Guess the breeder

[Tom C]

Can I ask how long you have been breeding koi?

Tom

[jacovors]

Hi Tom,

This will be my second season now.
These fish are from my first attempt last year and I left the parents with the fry in the mud pond so had only 6000 fry to select from.
This year I tried metalics and had about 200 000 fry to select from so I guess the quality would be much better, I hope.
Jaco

[B.Scott]

Quite admirable Jac, I imagine it is quite an undertaking not to mention the work involved.

I hope you don't feel I was too hard on the fish in my posts above but you asked for an honest opinion.

The one thing I can't stand is when some water gardener posts pictures of her pond pigs (I mean fish so ugly you would be loath to feed them to your cats) and all the others on the board fawn over them and say how nice they are (retch).
Mind you what you have achived in a single season is a far cry from those. Naturally you have room to improve but you are on the right path without a doubt.
B.Scott

[jacovors]

Thanks B. Scott,

I asked for you're honest opinion and got it.Now I know where to improve and how to change my culling regime.
Thanks again,
Jaco.

[Tom C]

Jaco since you asked for our honest opinions, here's mine. The reason for asking how long you have been breeding koi is I think your doing a hell of a good job for only two seasons. It take some people yearsssss to get koi like that. I tried breeding a few years ago and I can tell you it's not easy, and I will never do it again. To get koi that look like the koi your have takes a eye if you ask me. If you were here in the US I would add you to some of the top breeders. Are they as nice as some of the koi that come out of Japan, not yet, but from only two seasons you're on your way.

What do your breeders look like. I would love to see what you used as parents for these koi.

Keep up the great work!

Tom

[jacovors]

Thanks Tom,

I appreciate the compliments.
I will try and sort out some pics today and post them for you.
All females are from Shintaro and Tosio Sakai.
Males are from Japan Israel and Taiwan.
Thanks again
Jaco

[jacovors]

Here are some pics of the parent koi.

Not very good pics, sorry.
First pic Israel Sanke male,second and third pic Shintaro female,same koi three years appart.
4th Pic female Sakai sanke.
5th Pic Tawanese male Sanke
6th Pic Breeder uknown but Japanese.

[Sanke56]

Jaco
Those are very interesting adults how big where they and how old when you did the breeding? Were they all together in the pond and was it in your big pond from the website or how big was the pond they spawned in. I spawned some of my sakai kohaku and sanke this year I got a very small spawning. They spawned late and there were very few survivors and they have little or no color. The parents are nicely colored.

[jacovors]

Hi Sanke,Most of the female parents are over 70cm and between 4 and 5 years old.
I placed all the koi in the large mud pond and let then do their thing.
There remained a total of about 6000 fry to choose from.
I removed all the male koi when I did the first culling to prevent a further spawning.
Now the question remains : Who are the parents of the good offspring?
When I spawn again I will use one male to one female and raise the fry in separate ponds like I did this year with the metalics.

Jaco

[Sanke56]

Jaco if you use only one male he may be a dud and hence you don't get a spawning but if you do you know exactly who the parents are. I will use fewer adults in my spawning this year too as they all eat eggs big time so the fewer in there the more eggs that should survive. Last year after one spawning they were all egg hunting big time. The sooner you get them out after the spawning the better.


My main goal right now is to get the parents in good shape and to select the spawners for the coming season. When is your spawning season.