Originally Posted by
Matt24
My non-expert thoughts: Not sure if it is male or female. Tough to tell that this age. Showa tend to look better if there is at least a significant amount of white on the top side for the red and black to be set off against. It also helps if the sumi (black) area is not as large and continuous. On the upside, I think the sumi looks thick and strong. There is a little more underlying sumi on the head which may (or may not) come up as it gets older. The body shape is maybe a little on the thin side, but seems okay for a koi this young and may improve with good feeding.