| here's a readers digest version....
forget kohaku, at 4 months you can tell what tosai are killer and you keep them and grow them on. With the other two you have to invest time to see what will happen with the black! Look at the sanke and Showa. In both cases find black strong in the head shoulder of showa and in shoulder area of sanke. even with no black showing in the mid back to tail area chances are good it will come.
Showa tosai often have heavy black at the tail that crawls off as they grow. Take the showa outside and see if you can in full light get a hint of a red tail stop back there. Look for soft red and white and of the little black you can see make sure it's the good blue black of quality even if you find it only on one patch showing. DO NOT PICK SHOWA by pattern. Focus on good body shape
and quality. Don't let a beautiful showa pattern on a Gin Rin sway your decision to buy. A GR is a GR first and showa second. Look for a good GR FIRST and trust the pattern to develop. Quality koi often at tosai will show very little sashi, but it could also be the mark of a fast developing male.(worth mentioning is to be sure and check the showa's heads to be sure they are not twisted or mis shaped ) hope this helps. Good luck and if you get one send us all a picture! |