New Tosai Kohaku....and Showa

[dtbh]

As promised, attached is the photo of my new tosai kohaku that I brought back home last weekend. Since I was going to quarantine this koi I bought a tosai showa to keep her company ("itchy" hands too ).

Some info on these fish :
1. Kohaku - 46cm, offspring of Benihanako (Sakai, Hiroshima), DOB June 04.
2. Dainichi showa - 41cm

I am not a fan of Benihanako but I just love the body conformation of this kohaku. Hope you all do too. Please feel free to give your comments on these two new kois of mine because I will continue to post updates on them (like all the kois I have posted before) as we go along so that we can see how they develop.

Thanks, dtbh

[aquitori]

I am a Kohak lover, but damn I really like the Dainichi Showa...Would like to see that fish in a couple of months after the growing season. You have a real keeper in the Showa. The Kohak I have to admit that it is okay, but has the quality there. Nice pick ups!!!!

[kenshi4lyfe]

nice showa.. but is it just me or is the black only coming out on the red? this ain't no kage showa now is it? curious.. =)

[MikeM]

dbth: Once more you have true gems added to your collection. Both are superb. I presume both are female? The Showa gets the attention now, and I would certainly enjoy having her. I do hold Showa dear. But, the Kohaku has such perfect proportions. I am very surprised such a female was offered for sale at this time of year. Sakai must have a very good crop, or perhaps the consequences of the Niigata earthquakes has resulted in this one being made available? Congratulations.

[dtbh]

Roger, I am fascinated by how you "dissected" the kois and did your detailed evaluations. I hope they will turn out the way you described which is more than I dare ask of them. We will know over the next few months. I suppose I can thank my lucky stars you did not notice her before I did.

Mike, the kohaku was bought by the dealer after the last auction at Sakai Hiroshima and was brought in a couple of months back. The hi faded badly the day after and I presume that was why noone paid any attention to her. I was immediately attracted to her nice body and shiroji, and told the dealer I will buy her if the hi improves. It is guaranteed by Sakai to be a female. You rightly hinted that by eye-balling her she looks quite masculine with the strong pectoral and tail fins. Believe you me I have my reservations too. I "molested" her so many times over the past couple of months and each time I cannot find any evidence of it being anything other than a female. Anyway I have been proven wrong before and only time will tell.

The showa was an incidental purchase. She was in the same pond as this kohaku. I noticed her while looking for the kohaku and after netting her my mind was made up. Again only a probable female despite the dealer's guarantee.

Lets see how they develop and many thanks.

[dick benbow]

both are worthy! being a former showa fan ( before my love of them olde blue fish ) I definetely am attracted to the ........Kohaku! you have a real koi there!

[dinh]

Both are very nice - but seems like the showa will end up with
heavy sumi on the head. I personally like to have three
colors on the head for showa.

[dtbh]

Dear Roger, that's why I said I thanked my lucky stars for you not noticing her since you had "stopped buying". I agree the regulars are the ones who will be there to literally wait for the shipment to arrive at the centre eventhough it was late at night. Most of the time the typical good ones (usually and esp finished kois) will be taken the minute they are out of the bag. And these usually tend to be more expensive for obvious reasons. I prefer to wait for a few days for them to stabilise and hopefully get a bargain in the process.

I wonder if this is the case elsewhere where hobbyists practically camp at the centre to await the arrival of new shipments? Rain or shine?

As regards whether you will get another good jumbo tosai, the answer is obviously yes. The Japanese and esp the famous breeders will continue to present to us good quality kois and with your sharp eyes not many will go through you unnoticed and "undissected". It is only a matter of dollars and cents.

Hi Dick, I am a kohaku fan but have a soft spot for showas and shiro utsuris as well. This kohaku gets my vote too. I have been looking at the koi daily in the quarantine FG tank. She is one of the few kois that I have where the beauty grows on me; the more I look at her the better she looks. The body is good, shiroji is porcelain white, beni is good, and the pattern is well balanced eventhough the middle patch is a bit too heavy. This is thankfully "equalised" by the clean dorsal fin. I cannot ask for anything more at this price. To me the most attractive part is the front third and I especially like the 1-scale shashi. My job now is to nurture and allow her to grow to her potential.

Hi dinh, it is my sentiment too regarding the heavy head sumi. If you look closely this sumi is of not-so-good quality in which case may clean up a bit and hopefully end up beautifully. I do not have any concrete experience to draw on regarding this type of sumi on the head. I hope you guys out there may be able to give us some insight on this.

Thanks and cheers, dtbh

[dtbh]

Hi guys,

It was our national day holiday yesterday. Was lazing around my pond and decided to net my fish to see how they have developed. Netted this Sakai Benihanako and confirmed it to be a female (phew). Gained 5cm since last month (now 51cm), and as you can see, she has put on a bit.

Will continue to monitor her progress.

dtbh

[tewa]

hey dtbh

looks like its coming along very nicely, the quality of beni and shiroji is great wish i had access to koi like that here

tewa