After the first batch of kois returned from the mudpond in November last year, I was so impressed that I decided to send another 20 kois into SPKC's Mudponds.The pictures of the second batch of kois were taken after a month in quarantine(no feeding) before they were sent to the mudpond in early February 2009. Most of them have lost their girth somewhat, and hopefully they will come out of the mudpond with kick ass bodies.
The first picture shows a 66 cm female Sakai Kindai Showa with stunning shiroji. A big eater, I am hoping that her growing spree will continue and she will hit jumbo. Hopefully, her beni will consolidate as well.
The second picture depicts a 61cm female Sakai Showa with a prominent hump and interesting pattern.
The third is a rare 66 cm female Sekiguchi Sanke with pure white shiroji and clean pattern. She has grown long while in my pond, and given the Sekiguchi jumbo bloodline she inherits, she should put on girth when she finishes. Some of you will remember her as Olivia and that she was a left over koi that I picked up at about 36 cm in September 2007: http://www.koi.com.my/cgi-bin/koiforum/gforum.cgi?post=106215;#106215
The fourth koi is a 64cm Omosako Shiro Utsuri, a Musashi offspring from the Omosako Growout at Max Koi Farm in 2006. She has stunning snow white shiroji and good skin, and a prominent dragon motif on her left back that caused me to name her Dragon Musashi. If she hits jumbo looking as good as she does today with her mother's body and tail tube, she will be one of the most impressive shiros that I have ever seen.
The fifth koi is a 76cm Dainichi Showa that was placed in a discount pond by a dealer as a skinny 65cm sansai for going downhill. She quickly grew to 76cm in less than a year in my pond and her colours and body conformation are improving by the day. If she is true to her Dainichi bloodline, she should put on girth and may actually look impressive when she finishes as a yonsai jumbo!
The first kohaku on this second set of pictures is a 65cm female Sakai Kohaku which won 3rd prize for the 30bu category in the Singapore Koi Show in 2006. She has always impressed with her huge hump, thick tail tube and fantastic body, although her beni needs to consolidate and thicken.
The second koi is a 54cm female Maruyama Murata/Kagura Kohaku with a big hump, thick Kagura beni and interesting pattern.
The third kohaku is a 55cm Maruyama Kamiya/Kagura Kohaku with an interesting pattern.
The fourth fish is a Maruyama Murata/Kagura Kohaku with an interesting pattern and beauty spot on her cheek. I have had good experiences with Maruyama fish with two kohakus from the earlier mudpond stint doing extremely well.
The fifth kohaku is a 63cm female Oishi Kohaku. Oishi Koi Farm is well known for breeding kohakus with excellent beni and sharp kiwa. While this one does not have a great pattern, she surprised me by growing long rapidly and going by Oishi Koi farm's efforts to grow jumbo kois, she might very well surprise when she hits jumbo.
The first kohaku in this third set of pictures is a 72cm female Momotaro Kohaku. Her growth has stalled for a while, and I am hoping that a stint at the mudpond will push her past 80bu to fulfill her momotaro bloodline potential.
The second is an amazing 58cm female ginrin Dainichi Showa that grew 28cm in 6 months! She has a huge hump and interesting pattern, and signs point to her hitting jumbo.
The third is a 58cm female Hoshikin Sanke with stunning white shiroji, good skin and prominent hump. Her sister went into the mudpond earlier and is now above 80cm. She will be an interesting case study to dtermine if siblings from the same spawning can all hit jumbo eventually, some earlier and the rest later? The jury is out on this one!
The fourth showa is also an interesting case study as she is from the same leftover downhill batch as the fifth fish on the first set out pictures. A 65cm female Dainichi Showa, will she be able to catch up with her 76cm sister and hit jumbo? Time will tell.
The last fish on this set of pictures is a skinny 50cm female Dainichi Showa from the SPKC Dainichi Showa Growout in 2007. As the Dainichi bloodline is known to grow long and thin in the early years, she might surprise after a stint in the mudpond. She was a good looker at tosai stage, and if she remain true to her bloodline, she should be a good looker when she finishes.
The first koi on this last set of pictures is a 74cm female Omosako Musashi Offspring Shiro Utsuri. She is one of the largest of her batch and is expected to hit jumbo. Unfortunately, hi spots began to appear on her while under quarantine for the mudpond due to a change of water parameters. She has grown long and huge all this while, and it will be interesting to find out if she will put on girth. Her shiroji is usually whiter and pattern impressive and if she puts on girth, she might need some help with removal of the hi spots to return to her former impressive self.
The second koi is a 63cm female Sakai Kohaku that was not favored by the dealer due to her red pectorals. She has a sizable hump, strong beni and has always grown well. Will her the red on her pectorals recede sufficiently when she finishes so that her looks are acceptable when she hit jumbo? Time will tell.
The third koi is a fat 67cm Hoshikin Kohaku with strong beni but unimpressive ippon hi pattern. Only her growth rate and body confirmation qualifies her for a stint at the mudpond as I am curious to find out if she will indeed hit jumbo and when that happens, the white on her body will swell out sufficiently to make her attractive.
The fourth koi is her 59cm female sibling, and is an interesting case study toi find out if she can catch up with her sister and hot jumbo. Will her pattern consolidate sufficiently to become a nidan or sandan? Time will tell.
The last candidate is another "dark horse" 64cm female Dainichi Showa. Will she remain ugly when she finishes? Hmmm.... we shall see.
SPKC did a fantastic job with the first batch of mudpond kois. I am hoping they will do as well, if not better, with this second batch. The fish are expected to graduate from the mudpond in June. I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be some encouraging surprises.
Cheers,
Jeff
