koi spawning question, chaser and chasee

[saratogatan]

well, my kois are spawning like crazy when I was gone. The chasees are definated female. Here is my question: are chasers always males ?

stan

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by saratogatan well, my kois are spawning like crazy when I was gone. The chasees are definated female. Here is my question: are chasers always males ? stan

Stan, chasers are always males, but there are times when smaller/younger females will get in the mix of chasing because they are hungry for some eggs...

[Mike T]

Stan:

Great Question!!!!! Until this past weekend, we thought our small pond contained females only, then our Ochiba spawned and we suspected the Ai goromo to be the fox in lambs clothing... Then the next morning all the koi were chasing each other and some of them spawned... The Goromo, which was chased the most, looks a lot thinner, once again, foam and eggs all over the place...

The only koi to stay out of the action was the Ochiba which spawned first...

I have the same question, "do females also chase"...these koi are all 22" plus...

Aloha! Mike

[keokoi]

MikeT, see what happens when you get heart shape tancho... Love is in da air bruddah! hahahah...


Joe

[Mike T]

Joe:

Now you tell me!!! Anyway, thanks for sending it over...

Aloha! Mike T

[bekko]

When a female koi is preparing to ovulate, all the other fish can smell it. The males start following and keeping close track of the situation least they miss out on the action. The smell also alerts the other females about what is going to happen and stimulates them into ovulation if they have well developed eggs. There is a benefit to synchronized mass spawning episodes because the egg/fry predators will be overwhelmed and the likelihood that an individual will survive is increased. A mass spawning episode in a confined pond is chaos. It is difficult to determine who is chasing who. When spawning is in progress, look to see which fish are trying to lift another fish out of the water - look for lifters and liftees. These are male and female respectively.

-steve hopkins

[D@z]

no chaser are not always male. I have seen a female chase another female and rid her of her eggs. No idea why and I'm sure it isn't commen but I have definitely seen it happen.

[saratogatan]

my kois spawned for 6 consecutive days, creating a mess. Some of the 'female's I bought are definately males. in the midst of this chaos, everyone being the chaser and the chaser and chasee. Saw a couple of lifters, so those must be males. Also saw a couple bending their bodies against the chasees, those should be male too, right ?

stan