Just wondering what people thought about this koi. I thought it was pretty awesome quality. My friend was considering buying it only hesitation was it was male.
Just wondering what people thought about this koi. I thought it was pretty awesome quality. My friend was considering buying it only hesitation was it was male.
What size is his pond? What is his current stocking density? Filtration? What does he what from the fish he keeps - competition, high quality for personal enjoyment or ?
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."
I think i saw that one a few days ago .. Distinctive pattern and kiwa.. Is this one from Sakai?
Looks like SFF to me. Nice fish... regardless of sex
yes it is a sakai fish
At first, as I was looking at the pic, my first thought was, it's a male and the beni looks too finished at this age. Now, that you say it from SFF, that can make a difference as many of his fish look like this but are NOT yet finished. So, depending on the price, it would certainly be worth purchasing as it does have a decent body/skin/depth of color is even throughout. But, the real question is - does he have the skills and the system to bring out/maintain a fish of higher quality?
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."
Is it normal for a tosai to not have the scale transparency? I mean the shiroji on this one resembles that of a nisai. Also which category of Sakai fish has their kiwa developed early? I see a lot from Sakai that does not have their kiwa fully developed even at nisai. If I said something stupid, pardon me and disregard me.
I've also been told that the kiwa in most of sakai's fish pull inward to form maruzome kiwa. That being said doesn't koi do that once only? How do we know that this kois beni wount shrink?
It looks like it will have marizome kiwa to me. If you look at the kiwa to the right side of the dorsal of the second beni plate, it looks to be developing there. Generally marizome kiwa starts to define itself near the belly first, then works its way toward the dorsal over time.
Many fish, not just SFF, have this same tendency, but I think you're referring to sashi, not kiwa. Yes, a fish with maruzome kiwa will develop exactly like inazuma mentions, and this one is well on it's way to finishing, but just not quite there yet.
Different genetic bloodlines, though most are really mixed up nowadays, will display either kamisori or maruzome kiwa. The maruzome type is more highly cherished nowadays by the breeders in Japan as they feel or portrays a more refined look when the fish become mature/finished. Though kamisori kiwa is still present in many lines, the breeders are really trying to weed it out for the reasons I stated above.
the depth or thickness of the beni on SFF fish can tend to make it look finished or even hard to the untrained eye. The only concern I have about this one is that it displays no hoshi. This could change if given a good diet and fed properly for good/faster growth. Only time will tell though on this one.
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."
SFF fish are easier to spot than many other breeders. I agree about the beni, but another big sign it's an SFF fish is the body. His fish tend to be beefy. like little well proportioned tanks.
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."
It is relatively easier to spot fish from large breeders like SFF, Dainichi and Momotaro. It is partially the bloodline but more importantly the culling process. Look at the Dainichi fish on Kodama. They are all over the place in body. Only above certain pricing point, will you start to see consistent traits that the breeders care for.
I dont know if I fully agree. Of course selective culling makes a difference, but selective culling is also selective breeding making new and different lines. Dianichi is all over the place (Tons of oyagoi and tons of lines), and I have never been able to tell if a fish was bred by Momotaro. SFF fish are different, He has a few bloodlines that display similar traits to one another while other breeders have different lines for different traits. Well, i feel this is true for SFF kohakus and Sankes anyway. If you see his catalog with lineages, the bloodline line seems to be ALMOST irrelevant to what gets produced. Also, his lines throw out fish that other breeder's lines cant. Like how INC fish have long strong bodies with insane skin, SFF fish have a certain beni and tank-like body shape.... While not all of the fish they produce will fit their stereotype, you wont get and INC fish from SFF parent stock and you wont get a dianichi kohaku from an SFF parent stock.
What I am trying to explain is that, while there is of course variation in what SFF produces, there are more definite "tells" to his fish than most other breeders.
I will agree with your last statement as they certainly do have inherent traits that can make them more easily indentifiable than many other breeder's stock, but the part I highlighted I have to say, I find amusing. Do you know how much influence there is from INC in SFF fish genetics?
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."