How to improve Hi on a koi?

[jjkon]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post. I would like to how you koi keepers try to improve hi on a koi. It may be a stupid question but I would like to know.

Thank you for your responses

John

[MikeM]

You need some of the folks with long years of experience to share some advice. I'll start with the following:

1. Do not use color enhancing food until the koi is reaching maturity.

2. If you are willing to work at water parameters, then soft water is better than hard water.

3. Maintain high water quality with low nitrate.

4. Natural sunlight, but not too much. Let her have shady retreats.

[dick benbow]

stay away from hi PH

if your concerned about the density of the beni do not push growth

[jjkon]

Thanks Mike and Dick for the repsonses.

Mike, 1,3,and 4 no problem. 2 soft water at what KH level (range) would be considered as soft water.

Dick, what level of ph would be considered high?

[Arthur]

Right on Mike.

No color enhancing food until getting ready for show. Read food labeling carefully: many food that don't advertise them contain them.

For best beni, water should be below 60ppm kH, with experience, some high-end koikeepers will keep it under 40ppm.

Nitrates, which accumulate rapidly in a closed system, can make more damage than is readily apparent: yellows shiro and beni. Keep it down with a good water exchange routine and a veggie pond (water hyacynths work great) that the pond water circulates through. Make sure to regularly shake the plants and remove the organic debris.

A deep pond (more than 6 feet) will provide the required shaded areas as the sun goes round (except in the tropics of course). In addition, for the middle of summer, even here in the Pacific Northwest, a BLACK shade cloth of 55-65% density helps. I have seen gosanke with sunburn: it is horrible, the whole skin peals off.

Most problems (other than genetic) affecting the quality of beni are with water quality, especially organic laden water. Exchange a lot of water or make sure the DOCs are pulled out.

Oh, the point Dick made is very true. I recently asked a Japanese breeder about pond loading with tosai. He responded that any more than 4-5 tons per tosai will cause excessive growth and loss of beni.

MIke: really did not mean to step on your 4 points, but thought a few more details might be helpful.

[Mike T]

Sometime during the past year or so, there were a number of posts which said some dealers painted the walls of their ponds and koi display areas green because it enhanced the color of Hi on Koi...Not physically but optically...

You mentioned that you made the mistake of using Green Shade cloth...What was the effect of the green cloth?

Am about ready to replace my new maize shade cloth with Black so thought I'd ask this question...If green make the hi look better, why wouldn't I use that...Since I don't show the koi outside of this one pond, I could live with the optical illusion of better hi...

Your comments will be greatly appreciated...even if they are negative...

Aloha! Mike

[aquitori]

Have to agree with you guys, just the right amount of sun light, stay away from color enhancing foods, maintain water quality....Also pick the type of beni you want to keep in the pond. There is Kagura Beni (scarlet red) and Persimmon beni (orange color)....

[Arthur]

MikeT

The Japanese have learned to enhance the look of beni on their koi by painting their ponds in medium green. The reason that this works is that green in opposite to red on the color wheel. The ONLY way to see the koi true color is to look at it in a white or a black tub (this is why my photographs are taken in a black tub).

This is very different than flooding the pond in green color from the sun/daylight, which gives everything a green overtone, like through green tinted sunglasses.

The only neutral colors are white and black. White reflects light and black does not. That is why shade (neutral colored) cloth is balck.

Bottom line is: green shade cloth will make shiro look greenish and beni purplish. Not the same as beni in true daylight AGAINST a green background.

Clear enough?

[Mike T]

Arthur:

Thanks for the clear explanation... It's black shade cloth for us...

Aloha! Mike

[Bancherd]

"Do not use color enhancing food until.... "


Could someone please explain why we should not give color enhancing feeds to young koi? Does it affect the size or density of color cells(non-scientific term)?


Thank you in advance.