Shimi question

[Kenika S]

Aloha All,
I'm hoping someone on the list can answer a question for me. I have several Kohaku and a couple of them have developed a shimi or two, one in particular seems to get a new one every year! I was wondering if anyone knows the cause of shimi's, are they just a genetic luck of the draw or caused by enviromental factors. Some do seem more prominent in the spring, then seem to fade with warmer temperatures.
Thanks,
Dennis

[l113892]

Kenika-

Both. Specific bloodlines seem to put off shimmies and hard water seems to cause shimmies.

Mike Pfeffer

[MikeM]

...... and as you have observed, cool water can bring out sumi.

[dick benbow]

hi Dennis!
Just to add to the frustration of the situation (heredity vs water) temp etc........
some shimmie can easily be removed as it forms on the outside of the scale and can be scraped off with a thumb nail, while others are under the scale in the skin.
a water test should give you a hardness picture. if you buy your koi from the same supplier/breeder who may want to try and have your supplier get in a different breeder's koi to try. our water in the northwest
is very soft and i have wonderful results with hasegawa's koi (ojiya).
Sakai of hiroshima and especially his sensuke based bloodline koi gets
shimmie within a year? So I quess what I'm saying is you may want to try some variables starting first with bloodline. yo-yoing water conditions
as you play with water chemistry is not condusive for healthy koi in the rest of your population
often if you talk with japanese breeders ( or read the inetrviews Brian does here on KB, )you'll discover that water conditions favor certain kinds of koi and a breeder may drop kohaku and go to sanke or showa because of thier local water conditions. they need to have thier black encouraged!
Please don't get frustrated with the situation. use it as a challenge to figure out a way to live with or change to something that brings you the joy of koi.

mahalo

[Bern]

Hi Dennis,

I'm a 'both' convert too.

I live in a hard water area and here's a few findings.

Hasegawa - stay shimmie free.
Yamamatsu - ditto
Marujyu - ditto

Ogawa - a seasonal feint brown one high on the dorsal ridge, disappears in summer.
Mano - blighted by the dark sumi kind. A real bugger as this fish easily has the best shiroji.

rgds BERN

[l113892]

I agree with Dick. Look for the Manzo bloodline and you'll find shimmies also.

Torazo(Manzo)- shimmies
Marudo- no shimmies(so far)

Also, I have found shimmies on the bottom side of the scale that can be removed.

Mike

[Kenika S]

Mahalo to everyone who responded,
That's what I thought. I have fish from Sakai of Hiroshima, and Kawakami, and some have developed shimi's and others have not (yet anyway!) I'll have to keep my eyes open for other bloodlines and see if they do better here.
Mahalo,
Dennis

[B.Scott]

Three of my Hasagawa kohaus got shimmies. But when I started increasing my water changes, the went away. I tend to look at it as a frekkel. Irritate the skin and it show up. Give it a rest and it fades. Just like in people.
B.Scott