert’s involvement became one of the key aspects that distinguished The Music City Koi Show. His passion for animals, his remarkable koi collection and his willingness to open his private collection to fellow hobbyists helped attract attendees from far and wide. The Sunday after the show, we also hosted international judges and guests at his farm, giving them the opportunity to experience the full range of animals on display. We are immensely grateful for Herbert’s support. As a fellow Tennessean who shares our love for koi, his collaboration was instrumental in the success of this event.
With growing excitement and support, we began figuring out what it would take to make the show a reality. The biggest challenge was logistics, especially finding the right venue. We first explored partnering with the Cherry Blossom Festival, but limitations with space, water access and electricity made it difficult. That led us to the Nashville Zoo.
After many meetings and discussions, we officially partnered with the Nashville Zoo, whose team loved the idea of introducing even more people to the appreciation of animals through koi. It felt like a perfect fit.
Building a Team of Supporters
The next step was securing sponsors and industry partners because, without sponsors, vendors and supporters, an event like this simply would not be possible. In August 2025, we traveled to Las Vegas for SuperZoo to meet with potential sponsors and partners, including Hikari USA, API Petcare and W. Lim Manufacturing. We shared our vision for the Music City Koi Show, and without hesitation, they backed the event and believed in what we were trying to build.
Once the show season ended, Marlon traveled to Japan to personally invite Japanese judges and breeders. At first, many breeders were hesitant because the timing fell between two major koi shows in Japan. Some were also unfamiliar with Nashville and the growing koi community on the East Coast. After explaining the importance of the event and the opportunity it presented, we were grateful to receive overwhelming support from both Japanese and international judges.
Bringing Japan to Tennessee
One of our main goals was to help connect East Coast hobbyists with the breeders who raise the koi they admire. In America, Japanese breeder presence is much more limited on the East Coast compared to the West Coast because of distance and travel. For many hobbyists, traveling to Japan is difficult, so we wanted to bring that experience closer to home by giving people the opportunity to meet breeders in person and have their koi judged by them.
Putting on a koi show is incredibly detailed work. Because we are dealing with live animals, every decision matters. We constantly asked ourselves questions such as: Where will the water come from? How many water teams will we need? How much aeration is required for the number of tanks we plan to have?
There were countless moving parts, but every challenge — big or small — was worked through together.
The amount of work happening behind the scenes was extensive. If you asked either of us whether we would do it all again, we would probably laugh before answering. But at the end of the day, we are incredibly proud of what the Music City Koi Show became and honored that it turned into a destination event for hobbyists from across the country.
Our goal has always been to grow the hobby and inspire the next generation of koi enthusiasts. None of this would have been possible without our amazing crew, sponsors, vendors, judges, koi clubs and the incredible support from hobbyists everywhere.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in the vision and supporting the Music City Koi Show.
We will see y’all next year.
A Special Thank You
No individual played a larger role in helping bring the Music City Koi Show to life than Herbert Fritch. From the earliest conversations about creating a koi show in Nashville, Herbert believed in the vision and helped turn an idea into reality. As one of the most accomplished koi hobbyists in the world and a proud Tennessean, his support, guidance and enthusiasm helped establish credibility for the event from day one.
Herbert graciously welcomed hobbyists from across the country to experience his renowned private koi collection, creating a unique opportunity that became one of the defining highlights of the weekend. He also hosted our international judges, breeders and special guests following the show, allowing them to experience Tennessee hospitality at its finest. His passion for koi, commitment to the hobby and willingness to support the community played an invaluable role in the success of the Music City Koi Show. For that, we are deeply grateful.
We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to Pamela M., Adam Vaughn, David Gabriel, Greg Vaughn, Jeff Street, Robb Phillips, Robert and Robin Rocha, William Story, Laura Whitehead, Bill Doyle, Broch Martindale and Marlon Tiller. Their dedication, hard work and countless hours behind the scenes helped make this event possible.
We are equally grateful for the support of the Atlanta Koi Club, NMZNA Koi Club, Tri-State ZNA Koi Club, ZNA Carolina Koi Club, San Diego Koi Club and ZNA SoCal Koi Club, whose members traveled from near and far to support the inaugural event.
Special thanks also go to our sponsors and partners, including Nashville Zoo, Nashville Predators, Tri-Star Koi, Hikari USA, W. Lim Corporations, API Petcare, Champion Nishikigoi, PS Koi and Grand Koi. Their belief in our vision and commitment to the hobby helped transform an ambitious idea into a world-class event.
About the Authors:
Adam Rachman is a longtime koi hobbyist and active exhibitor with more than 10 years of experience in the hobby. Now based in Tennessee, he maintains a 3,000-gallon koi pond and indoor grow-out systems for raising tosai. Adam has earned numerous awards at koi shows throughout the country and is passionate about growing the hobby through the Tennessee Koi Association.
Marlon Ngo is owner and president of Tri-Star Koi LLC in Tennessee. A lifelong koi enthusiast, Marlon began keeping koi at age 12 and started selling Japanese-imported koi while in college. Today, he is dedicated to providing high-quality koi that have earned awards at shows across the country. Passionate about koi health, education and community, Marlon actively shares his knowledge through koi shows, seminars and hobbyist events.
