Let's see who's ready.

[Matt24]

... did anyone see the Hi bekko if that one comes into what I see coming it's young it can go either way but am crossing my fingers

I have not raised any hi bekko and am not familiar with how they develop. The largest koi in the first photo of post #556 has a nice layout of sumi spots and a good solid build. Since you have a few with hi and sumi markings, I'm not sure if that's the one you have in mind.

[Orlando]

The larger one in this photo

[Matt24]

The larger one in this photo

That's the one.

[Orlando]

As you may recall I mentioned that I had ran across a above ground 9' pool at Dollar General a couple of weeks ago well it's been up a running for a week now all be working on shade tomorrow but here it is you can see the mechanical filtration and 6 sponge filters that 2 of them are pushing around 300 gallons per hour each and the others around 450 gallons per hour the difference is 3/4" pvc to 1" pvc. This tank has 2 roles during spring is a spawning tank and the rest of the year will house the fry the 35 that I kept from April's spawn have been in it a few days already.
The white box is where I have the air pump you can see the air manifold infront off the bottom of the box.

[Orlando]

Can't remember what day it was but it had to be in these last couple of days, they have all the room in the world and they still school together.
I do have some information to share with you all but my research is not complete yet but we're close so stay tuned

[coolwon]

It's an instinctive thing in nature for numbers of animals, birds, fish, whales and Koi, to shoal or herd together.

Safety in numbers.

[Orlando]

Well it's been a while since brought up to photograph some of my 16mos Shiros I think I caught 4 and they are all in different stages for the sumi one of them it's pretty much finished the other 3 are in different stages but these are my choices, first I select for the shiroji and later for the sumi these last 3 remind me so much of their mother's development
On one of those I photographed both sides to record how the sumi is coming the one before the last one it's really got my attention. They range from 9.5 to 14"

[Matt24]

Wow that first one really jumps off the screen! Reason for hope on the next to last one is apparent. As for the others, it is not something I can see, though Omosako keeps some that resemble these around for a while, knowing that occasionally one such utsuri will develop surprisingly well.

[Orlando]

Wow that first one really jumps off the screen! Reason for hope on the next to last one is apparent. As for the others, it is not something I can see, though Omosako keeps some that resemble these around for a while, knowing that occasionally one such utsuri will develop surprisingly well.

Matt I believe he calls those Cinderellas

[spkennyva]

Wow, nice! I agree with Matt on number 1, and to me, number 4 looks good too. I have no significant experience with shrios, so what is it in the others that earned their keep? I know shiros develop slow, but there must be something that can be used to make selections, right? Is it just body conformation, and size?

[Orlando]

Wow, nice! I agree with Matt on number 1, and to me, number 4 looks good too. I have no significant experience with shrios, so what is it in the others that earned their keep? I know shiros develop slow, but there must be something that can be used to make selections, right? Is it just body conformation, and size?

Sean excellent question; at first am looking for deformities from 1 to 3" at that point I start looking at the shiroji and keep looking for deformities that are easier to see once they reach that stage remember the one with the bent mouth and nothing was visible from the top. Later I continue looking at the shiroji and that's my main focus once they get to this stage my main objective still remains the shiroji and now I start looking at body conformation at this stage my culling process is completed for shiroji now it becomes a process of watching them develop the sumi on some has come up and in others it's a gamble, I hope I answered your question but let me add one important thing; I owe the original breeder of my oyagoi respect in keeping their values on the quality of the shiroji all sum it up with a brief note, I don't place the quality of the sumi or the pattern if the shiroji doesn't meet Omosako standards the koi won't make my roster, It takes discipline.

[spkennyva]

Orlando, excellent response - very helpful!

[Orlando]

Good afternoon folks it was a balmy 47* this morning time to slow down on the amounts of feed I give these koi once the water temperatures start dropping remember all my tanks are above ground so air temperatures affect the water faster the koi are moving a little slower so it's a good time to add to this thread the newest member I acquired 4mos ago she's still in the QT tank and the water is perfect for a few photos she will join the adult females probably next month but she won't be ready to be spawned till 2026 also started harvesting some plumeria cuttings from one off my plants.

[Matt24]

Beautiful! I really like ochiba.

I'm not aware of us having plumeria here, as I gather it needs warm climate from a quick look-up. I saw it can be propagated by planting cut stem tips. Is that what you plan to do with these?

[Orlando]

Beautiful! I really like ochiba.

I'm not aware of us having plumeria here, as I gather it needs warm climate from a quick look-up. I saw it can be propagated by planting cut stem tips. Is that what you plan to do with these?

She's the replacement for the Ochiba I lost earlier this year due to tumors her assigned # in my records was 18 this one is #49 and hopefully I have a shot of producing some ochibas in the future am seriously thinking about giving the Ginrin male Ochiba a run with my F1 female kohaku next spring lord willing, I think the only way you can keep plumeria in your zone would be in smaller pots so they could be brought in during the winters and just keep them bonsai in smaller pots so they are easily moved and the answer to your question is yes

[spkennyva]

Orlando, Nice ochiba! A couple of years ago, we took a vacation to CA and visited Mystic Koi. My wife really liked their ochiba. We have yet to get one, but if we bring in anything else, it will likely be an ochiba.

BTW, we grow fig trees here and also propagate via cuttings. Some fig varieties survive our winter temps, but those that are known to be sensitive get stored in our garage.

[Orlando]

Orlando, Nice ochiba! A couple of years ago, we took a vacation to CA and visited Mystic Koi. My wife really liked their ochiba. We have yet to get one, but if we bring in anything else, it will likely be an ochiba.

BTW, we grow fig trees here and also propagate via cuttings. Some fig varieties survive our winter temps, but those that are known to be sensitive get stored in our garage.

Good morning Sean, am pretty sure am going to give my Ginrin Ochiba a chance with my Kohaku next spring let's be patient

[Orlando]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I knew baby koi are resilient creatures I just didn't know how strong they are am redoing the way some of the tanks are set up in the yard so I can have better access for yard maintenance, this morning I started what I feel is going to be a 3 to 4 weeks process so the first tank I had to move was one that was housing some of this year's fry that tank has been abandoned for the last few months no air no filtration just hundreds of tadpoles in rain water when I caught the fry I completely drained the tank somehow I missed one fry it was probably very small for me to see this morning as I drained the tank and removed leaves and other debris I scooped up a 3" hi utsuri it's a miracle I don't know what to say.

[Matt24]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I knew baby koi are resilient creatures I just didn't know how strong they are am redoing the way some of the tanks are set up in the yard so I can have better access for yard maintenance, this morning I started what I feel is going to be a 3 to 4 weeks process so the first tank I had to move was one that was housing some of this year's fry that tank has been abandoned for the last few months no air no filtration just hundreds of tadpoles in rain water when I caught the fry I completely drained the tank somehow I missed one fry it was probably very small for me to see this morning as I drained the tank and removed leaves and other debris I scooped up a 3" hi utsuri it's a miracle I don't know what to say.

Wow, I've seen a couple of amazing survivals, and here's one more! It would have been interesting to know that the PH and ammonia levels were in that tank. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

[kdh]

Good morning Sean, am pretty sure am going to give my Ginrin Ochiba a chance with my Kohaku next spring let's be patient

Rolling the dice with ochiba. They can turn chagoi over the years. Stay away from ones that are mostly brown. And vice versa. Mostly gray can turn into serogoi. They are very nice looking when the temps drop as the brown gets darker. They are also very friendly.