| Sorry to interrupt your questions. I just want to comment that I think the koi breeder is the true artist in this hobby. I wish I had facilities to play around with breeding. At the same time, any one who gets involved in breeding should understand going in that it is highly likely that few or no offspring will merit pond space.... either in their own ponds, or those of other pondkeepers. The world does not need untold thousands of trash carp. Before a person starts breeding, they need to accept the fact that they will need to purposefully kill koi ... far more than they ever grow. It is a reality most hobbyists cannot accept. I still have a homebred Hariwake in her 9th (or is it now 10th??) year. I cannot part with her, but she is not deserving. It would have been shameful if I had tried to keep all her siblings.
I consider myself an animal welfare supporter. So, the notion of creating life for the purpose of destroying it runs against the grain. However, with koi that is the reality, and I'd be a true hypocrite to keep koi and not support killing the millions that must be culled. Still, a lot of hobbyists cannot do it.
Enjoy the endeavor. I hope you create a fish worth keeping. At the same time, I think you will gain real respect for what the breeders do ...and the fact they do it to make a living. |