| I think in all living things there is a balance. If a female spawns and is not challeneged with other health issues the body has to muster resources to, then she is able to fullfil her destiny of reproduction and still recoup and grow. If she has a bad time of spawning, then her resources will have to be used for other purposes than growth.
From a strictly show sense, if a female is allowed to experience winter, reabsorb her eggs, and then be allowed to smoothly engage in good temps and food, she has got to have an advantage over the female that has to deal with more challenges.
How much difference it would make between the two is hard to gauge. many times a show fish allowed to go thru winter will still need to be bred for health reasons or to regain a shape after many seasons with the same regime. This is where the experience of the keeper can help to make the right decisions. One size does not fit all, the same way people's health is different ( say sister to sister ) from each other. We can set out with the best plan, but have to be flexible to adjust according to the needs. indescriminate feeding can cause tumors in a female's reproductive system, so just because we get her thru winter correctly and move her up in temps and food amounts we still have to be careful about how and what we feed!
My advice would be to set out to handle a show fish and adjust according to her needs. One of my hot buttons is the topic of koi health and i feel too many folks fatten up their show fish with poor food and too much food and that impacts their overall health. better to buy a koi with great body potential and then keep them fit instead of Obese.
If you've ever done a disection on a female that died of egg impaction, you'll see things that will tell you why you don't want them to be storeing fat where the eggs are suppose to go...... |