Koi fry in mudpond

[jacovors]

My koi fry are almost one month old and about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long at present.
My question is if it is normal for the kohaku fry to look like Kigoi with white patches on them?
They are all bred from Japanese parents and I realise to find show quality amongst them would be very rare.
So my question is if it is normal for the fry to have a more orange than red colour at this age?
Another question : AT what age can showa fry be culled taking patern into account as all mine look like black fry with some purple blotches inbetween.
They are not fed any colour enhancing food at the moment.
This is my first try at breeding so any comments would be greatly appreciated. :shock: :shock:

[MikeM]

Dick Benbow posted info on kohaku fry on Dec. 20 in the Developing Sanke thread. Sounds like yours are doing just right for their age.

[dick benbow]

Hey Jaco!
Haven't seen a post from you in a while. good to hear from you!

Kohaku babies should be like ki-hakus, that is the beni should be yellow.

when those koi get up about 3-4 inches you'll see some oranger beni,and
some patterns you diddn't see earlier. if you can separate them according to size, cause the big ones keep getting bigger and they dominate the food over thier mates! that would be in your interest.

usually with showa fry I select for kohaku pattern as many times the black
is not available for a while. they are usually up around 3-4 inches. I have had beautiful 3-4 step red patterns as fry only to have them develop black patterns especially around the tail stop and completely cover the last red spot! Oh well...makes you appreciate a good one when you get one!
good luck with your effort and keep us posted. Maurice, a frequent poster
on this site has done an excellent job of breeding and hopefully he will add
his input or you can ask him direct! he's in the UK

[jacovors]

Thanks guys , now I know what to look for.
What do you suggest would happen to the largely black fry with white bellies,are they doomed?
I have found there is not a lot of info on the web regarding culling of any koi and to do this from a novice point I am scared to cull and destroy the best ones accidently.
I have read Maurice's web from cover to cover and if I end up with some fish like he spawned I would be more than happy,but alas no info on what to cull and what to keep.
Did I hit the jackpot or am I kidding myself?
Jaco.

[Maurice]

Jaco, you're doing a good job by the sound of things. As Dick states above kohaku start out yellow, slowly any that are going to attain a pattern change, areas that will become white, lighten and areas of red go a little darker. I only have limited experience, but from my early findings, the ones that red up early look like being males and paler ones, which tend to be bigger I think will end up being females, Brady may be able to step in and help with this type of forecasting?
If you’re seeing patterns coming I would keep a smile on your face, as many will just be benigoi and shiromuji. Sounds like your getting good growth in your warm climate (hisses me off, all you guys in the warm parts of the world!)
Watch what you’re doing, this is very addictive!!
Best of luck,
Maurice.

[jacovors]

This year is a hot one with daily temps seldom below 35c.
The mudpond temp is at 28c now and I do have airation going 24/7.
I will try to get a decent pic today at feeding time so as to give an idea of the fry and what they look like now.
I got very few shiro muji from the kohaku spawning but quite a few bekko from the sanke spawning.
I did leave 9 large koi in the pond with the eggs and the amount still born and growing is astounding.The spawning consisted of showa kohaku and sanke combined as I thought this year would only be a practice run.Funny how many kohaku were born.Two males and three female are kohaku and the rest sanke and one showa male.
Hope I do not get too many kohaku that produce shimmi later in life.
Like I said next year I will try to keep varieties together and spawn only one kind each year as I have only one mudpond.
Like Maurice said , it sure can become a very interesting part of the hobby and who knows maybe hoping against hope there can be one. THE ONE.
Thanks guys.

[luke frisbee]

Jaco,
funny how many kohaku? you just wait a few months.......the showa will show(a) up in your Winter.
If you take a pic, could you make it of just a few close up? And post as many as they'll let you....I love looking at baby pictures.

[jacovors]

Not very easy taking pictures of fry moving at 100mph while feeding,but I did my best and it should give you some idea of what they look like.
Funny how proud I feel standing next to the pond watching the small koi and all I did was to supply the environment and oppertunity.
Nature sure does it best.
Fry was spawned on 1st December and should have hatched around 4 to 5 Dec 2003

[jacovors]

Some more.

[Alex Gibbs]

Jaco,
Very interesting, is that the head of one of the parents in the first photo? Do you have any pics of the parents from before the spawn?

Best Regards,
Alex Gibbs