Asagi Breeding 2004

[Sanke56]

Dick If the fry are in a mud pond it is not that easy to get hold of them or even see them to cull right away but the less you have in there the faster they grow. I will definitely try out your suggestions as soon as I can. I usually remove the parents once they are finished and then things stabalize and clear up and I can then see the fry. They usually eat plankton or what ever for a little while then daphne etc and I start with a high protein dry food next. Should be brine shrimp. I live by a lake and top it up from there quite a bit

You spawn yours in large tanks or tubs and feed them brine shrimp ASAP
When I raised tropicals that is how I did that too.

I believe you said you were putting some of your best fry in a lake or something to really get the growth. That would be something especially if the temp stays at 70-80F

[dick benbow]

It is surprising in the lake that the koi get 7-8 inches in length in a year's time. It's very deep and in the pacific NW doesn't get all that warm. so is surprising they do as well as they do.

I think it was a definete asset to have had tropical fish as a kid so I knew about filtration, sparse stocking and live food benefits. makes the learning curve not so steep!

I'm still marveling over the growth of the shiros this year. I got about 50-60 babies this year where usually I stock 500-600. even with the cold weather they are growing. probably be the best lesson I learn this year as cause and effect.

in previous years i learned the value of live food critical for the first month's growth prior to starting dry/prepared foods.

[dick benbow]

Was down at the Blueberry farm yesterday afternoon and got the
fry moved into the lake.
The back up sanke pair got spawned and if all is well will have babies saturday.the weather is co-operating in fact it's going from the low 60's into the lower 80's in the next few days!
The showa babies are growing nicely. the shiros are almost an inch now.
they're kinda gray with black mottling. soon as Dan gets up and running
from his computer problems will get some photos.
the asagi babies are doing well. not alot of growth. color is a basic gray
with no other distinquishing marks. when you drop a cup of brine shrimp in thier pond you can watch them all rise to meet the victims! they sure catch on fast!!!!
we must be doing a better job this year at feeding and providing space as the number of tobi's or giant brother/sister eating siblings are minimal this year.
Well that leaves the kohaku to spawn. maybe this wekend. she is B I G!
We're trying a new male with her this year so hope it "clicks". I have some ochiba and other longfins to spawn but am out of water to raise them.
well, now your up to date on the tails from the blueberry farm!

[matt]

so just how big is this lake? how easy is it to net the fish for culls and harvest? any pictures?

[dick benbow]

Hi Matt!
The lake is just over an acre. It has a shallow area on the west side
that can be netted easily. when the koi get big enough to harvest they will have been fed pellets in the netted area only. so each feeding they are drawn to that area. in years past when they see us coming with the bucket they take off for the feeding spot. all up on the surface mouths going and creating quite the individual wakes. once inside the netted inlet we block off access to the rest of the lake and over a period of several days of feeding and pulling the net more to GRADUALLY shrink thier swimming area, then we harvest them. .
The big error lots of other do is panic the fish with immediate confinement, causing split fins, bruises and other panic problems. done gradually over a period of days they are pretty tame when it comes time to move them and no health problems.

[dick benbow]

Here's a mini report from thursday nite. had to run down to the blueberry farm to put on a tosai selection seminar for those couples who worked weekends. the second sanke parents are proud parents. the babies just starting to hatch. Whew! that's a relieif.
introduced the male and female kohakus last night so am hopeful they will
give me something to simbetsu here soon.
a few of the asagi babys are getting bigger. I had to laught at the shiros.
thier bellies are as deep as they are long! The daphne population has just exploded in thier tank and they're not stupid! they are all of an inch now.
some of the longfins and showas are 3/4 of an inch. i saw a few asagi tobi's that were all of a half inch while siblings more like a 1/4.
saturday is koi club meeting but should get back to the farm on father's day.
As I,m hacking away here the roar of the f-115's is deafening. Pres Bush is in town and they are just making themselves known in an unsettling way for anyone who might not have the purest of intentions.
well as they say at feeding time with the babies-chow

[jacovors]

Hi Dick,
Thanks for the update, I am always happy to receive an e-mail stating a new reply to the Asagi Breeding thread.
Do you place the fry of each spawning into seperate mud ponds or do you combine some spawnings into one mud pond?
I also noticed you breed quite a large number and variety of koi, where do you keep them all during Winter and when do you start selling?
Thanks
Jaco.

[MikeM]

Dick: About those tobi Asagi, how about catching a few & putting with the Showa? (I'm guessing they are compatible size.) Curious how they might differ from smaller siblings after a couple of months.

[dick benbow]

Soon as i get the high sign from dan blatt that his computer is back ( it got hit by lightning) I will take some comparative photos and have him post them.

Got home this am around 12:30 after waiting for a delayed koi shipment at the airport. had to unload koi and get them stabilized after a long day that started with a 4 hr drive to pick up a bike for my sweetie who purchased it on ebay.
was up around 4:45 because I couldn't sleep. was too excited to see my dream Asagi. I felt like a kid at christmas. The koi was a gift from some friends who had purchased the koi for me on thier trip to Japan last year.
I have been looking intently for two years for such a koi. I call her Kimiko
after an unknown but soon to be famous american olympian diver that the world will be hearing alot about at the games. She's three now by Japanese standards and 20 inches in length. She's narumi. I don't have
any pics as she is recouping and i don't want to mess with her for a while.
what's amazing is I'm so picky on asagi's and if i had a chance to screen
1000 such koi, I could not have picked a better koi myself. her aqua marine blue is georgous.face is white-white. red is hot orange. red is well below the lateral line on the body. a tiny patch in the tail, non yet on the dorsal. Has a red "donut" on the gill covers with a white donut hole in the center. red eye rims. her net pattern is distinct and even thru out.

I wish everyone could have caring friends like this couple. It's very hard to put into words the heartfelt gratitude I feel for this couple that wants to remain anonymous. koi and the people that love them are very special indeed! pardon me as I go sneak another look at her. she doesn't speak good english yet and I'm having a hard time explaining to her why she isn't being fed. ( gomenasi kimiko, gomenasai)

[kiky]

wow, I feel as happy for you. Couldn't wait to see the photo of her. Must be really beautiful!