| Hi paul. Thanks for sharing your new acquisition. I'll jump in with comment, but take what I say as less worthy of weight than the more experienced koikeepers who visit this board. I put my thoughts down and then hope others will point out areas of disagreement. I learn better from my mistakes and oversights, and commenting on fish people post is sort of a test of myself, I'd guess you'd say.
First, seems from pics to have good color quality. The Hi seems deep and the shiro is very clean. Body proportions are good. The Hi at base of her left pectoral is not too much. Based on what folks with much more experience say, I'd expect it to tighten up as she grows. So, while Hi on pecs is not desired, this should not be of consequence. I'd like to see a thicker tail, but she is just 14 months old. It is said that it takes 2 full growing seasons for the true character of the tail tube to be obvious. I'm not sure how the Momotaro "brand" jumbos fit that. I expect that while she is as big as a 24 month Kohaku grown elsewhere, she should be viewed as what she is ... 14 months. So, not sure where that gets us.
Pattern: Not what I prefer in the best of all worlds, but hard part is how she will look when she gets big. For this size, the head marking seems a bit sloppy, going down too far past the nose and too much on the one eye. I'd prefer a cleaner maruten, or more Hi giving a more dramatic look. But, I'm having a hard time imagining her at 30" ... it may be that the first step takes on a more "jaunty" look, kind of like a hat worn at an angle?
The second step is nice and goes down the flanks where it can handle growth in the shoulder area ... and she has nice big shoulders. The third step looks O.K. now, but as she grows I think it will sit on her back as a nice accent, but not much power to it. If the 4th step was larger and separated from the tail fin, I think the 3rd step would turn out fine. So, the real "problem" to my eye is the 4th step not being of sufficient size and placement to balance the weight of the pattern on the front half. Now, if her head was marked with a perfect maruten and the 4th step had greater weight with a balanced odome, would you venture to guess how much more expensive she would have been? It's more than I spend per fish, so I'll not even venture a guess!
Should you show her? Absolutely! But, not yet. The Hi needs to deepen. There is a lot of blurred sashi because she is so young and is from a line bred to be grown large. Show her now, and you will be disappointed with the results unless it is a show with little competition. I expect her true character will not be seen until she is 4 or 5 years old. In small sizes, pattern is heavily weighted. Her strength will be in her size and the quality of her colors. The "cute young things" will be past their prime when this one comes into her best form.
Will she win a major prize? (You did not ask, but most folks want to know the chances when they ask about showing.) Have no idea. One of the judges who visits here would be better to comment, but they'd likely say: "Depends on the competition on the day." ... But I do think she is one folks will enjoy seeing. And, if she has been grown to her potential, there is no embarassment in losing out to another. Shows would be pretty feeble if only the top prize winners entered ... in fact, they'd be the top winners only because nobody gave them a run for it. A Grand Champion in a one fish show is kind of a silly thought, no? So, grow her to her potential and enter her to keep the competition honest. Know what? You might take something home & a bunch of spectators will have had a much more enjoyable outing.
Congrats on your Kohaku. You're going to have fun watching her develop. Keep us posted as she grows. It would be neat to see if I guessed right at anything! | 
09-08-2004
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