Dick: For $35 I could not pass it up.
The breeder is Dan Daniels, who many may know as SunDan on some of the koi boards. Dan moved to Lake Wales, Florida a few years ago to get a bit of acreage, dug some mud ponds, set up aboveground tanks (like Kodama in Hawaii) with continuous fresh water flowing in and finally started breeding last year. He has Hosakai oyagoi. Out of a spawn of thousands, he has selected down to less than 200 Asagi. He brought a dozen or so to a club meeting yesterday and offered them at a special price. I went with no intention of acquiring anything. I've seen enough splotchy, ugly home-bred Asagi to last me forever. But when I saw what Dan was producing, I was impressed. He won't be threatening Hosakai's exports, but he has done quite well. There was a wide range among the ones he brought. This one stood out to my eye as having 'controlled' Beni, a better skin than some and a nice blue. Once I convinced myself it was more likely female than male, I decided I could make room for my first Asagi. Yep, Dick, 'she' is the first Asagi for me.
... The hump is not very noticeable when water covers it. I think it is exaggerated in the photos due to so much of the body being out of the water. (I wanted to get a good shot of the glistening white on the flank, but it really does not show well in the photo... almost like specks of Matsunosuke gin.) However, she was one of the smaller ones available. Dan had a couple of tosai I'd put at 15"-16" (these were darker and seemed definite males) with most in the 13"-14" range. ... The hump may be an early indicator of a stubby body. It's something to watch for.
I think Dan is doing well in his breeding adventure. But he is never going to make it by pricing below cost.