What follows was passed out in written form at the Seminar Selecting Young Koi by Nicole Lembke and Debby Hester. The material was written by Dr. Art Lembke and I recieved permission from Nicole Lembke to share this with the Koiphen Board. The caveat was that we must credit Art for his work. That is not a problem because we know who to ask if we have further questions.Please do not cut and paste this material without first getting permission for Dr. Art Lembke. I hope you enjoy the information as much as I did.
Selecting a SankeThe head of the Sanke, is important to look at. The head should have the same characteristics as that of a Kohaku. There must be balanced red on the head. The nose should be white. If there is Kuchibeni (red lips) present, it is OK as long as there is balance. Eyes may be covered with red around the rim, as long as the red is not overpowering. It is best not to have red on both eyes. There should not be any black on the head.
Next, look for an interesting pattern of red all the way down the body. Do not choose a koi with red only on the front half or the back half of the body. Balance of color is important.
If you followed the steps above, you will notice you now have a good kohaku. Now we must add the black. It is best to have the first black patch on the shoulder (not on the head). If there is no black until further back on the fish, the head looks too elongated. The rest of the black further back 0:Q. the body should be in a nice pattern that is balanced side to side, and preferably in the white areas rather than on the red. Some black on the red areas is all right but the more black in the white areas the better. Modem sankes are basically kohakus with a few small black patches in the white field. Red should cover about 50~ 70% of the koi, black about 10%, and the rest should be white.
At an early stage, look for a fish with a lot of interesting red and very little black. Black tends to come out later and if you start with too much black, it may be too powerful later.
The red may be bright red or orange~red because the red will usually improve with age. The white should be snow white or a slightly pinkish
white. Males will tend to have yellower skin. While females will turn whiter after age 2. Black develops later, so pick a koi with only a little black that is balanced now. Pick a Sanke that has fairly organized black rather than small speck like. The black patches should be distinct and cover several scales
each. Pepper like spots can be a sign of poor quality. Black is all guess work on early Sanke, as even the small peppery black can come together as the koi matures. Jinbei and Torazo bloodline Sankes tend to develop more square
shaped black, while other bloodlines tend to be more rounded.
The fins on a sanke should be all white or white with a few black stripes. There should not be any red in the fins, lJl1less very tight to the body. Be careful choosing a young sanke with many black stripes in the pectoral fins. These sometimes develop too much black at a later stage.
Again, as in all koi, look for broad shoulders and large pectoral fins for good growth potential. Thick tail tube is also a good sign. Make sure there are no defects or signs of disease on the fish.