Fry "appreciation", pics

[gregbickal]

Go see my spawning blog.... With thousands of fry, its a little hard to keep just one around to photograph. Here's one from 2004 spawning I have been keeping pictures of pretty early on. It hatched out in one of my waterfall pools, and so it was easy to find and photograph.

[koifishgirl]

Greg how long do you think I will need to hold on to my fry before I start to cull? I have so much to learn, my first spawn will be Kohaku and if I start culling and I dont know what I am doing then I may throw out good koi. I can see from the photo the difference in that koi, it looks no where near what it did and the black nose is gone, I liked that about that koi and it just went away.
Im thinking of doing only one spawn this year and holding on to the lot and taking pics and logging the changes in the koi, but since all koi are different Im not sure what to do. Its going to be very hard for me, I can see that now. Would I be able after the second spawn to start culling sooner or are all spawn going to be different.

[gregbickal]

If you are spawning for Kohaku only you could cull out the black ones after only a couple weeks. This will be my first year culling, so I can't offer you much in the way of advice.

As for the koi in the picture, the sumi on the back that dissappeared will most likely be comming back up when it hits 3 years old. This koi should turn out to be an Aka Sanke.

[luke frisbee]

Kgirlie,
I take it you are raising koi for the US mass market as well as the discerning Koi Hobbyist.
So do not listen to the esteemed veteran of 6 years. if you have the pond space, and from what you've posted you will have more than enough for the Autumn spawn. Cull out the disfigured ones.
How ever you could start learning your breeding potential and your eye and the different development that occurs by having some 15 x 20 ponds. In each pond place 20 koi that look the same that are representative of a trait you ahve identified in your fry. last year I took 20 slate blue Pickal Goi and this year they are long fin Ochiba shigure(sp). None of the brown was showing last year. I was hoping I'd get some soft blue soragois.
A really good thing would be to take a bucket full of GC Fry...ones that look like they could win with their baby clothes on and stick them in apond...next year you'll know what they do. And try your eye at tategoing...pick 30 of the ones you think will kick butt next year...who knows maybe you will be right.
but hen you turn 20,000 fry back loose in the pond it is tough to recognize the "question" koi in the Spring.

[luke frisbee]

Kgirlie,
Pickal's Blog is very good. Please do yourself a favor and read it...Maurice has an excellent site for you as well.

[koifishgirl]

Thanks Luke, I had not thought of that. Using a small batch like that I will be

able to tell what is happening with the koi, makes good sence to me.

I have a small koi in my pond now and I dont know what it is going to turn into. I thought I would keep the ugly koi just to see, it was a plain jane, just a dark colored koi and now I see doitus scales on top with some hi although the koi is still dark, I am not sure what it going to be when it grows up but whatever it is Im going to keep it. I really dont get these dark koi. One that I thought was a ochiba turned out to be a Hariwake, the patch when they first came up looked kind of a deep orange brownish color and then before I knew it they are yellow. My guess is it going to take me a few seasons on each type of koi before I get it right. Then I got a little showa I think that I am keeping to see how it turns out. I can tell you it has a hell of a pattern and good color, my luck it wont stay that way. No koi I have ever seen when small stays that way. I got one that the sumi is great, shines like the sun and what I thought was shiro is a very pretty shade of blue, what this koi is I dont have a clue. Im thinking the koi is going to turn solid black, I really dont know. I hope I can get some pics this weekend as they are going to the mud pond to grow for a while. maybe you guy can give me a hand with these little ones.

[estanque_koi]

Hi all
Greg,
Artemia and other types of live food is indeed excellent for the fry develoment.
However, what a relief when they start feeding grinded flakes and pellets!
I have already set up some small programmable automatic feeders, therefore the amount of work has decreased a lot. The only critical point is water quality. I'm using oversized filtration system with Kaldnes K1, so water parameters are allright despite heavy feeding in rather small pools. Other people use frequent water changes.

Judy,
I agree with you that would be most interesting to have a series of pictures of individual fry as they develop. However, when you have to raise several thousands of fry (besides of your work and other duties), believe me, days become too short.
Diego

[gregbickal]

Here's one I photographed last night. Comming along nicely. I would call it an Asagi, however it doesnt have any red, so mabye a Matsuba. I know what to look for when they are very young.

[gregbickal]

Koi on the left is another one that I am watching with some interest. I didnt photograph it last night. This protograph is from November 2004. Some Sumi is going to come up on this koi, mabye right down the dorsal line.

These are the fun ones to watch. The mother to this koi, is probably the one on the right, but, who was the father, what refinement will he bring into the mix ? You never know what your gonna get with mutts, or flock spawning.