Tategoi is a concept which really only has true meaning for the koi's breeder.
For wise and thrifty Japanese breeders, the optimum scenario is to know when a koi has reached its qualitative peak and to sell it at its highest value.
Koi which have reached their peak are sold as soon as possible, since there's no increased return to be achieved by continued expenditures for food, electricity and pond space.
If a koi has not yet peaked, then neither has its value -- these koi are called
tategoi.
Breeders will sell
tategoi, but they will only sell them at the koi's perceived future value.
As hobbyists, we need to differentiate between
tategoi and 'unfinished,' which is the condition most of us buy our koi in. The two terms are not synonymous.
Or so I've been told.
