| Not to through a spanner in the works, but it must be explained that these koi which ‘need’ spawning are kept in a very different manor to most koi kept by hobbyists around the world.
I’ll explain the difference and hope it does not spark a debate. These koi are being grown to their largest potential size in the shortest possible time, for me I do not disagree with this, as I’m in favour of big koi looking youthful, but it is a different way of keeping koi.
These koi are given a constant temperature year round and fed a summer diet year round, they grow constantly, but also produce eggs in the same fashion. This can be a problem as some can get very misshapen in the belly area, not only deep but very wide. Also as Mike states, it puts extra pressure on the spine and causes it to sag. If measures are not taken to remove the eggs, the koi will be spoiled. Hence Mr Maeda and Mike recommending the spawning of koi as necessary. But in a pond which is given normal seasons, eggs are reabsorbed as nutrition during the ‘fasting’ colder month or two and retain their normal shape.
So if a koi is kept at year round summer temperature, being fed year round this spawning will not halt growth to any degree, as their egg production is a constant ongoing thing. But if a koi which has been kept in a seasonal environment is spawned, this will nearly halt its growth for the season, as for a mature female, egg production is more important than growth and it only has a short period before waters start cooling again at the start of autumn.
Maurice. |