Showa In Warm Climates

[Bancherd]

I do not have data on silica, will have to check the cost of the reagents. I did not purchase the silica test reagents because I thought I was not important. However, I noticed a lot of brown coatings on the aquarium's sidewalls, presumably due to diatoms. If this were the case, then I do have high silica concentration in my tap water.

Dr. Teh, I misspelled your name. My apologies.

[dtbh]

I know this is not a showa but I would like to share with you guys how her sumi has developed in 6 months.

1st photo : bought in April 04 at 69cm

2nd photo : taken yesterday at 76cm.

3rd photo : close-up of the white and her sumi

[MikeM]

Dr. Teh: Please tell us about her. The body shape is very appealing. Her Shiro is thickening and the Sumi is very interesting ... a beautiful face. The patterning is certainly Utsurimono, but the way the Sumi is consolidating makes me think of Sanke. Can you share her age, size and breeder?

[dtbh]

Hi Mike

When I looked at the photos I posted, I thought to myself Goodness the photos seem to have been edited. Take it from me they are not and the only editing I did was making the file size smaller so that they can be posted.

Anyway this is a 4yr old Omosako utsuri and, as mentioned, is now 76cm.

I have always been interested in shiro utsuris from Omosako-san (because of all the good things written about him) but have been disillusioned to almost giving up on him....all the Omosako shiros until now have "terrible" body conformation.

I note that Omosako-san has jumped on the bandwagon to produce jumbo utsuris and this one may be a sign that he is getting some results (at least with the supplies we get in this part of the world). Have you guys been getting good (jumbo potential) shiros from him?

Another point about sumi re: motogoro (correct spelling?). Prior to buying this koi I have been informed that utsuris with sumi at the joints of the pectoral fins may be a sign of good motogoros in the future. This koi seem to demonstrate this. The photos may not show the sumi at the said joints but they are there and already I am seeing beautiful streaks of sumi radiating from the joint. Is this a fact or it is just my good fortune?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Dr Teh

[MikeM]

The development of motoguro you describe is consistent with what I have been taught. I am very impressed by such a shiro utsuri at age 4. She has much further development to reach her potential, which seems very great. You are fortunate to have such a koi. I hope we see more photos of her as she grows.

[MikeM]

Sumi In Warm Climates


I came across an article on koikeeping in Taiwan written by Alan Nementzik, a South African invited to participate as a judge at Third National Show held by the NKSROC [? National Koi Society of the Republic of China??]. Nementzik had several interesting observations, but the following struck me as appropriate to add to this post:

"The winners were all of the highest quality and what impressed me most was the fact that the grand champion and many of the winners were Taiwanese bred. The keeping skills of the owners are obviously excellent. I do not envy them having to maximize a fish's potential under Taiwan's climatic conditions.
If I am to look at the fish that I saw both at the show and farms I visited, I must compliment the Sumi related species, i.e. Showa, Utsurimono and Sanke. The standard is very high and the quality of the Showa is rapidly growing and improving. Of the other classes, the Kinginrin was of an excellent standard and I wonder if the warmer water and stronger sunlight do not play an important part here."

Rinko, July 1993

In so much of the literature regarding Sumi there is emphasis on its improvement during cool weather, something I have observed on some of my koi with unstable Sumi. However, it seems there may be reason for warm climate koikeepers to focus on Sumi and recognize that Kohaku will be a greater challenge for them than for those in cooler climes.

As I come across other observations, anecdotal or otherwise, I'll try to remember to add them to this post.

[dtbh]

That seems to be the general consensus among hobbyists in our part of the world (equatorial climate). Sumi development is never the problem; it is maintaining the beni (and the shiroji) which is the challenge.

Omosako-san came over here a few years back and he himself was amazed by the changes in sumi amongst the shiro utsuris that he had sent over for an in-house koi competition. Given the same circumstances in Japan ie cold to hot weather, he remarked that sumi would have disappeared.

Having said that I thought that the climate in Taiwan is very much akin that of in Japan, albeit milder? I always thought Alan Nementzik was a Singaporean.

Cheers.

[MikeM]

Well, I have gotten diverted trying to learn about the climate of Taiwan ... curious what koi lead one to research. The globe shows Taiwan at the approximate latitude of Cuba and southern Florida. Closer to the Phillipines than to Japan. Of course, latitude influences climate, but does not necessarily control . So, I went searching for agricultural products. Seems Taiwan is quite diverse. There are mountains with more moderate climate than the low areas. However, among the crops of some economic importance are bananas and pineapples ... definitely subtropical. I think it would be a very nice place to live. I've always thought that if Florida had a couple of mountains it would be much improved.

A worthwhile inquiry. The experiences of the koikeepers of Taiwan are likely more relevant to Florida koikeepers than the experiences of koikeepers in the northern U.S.

[koifishgirl]

If sumi developes better in warmer water well then the Southern folks have it, and if the hi developes is cool weather better, well all I got to say is deepwater. Thought I would pass this by you guys and see what you think as it just makes sence to me. Any comments? Glad to have stumbled on the thread as I like what I have learned. I must say you guys are very good,I gain more knowledge everyday. very informative

[swordfish]

koifishgirl, beni is more challenging than sumi in our tropical climate because of the rapid grow. Most of our local hobbyists here could grow a tosai to 60cm in its 1st year. Show quality tsuya & teri can be obtain by using a chiller to set the temperature at 23c-25c so not neccessary to go deeper than 6ft even in our warm weather.

SF