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First let me say that depending on your brood stock, lots of things enter into the decision making for the selection process. After you have bred a pair and are happy with the pairing you will learn what to look for that's indicative of which ones to select thru trial and error of previous generations. What you read may be true for genetics or water conditions.(remember these can vary
as to what to look for )
My advice would be let the koi get up to 3-4 inches to really get an indication of pattern. initially your looking for Sheen. Remember Hikari means a bright or brilliant. I like to cull these types out in the sunshine where I can easily distinquish the irredescence. those with smaller pecs or no shine get ofted early.You can generally tell by an inch or two.
With Hariwake i have seen color come up very late so pattern is not always a good indicator.With kujaku, the ones in our water ( it brings out strong black almost immediately) the ones that look stunning as tosai get blackish forheads
as nisai so i tend to look for those with good patterns,sheen and little black.
you will have to see what happens with your water. Always keep a few individuals for 3-4 years to track and learn.
Don't look at the process so much as a mechanical operation but one that you generate thru experience and hunch as you begin to grasp what your seeing to allow for individuality.
I am not a professional breeder but I gladly share what i have learned that may help you in your quest for knowledge.
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