"WWKC" Grow out selection Pick #5

[fishin4cars]

First Off I want to thank Jim and Frank for their efforts and time they spent putting this all together. At times it may not have gone as smooth as we all would have liked but I wanted to let each of them know how much I appreciate the effort they put in this to make it happen. I think it will be a fun and great learning experience for all!

Guess I get the pleasure of being the First one to post pictures, also being I was the one of last one to pick out of the group. I thought it was kind of ironic. Last to pick first to post. LOL

First off before I post pictures this is my first grow-out so You quessed it, I didn't officially measure. I will say it's average for the size group. Right in the 6-7" size. I'm actually fairly pleased with my selection. I was happier after seeing the fish first hand than what I saw from the original picture choices.

I got the chance to meet Scott Purdin today. My first time to meet Scott and I finally got a great sit down and talk about skin quality. I finally see what and why it's so hard to tell someone about skin quality without seeing it first hand and understanding what your looking for. Not something you learn over night! Bill and Maureen were there too. They took me on a personal tour of the Nursery and the mud pond farm. Very cool morning!

The Koi I ended up getting in the pull was bowled and inspected. Scott looked it over and said for a end of the group pick I ended up with a really nice Kohaku. I can say this, for those that are waiting, I think some of you are going to be very surprised with the quality of the fish when you see them first hand. I've bought from Purdin Koi in the past, there are some really nice koi in the group! Sizes are quite different as well. Most are in the 6"-7" range, but some are up to 12"+. Not the best pictures as I fought glare at every angle and position I could get. I took probably 100 pictures while I was there and 75% have already been deleted.
Well meet "WWK" Kohaku #5 2-22-2013

[montwila]

Congradulations and I can hardly wait.

Keep them coming.

[koisan]

Nice to see the first update of the grow out koi. I can't wait to get mine! Did you get to see the Oyagoi while you were there? Any idea on the bloodline of the kohaku and the showa? please post pics. if you have them. It would be nice to see what the parent koi look like and that might enhance the learning experience.

[fishin4cars]

I don't recall seeing the Oyagoi, I did see the females to the Sanke and Showa I purchased in the serious critique section. As for the grow out's. I'm not 100% sure but I think that there was two spawns in the grow out. I'm not sure which ones were the parents and honestly didn't think to ask. So much to ask and talk about I was being more ears and listening than I was asking questions. Scott isn't at the farm that often and this being the first time I have gotten to talk to him I was trying to absorb every tid bit of information I could. LOL, even forgot to take some pictures I really wish I had taken now.

[Midorigoi]

Wow!! Looks even better than the selection pix

[jimfish98]

Looking good, will be nice to see it when it gets out of QT in a couple months

[fishin4cars]

I need to find a show bowl to take pics in when they come out. Right now all I have is a grey Rubbermaid tote to measure and photograph and it really stinks for taking pictures in.

[frankl]

Larkin, Glad you enjoyed yourself at the farm, the koi they are breeding and focusing on are awesome. They do a great job and these will be fun to see grow and develope.

[fishin4cars]

Total blast Frank, I was really amazed at the new facility. This was my first trip to the nursery and the mud ponds plus getting to see the brooder females. One thing that totally caught me off guard is Purdins size potential. I knew they had some big girls, never had a clue that had multiple koi over the 40" mark. My largest right now is around 25" there largest is 44". Until you see one it's impossible to come to grips with how much bigger that second 20" are. For those that read this and never seen a Koi that big. Honestly, a single 44" koi would not live comfortably in my 10,000 gallon pond. All by itself it's simply to large for that size pond!
I'm curious who got pick #13 Kohaku. I got a great look at it, In fact that was the one out of the group that jumped out at me from the beginning. That fish is far better in person than the pic gives credit. I honestly believe most are going to be surprised how nice some of these really are.

[icu2]

I'm curious who got pick #13 Kohaku. I got a great look at it, In fact that was the one out of the group that jumped out at me from the beginning.

Jumped at me too! That's great to hear... thanks for the report!

[fishin4cars]

For those that would like to learn a little more about Purdin Koi and what to expect. This is their facebook page. It's far better updated than their website is. Great comparison's to see what to expect as these grow.
https://www.facebook.com/PurdinKoi?fref=ts

[chag]

You got a nice looking kohaku. Looks similar to my pick # 38.To me all the kohaku seems to have the same characteristics,
they all came from the same spawn.Good luck with it I am sure will grow into a big koi.

[fishin4cars]

I guess I forgot to take pics when it came out of QT. I did measure and it measured 7.5" when I took it out of QT. I was taking pictures today of one of the other fish for another thread and happened to get a couple of so so pictures of it. I watched it swim past a fish I know is over 12" and it's got to be over 10" now. Out of five Kohaku in the pond it's probably my second favorite, and my favorite is also a Purdin kohaku as well.

[icu2]

Nice!

[fishin4cars]

I wish it wasn't so hard to net and bowl a fish from my main pond. Major PITA! Even with a seine it still takes at least three people to be very effective. There are a couple of things I would like to get a better look at. Overall I'm happy with this one but would like a closer look at it.

[player30]

You make me want to take a trip to Baton Rouge!!

[fishin4cars]

Well worth the trip, and I'll be happy to take a ride with you if you ever decide to make it. It's not a easy facility to find but I will happily show you around. Actually there is another farm close by, not near the quality selection as Purdin but nice fish at very affordable prices, they do have really nice Butterfly and standard but are more the true Domestic breed fish quality. Purdin is a top notch facility, all state of the art and the fish are some of the highest quality available IMO.

[jimfish98]

Hows this one doing so far, been a few months since the last update.

[fishin4cars]

Jim, Not much to report on this one right now. It's a fairly shy fish and doesn't come up to the surface much. Hard to get a pic of it right now. My water clarity is just simply not up to par. With the shorter days and the sun not bearing down as much hopefully the water will clear more as the temps drop a little. Growth is nothing to brag about, not really growing a lot but the girth is filling in some, pattern is holding stable so far, and if I had to make a guess it's probably a male. I'm going to be doing some larger than normal water changes this next week since I have the week off and getting ready for a club meeting at my house next weekend. If the water clears some I'll try and get a updated picture if possible.

[jimfish98]

Don't forget to get measurements and enter your grow outs into the Virtual Koi/Goldfish show, see how well your selecting and husbandry stacks against the others in the grow out.