Tosai...What is your read...

[delaney]

Wow--I have your tosai's twin--at least as far as pattern goes.

Mine is a Marudo tosai, bought last spring. Has grown from 6.5" to over 12", when this pix was taken early in November.

[Mike T]

Aquitori:

Water directly from the tap registers at 3.3 dH for both KH and GH..

Aloha! Mike

[Dale Torok]

Aki-San,

You say you were surfing websites and ran across this kohaku for sale. Would you mind disclosing what koi web business is offering this fish? Or if that is not kosher here, you could PM me the info.



Also, you mentioned the use of oyster shell by a breeder you visited. I have seen many references to this by other koi hobbyists also. I have a question for all of you who read this who use or have used oyster shell in your koi ponds....in what form do you use it? Do you put whole oyster shells in the water path? Or break them up into smaller pieces with a hammer, for example? I have also seen reference to using the ground up stuff that is sold at farm feed stores for chickens to eat for the calcium. Whee do you put it in the water path? Submerged? In a trickle tower type application? Or doesn't it matter? Put it in a mesh bag and submerge it somewhere in the pond? Will it leach out into the water that way?

Being land locked in the central US, it would be most easy to get the bags of 'chicken scratch' oyster shell, but I would like to know the pros and cons of using oyster shells in that or other forms.

Thank you,
Dale Torok

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by delaney Wow--I have your tosai's twin--at least as far as pattern goes. Mine is a Marudo tosai, bought last spring. Has grown from 6.5" to over 12", when this pix was taken early in November.

Pretty interesting Kohaku...5.5" of growth? Hats off to you...

[Bob Hart]

Scott,

Interesting.......

I suffer with shimmies as well, a great looking Hasegawa Kohaku had 7 at the last count. Hav now stopped buying Kohaku's because of the Shimies, Sank'es and Showa's maybe I can get away with the odd shimie.

I trickle in 500 gallons a day to overflow (no water meter!), turnover 8500 gallons an hour of my 10000 gallon pond and have increased the air to 305 litres going into pond and filters. Nitrates are below 10, but still get the shimmies!!!!

Soon I'm going to add a metals removal cartridge to my incoming water purifier, see if that does anything. Metals are not high, but am running out of ideas!

[B.Scott]

HA now that's a coincidence! The four Kohaku I'm refering to are also from Hasagawa. I had the exact reaction when all the shimmies started coming up... no more Kohaku! I feel different now and I'm glad I kept them. Too bad we have the stupid North Sea between us Bob. It would be interesting to try exchanging a fish for a year to see if yours lost the shimmies and mine got them back.


Perhaps it's a Hasagawa thing. At any rate I'm convinced that some fish are more prone to shimmies than others. While three of the four lost their shimmies, I'm sure the forth would have gotten them no matter where it had been kept

Like wise I'm sure That the fish of certain breeders are more prone to them as well. It may well be that some excellent kohaku need very special conditions to stay that way while others may be a bit more resistant (but perhaps of slightly lesser quality?)
B.Scott

[Akai-San]

I just got a follow-up email from the dealer. Claiming that the momo kohaku absolutely does not have any shimi. Spec we see in the photo is a piece of dirt or rubbish in the water at time of photo...He is trying to send me more photos of this tosai. I'll try and post when I get them, hopefully the next pics will tell another story and provide me yet another lesson.

Dealer did mention that this tosai will remain at Momotaro for growing out to jumbo tosai till around March. Does that mean the buyer of this tosai will have to pay additional keeping fees until Momotaro releases kohaku. This is fish is very expensive (for my taste anyway).

Thinking outloud, do people ever gamble on a fish in hopes that it will turnout and then try to sell the fish to make a small profit? To maybe purchase an even better one. Sorry...it just came to me out of the blue.

[B.Scott]

Akai-San,
If the fish is still at Momotaro's it will most likely mean you will have to pay for growing on and possibly shipping to where you live as well any duty and fees. I would check with the dealer before you conider buying.

[Akai-San]

Thanks for the heads up B.Scott, I knew it had to be more difficult then just purchasing a tosai for later...I wonder how much keeping fees are? I really would like a good look at this tosai...who knows what could happen...hahaha. When I find-out about the fees, do you think people would be interested in knowing? Thanks again...

[B.Scott]

Depends on the age of course. Tosai are the cheapest (more in the pond) and the fee gets larger as the fish become bigger and less of them are put into the mud pond. I think it starts at about $200-300 for a tosai and goes up from there. Remember as well that growing a fish on is at your own risk. if they pull hthe pond in October and the fish is gone then it's tough bananas... you lose.