Can anyone share any tricks, techniques, or theories on how to put female like girth and bulk on a male koi .
Can anyone share any tricks, techniques, or theories on how to put female like girth and bulk on a male koi .
I purchased a 53cm male nisai taniguchi from pskoi that was originally thought to be female. I just received him and would like to know the tricks on how to bulk him up.
Last edited by M.Smith; 07-15-2014 at 04:48 AM.
I think most of that is genetics. However, it sounds like you are on the right side of that one if it was misidentified at that size. Most you can do is concetrate on good water.
For males to "look" like females, they need to first be genetically disposed to those traits of strong shoulders and tail joints and good parent stock. Can you post a pic of the fish in question Marde?
Mike
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"Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."
what a feeeesh!
I think that fish is going to fill out as long as there is food present. He definitely has the bones for it.
He is in quarantine right now with some other big girls and currently is getting his fair share of food. I basically throw sinking food directly at him and he gobbles it up. I am really debating if he should go into the big pond where all the girls are. He will get more space and filtration etc. (quarantine 2500. Vs 7000 gallons). The debate of males with females is what causes me pause .
If he appears to have the " bones " to bulk up what are the best ways to achieve his potential with food being the parameter I am questioning. How much food? What kind of food? Supplement with a secret recipe? Thanks for your input.
Thanks for posting the pics Russ. I agree, that is one really nice Kohaku, regardless of sex. Yes, Marde, this one you can push the food to, and the nice thing is you don't have to worry about it becoming egg bound like the girls.
Now that the growing season is in full swing, I would think it wouldn't really hurt to mix him in with the females. As to the amount of food to feed, 2-3% body weight daily would be my recommendation, with the protein level between 35-40%.
Mike
check out our website at: http://www.pond-life.net
"Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."
Nice 5 step.
Beautiful koi! It should get quite large in size.
Thank you for confirming its a good fish for a guy! I never thought I would keep males "on purpose" but I have come across a couple guys now that is changing my viewpoint. Sinking food really seems to help keep the males competitive as far as keeping up with the girls in eating.
The only way to bulk up a male fish (and a lot of it has to do with genetics) is to never stop feeding him. Females later in life need a fasting period (usually at about year 4+), but males you can never stop feeding or they will never build up that bulk. There are other tricks as well, but you can call me for those :-)