| I think what you need to pick up from their comments is that each one is looking for body confirmation as important. That should tell you something.
Tosai have to be born with the genetics to grow big. the head, the thickness of the tail tube (relkative to size of koi ) and the backbone outline at the shoulder
all give you an idea that you have selected well.
After that it is up to the environment which includes uncrowded stocking conditions, truely big water, current and depth as well as length of pond.
that's what builds nice bodies. You also have to have good feed, fed often in small amounts and water temp to maintain a metabolism that will encourage growth 76-78 F.lots of oxygen also helps the digestive process especially in the evening.
the skill of the keeper is in the pond design and feeding the right food for the temp ,making sure you see no floating fish wastes which indicate upset bowels
and loss of progress in their ability to utilize the feed.
often times body shape will contribute at least to 60 % of the judging criteria. |