Okay I know you bored so an update vid on the Shiro Utsuri for you Kevin
This dude is not growing the way I want him to but I need to concentrate on black and white until the contest day
https://youtu.be/nsglLwyaiEs
Look pretty nice Mitch! How big is it now?
fyi.. I am not bored. It's fun and nice to see progress pics like and it gives rookie like me an opportunity to learn!
hp.
I like it. Nice shiro and sumi.
Thank you guys
This koi was moved back to my main pond for about 3weeks and barely eating anything. This does help for the sumi to tighten and shiroji to improve. I will bring it back into the inside tank in a week to see if I can bulk the body a bit more. And I will have a last update on all of them @ contest
Measured today
Tancho 16.5”
Kohaku 18.5”
Shiro 18.5”
Now I think they ready for some wheat germ to clean up the shiroji
Anyone have better way to help a better white ground on them?
Slow motion
https://youtu.be/IW0LQHzOvmw
Regular
https://youtu.be/s7F3EKWGSUw
Last edited by OCkoiFan; 03-19-2018 at 02:31 PM.
I have had good luck with using koi clay in paste food along with Vit E, Vit C and chitosan. I used powdered vitamins and the chitosan comes in capsules that you have to open them to add. About 1 tablespoon of clay to 1 lb food, a teaspoon of each vitamin and 1/2 teaspoon of the chitosan. And lots of water changes.
One end of my kitchen counter was designated as the koi zone.
You know you're kichi when the koi have their own coffee grinder for making their food.
I still lament the loss of a koi food that EA made years ago. When I started in the hobby, their base food called EA Health was absolutely superb for shiroji. I was new in the hobby and just happened to start with that food. The koi took to it well, knowledgeable koi hobbyists constantly commended me on the skin quality of my koi. When that food was no longer made, show prep became a lot more challenging.
Mariyln, I've got a few questions if you don't mind:
1. Do you do this in addition to feeding a wheat germ-based food?
2. Do you moisten the pellets before applying the mixed powder to them to then feed?
3. Is this a long-term solution to brighten whites, or something to be used for a shorter duration (i.e. show prep)? I've heard koi clay may raise GH if dosed consistently - does this become an issue?
No problem!
The chitosan was pretty much the only thing that I didn't do regularly and was primarily for show prep roughly two months prior to a show.
1) Find a food that works well with your koi and water. When EA went away I tried a bunch of foods but I settled on Hikari and Saki Hikari. As I recall, the Hikari was wheatgerm based.
2) You can moisten the pellets and toss them in the clay. One way to do this is to use a tupperware type container with a lid. Add enough water to get the pellets moist but not to the point of mush. If you add the water and kind of roll the container around in your hands, all the pellets will get some water and become damp. Pour this into a bowl and drop in the clay, toss the pellets around in it. With practice, you'll find the right amount. Start with less water, you can always add more.
I typically made paste food by grinding up a lb of food, adding the vitamins and such, then adding enough water to make it the texture of play dough. Do this in a ziplock baggie because you can work it around more easily. Refrigerate it for about 30 minutes, then it should be ready to go. I would take a bag out and just break off bite size bits to throw in. It was my Zen time with the koi.
3) I didn't do it just for the whites, it was also to help with their digestion and overall health. Supposedly it cleans the toxins from organs which is why the whites get whiter.
It's really not that much clay and it wasn't an issue for my GH low water. I didn't worry about that.
Basically, if you can do it (because areas like California make it challenging), a steady influx of fresh water goes a long way to improving skin quality, color and health. Make sure you don't do this with chlorine or chloramine water unless it's filtered through the appropriate carbon filter.
Last edited by Marilyn; 03-19-2018 at 03:14 PM.
SFF on both tancho and kohaku
Omosako Shiro Utsuri
Thanks bro
But I’ve heard we got real competition this year
Someone else koi already surpass the 20” mark couple months ago
I notice the kohaku has 3 rows of gin scale/ could this be matsunosuke gin? But this is Sakai not INC
Last edited by OCkoiFan; 03-19-2018 at 05:48 PM.
I talked with Michael of tomagai and he swears by tategoi for improving the whites. I've been using saki growth all season and beginning to rethink this. I wish I remembered more about the different foods he produced etc, but had a few beers in me already. He also did say saki hikari was good food also.
The tategoi seems to have vitamin E as Marilyn mentioned but I don't see vitamin c is there.
Last edited by kevin32; 03-19-2018 at 07:44 PM.