Body Versus Pattern, Which Comes First?

When I first got into the Koi hobby some years ago, I read that in selecting koi, body comes first, then pattern, for the simple reason that you are unlikely to get jumbo kois with good patterns as they are hidden away by japanese breeders for auction sales at much higher prices.

In short, buy a big pattern fish with good body if you want to get a female jumbo, as fish with better patterns are likely to be males of smaller sizes when mature. By the time they hit jumbo, their imposing presence will more than make up for a less attractive pattern.

This is pretty much my modus operandi in koi selection, although falling for kois with fantastic patterns is quite a natural tendency to me, I must admit.

I had the opportunity to try out my selection skills on two (2) batches of Maruyama kohaku tosais of the same year last year (spawned May/June 2006), and after some months of rapid growth, here are the results:













These 2 kois were chosen for pattern, and turn out to be males :(













This fantastic Kohaku, now 53cm, was chosen for its sharp kiwa, white shiroji and interesting, and looks female :)













This 48cm Kohaku was chosen for her body and pattern, and looks female:)













This 55cm sandan kohaku, was chosen for her size and body, as she had a large window on her shoulder when I picked her. I was surprised the window has closed up, and she is now confirmed a female. A stint in the mudpond will no doubt set her well on the way to jumbo.













Both these females measure 57cm in length were chosen for their body as their pattern were large and thankfully acceptably interesting. They grew the fastest, and the humps and growth rates seem to suggest that they will hit jumbo :)

Well, time will tell and so far, my little experiment seem to match up with what was advised to me when I first started i.e Body comes first, then pattern.

Operation Jumbo

Some 1.5 years ago during Christmas of 2006, my Koi buddy Andrew and I bought some 15 old and unwanted jumbo kois (some with injuries and fading colours of their former show koi glory) for a friend and moved them in our cars to his fish farm up in Kedah.

That was a huge operation, and halfway near Sungkai, Andrew began driving like a madman possessed, his slowing and revving manouvers would have made Michael Schumacher jealous. He managed to stop suddenly, got out of his car and gasped that some of the bags were leaking.

With the stark prospect of dying jumbo kois staring at us in the face, we got off the highway in search of an aquarium shop for new bags, water and oxygen but none were to be found in the small towns nearby for nearly 30 mins.

When all seemed lost, Andrew the brilliant guy spied a Chinese Restaurant, swung his car in and braked to a screeching stop. Out he jumped with another friend dragging a leaking near empty bag into the restaurant shouting "water, water"!. The workers dropped their jaws at the sight of mad men with a huge fish in a plastic bag, wondering whether we wanted the fish fried or steamed!

To cut the long story short, Andrew scooped water from their display aquariums into the bag, and sped off looking for an aquarium shop and finally found one where we changed bags and replenished water and oxygen.

It was quite a sight to behold that day in that small town somewhere near Ipoh with a large crowd gathering around emitting "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" at the sight of those still beautiful jumbos.

Soon we were on our way and reached Lunas some 8 hours after we left KL. More surprises were in store as some of the fish spawned the next day!

We managed to pair a beautiful jumbo shiro female with pure white shiroji and thick sumi with a Matsunosuke Kindai Showa male, and I kept some of their offspring.

I managed to bowl 2 up for close viewing on Sunday:

This 45cm female showa had a longer body when young, but has since put on bulk on her shoulders with a huge hump to boot. Hopefully she will put on more length again.

There is not enough beni currently although she inherited her mother's good sumi and shiroji traits, but there is still hope as the odome beni only appeared as a small dot 2 months ago and has since developed into a nice patch. If the tiny beni dots on the head fills out, she will be quite a stunner.

This 48cm female kohaku inherited her mother's pure white shiroji and deep red beni from her matsunosuke showa father. Her thick tail tube holds out some promise for the future.

One other shiro sibling I did not managed to bowl up has spectacular sumi, shiroji and body confirmation.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all 3 siblings will develop to their full potential.

All in, Operation Jumbo was rollicking good fun, with more in store in the future with these few offspring :)

Jeff

Koi Collection For Sale

Both Kois below are high quality prize winners and will look gracious and beautiful in any pond.

This Spore Koi Show 2006 Kohaku 30bu 3rd Prize Winner has grown from 30cm in June 2006 to 57cm today. Good kiwa, shiroji and bulky shoulders with interesting pattern as well.

For sale at RM3500. Sex: Unknown

This spectacular Momotaro Showa (Spore Koi Show 45bu Showa 1st Prize and Malaysia Open Wakagoi Championship 2006 45bu Showa 2nd Prize Winner has grown from 41cm in June 2006 to 62cm in May 2008.

Great traditional showa patter, thick blood red beni and good skin.

For Sale at RM3800. Sex:Male

The Lives & Times Of 2 Wayward Kois

This story first appeared in Sept 2007 on Malaysia Koi Forum:

Once in a while, you come across a koi that passes the "Blink" test in an instant, but then many rational arguments come up later against buying it. Recently, it happened to me, not once but twice in a row, but I decided to follow my instincts.

The first is Olivia, a 36cm Sekiguchi Sanke (they won at All Japan for their famous showas). There she was, a leftover koi, listless and scrawny with a pinched hungry look that reminds one of "bowl in hand" Oliver with her ragged floral kimono running like watercolors in the rain. After a week in quarantine, she's off the blocks living life with a vengeance.

The second is Armstrong, a 34cm Kujaku (breeder unknown) who was down and out with 2 large and deep ulcers, teetering on the brink of death. I picked her up from the dealer when she recovered sufficiently, and after a week in quarantine with wounds still visible, she is living life so strongly that she would have made Lance Armstrong proud.

I know I am breaking all the rules -- never buy leftover or sick kois, but hey -- what is life without breaking a rule or two? Especially when my fearsome Headmaster is not hovering nearby, and these two do deserve a second shot at life.

So, do join me and wish the two of them Good Luck -- they will need all the luck they can get to fulfil their potential. Go kois go -- Gambate, Gambate!! Mine is the easy part, feeding them well and keeping the water clean.

Read More here:

http://www.koi.com.my/forum/KOI_Talk_C1/Koi_Appreciation_F8/A_Tale_of_Two_Showas_P101718/gforum.cgi?post=102135;t=search_engine#102135

After 7 months, I bowled both fishes up today for a good look today:

Armstrong grew from 34cm in Sept 2007 to 52cm in May 2008. 18cm in 7 months! She won 2nd Prize for Hikarimono 50bu Class at the Malaysia Koi Show in March 2008!
















Olivia went from 36cm to 58cm, a good 22cm growth in 7 months! I did not enter Olivia for the Koi Show as she is still a future koi.

These 2 kois have given me much joy over the last few months rescuing them and grooming them to their full potential:)

My Koi Collection 1

The only Omosako Musasahi offspring showa in Malaysia, she's growing at a steady pace and now measures 65cm.

Keeping my crossed that she will hit 80cm!








This Sakai Kindai Showa is my favorite kindai, and growing at a scorching pace despite a period of infection.

She's now 65cm.









This Hoshikin Sanke is one of two Hoshikin sankes I bought late last year. She's touching 68cm and is 3 times bigger than her sister.

She's cecond only to my 88cm Chagoi in terms of growth rate.








This Momotaro Ginrin Sanke was a left over koi from Max Koi Farm's Ryu Sanke Growout event in Singapore in 2006.

She outgrew my other momotaro growout sanke and now measures 70cm








This beautiful Maruyama Kohaku tosai has one of the sharpest kiwa and brightest shiroji around, measuring 55cm.

I'm plannning to put her through a mudpond program to help her fulfill her potential.

My Malaysia Koi Show 2008 Winners

This Shusui took 1st Prize in the Shusui/Asagi 30 Bu category.

She also won 1st Prize in the 3rd Young Koi Show in Singapore.





This rare beni kumonryu took 3rd Prize in the Kawarimono 35 Bu Category.










This is Armstrong, a Kujaku I saved from the dealers. She had 2 large ulcers when I first saw her, and felt she has too much potential to be left to die, so I bought her against all good koi advice.

She took 2nd Prize in the Hikarimono 5oBu Category. She went from 30cm to 50cm in 3 months, and has a huge hump of a shoulder. Can't wait for her to hit jumbo soon!

Courtyard Pond

This is my courtyard pond, just outside my library.

Nothing relaxes me more than the graceful swimming of Koi, and the occasional splash.

The bigger the splash, the better!

The other thing I do is honing the art of picking kois with potential. It's a big challenge and great fun.

Jeff