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Just for our learning and with permission of Dick the Koi Coach, I just thought I would update all of you on the development of this showa. When I acquired it back in May or June per Coach's recommendation, it was about 11" in length. When I moved it from the garaged QT tank to the outdoor pond it measured 15.5".
Sex: still unknown. I suspect it is a male but I could not produce any milt when I squeezed its belly. Also, there are no rough spots on the pec fins & gill plates. Still keeping my fingers crossed.
Color Quality: as you guys can see, the beni has softened up quite considerably. This is the soft beni that I really like and could be due to the fact that it was kept indoor and not fed any color-enhancing food (it was on a saki-hikari growth/izeki/watermelon staple).
Growth: I don't know about you guys, but I am very happy with its growth so far. While it didn't pack on the kind of growth as some of the other ake nisai (I have a chagoi that went from about 12.5" to 19" during the same time period), I am still very happy with it.
The thing that I want to learn most from this koi is whether motoguro will develop in its left pec fin. I heard that if there is sumi in the gill plate, then there is a very good chance that motoguro will develop on the pec fin that is on the same side as the sumi-covered gill plate. Upon closer examination, I do see hints of tsubozumi at the base of that pec fin. Will update you guys on its development, although with how soft my water is, I suspect that it will be several years down the road.
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