Size vs Quality at koi show???

[Brady Brandwood]

"The color was youthful and of classic matsunsuke quailty. It was amazing to see a fish with three dimensions to it scale and fukurin skin areas. The sumi was thick even on a three dimensional skin and scale surface."

This really is a HUGE factor in this discussion, and right on, as usual from JR!
As a Koi passes 28" the color and skin quality on many take a huge dive, IF the Koi is even able to surpass 28",... a Koi that shows size and volume,... AND still shows excellent color and skin quality is truly a rare work! The ability to grow and to excel in color and skin is an incredible accomplishment,... which is worthy of being called the best! It really takes experience to determine what is an accomplished Koi,... for instance, knowing what IS excellent coloration and skin on a 34" Koi - it really takes looking at a lot of 34" Koi,... or a lot of 32" Koi, or a lot of 36" Koi, to calibrate the eye.

Best Wishes,
Brady Brandwood

[James P]

Well as I said, you need to have seen that fish in person at the show. The sanke simply dwarfed the Hiroshima kohaku and made it look insignificant. The usual impression a Sakai two, three or four step kohaku leaves is one of a very white, very clean very voluminous kohaku with a bright beni. The sanke overwhelmed this look with a more sophisticated look as I described earlier.



It is also true that the shinkokai had an imaginary bounty reward out there for years for the first breeder that produced a 1 meter gosanke. So there was a lot of excitement on the day of the show when rumors spread that a meter long sanke was being exhibited. I’m sure this influenced the judges a bit?



As to the quality issue, both fish were of quality. The knock on the sanke that showed in some photos was the off white of the ground color in some shots. The shiro was not as white on the sanke as the kohaku. But the quality and uniformity of the colors on a three colored fish vs. a two color fish was good enough to edge out the kohaku. The size impression sealed the deal.



You have to realize that fundamental to the judging of koi is a desire to never overlook exceptional qualities for technically correct fish only. The sanke was a prime example of what the new judging approach was designed for- reward the exceptional.

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by JR Well as I said, you need to have seen that fish in person at the show. The sanke simply dwarfed the Hiroshima kohaku and made it look insignificant. The usual impression a Sakai two, three or four step kohaku leaves is one of a very white, very clean very voluminous kohaku with a bright beni. The sanke overwhelmed this look with a more sophisticated look as I described earlier. It is also true that the shinkokai had an imaginary bounty reward out there for years for the first breeder that produced a 1 meter gosanke. So there was a lot of excitement on the day of the show when rumors spread that a meter long sanke was being exhibited. I’m sure this influenced the judges a bit? As to the quality issue, both fish were of quality. The knock on the sanke that showed in some photos was the off white of the ground color in some shots. The shiro was not as white on the sanke as the kohaku. But the quality and uniformity of the colors on a three colored fish vs. a two color fish was good enough to edge out the kohaku. The size impression sealed the deal. You have to realize that fundamental to the judging of koi is a desire to never overlook exceptional qualities for technically correct fish only. The sanke was a prime example of what the new judging approach was designed for- reward the exceptional.

Cool, thanks for the explaination JR...

[111whalen]

Wow, like usual there are lots of ideas about size and quality. I didn't hear any facts on the difficulty of raising a 90 cm. gosanke. How may have done that? Of course, if it is pond quality, the bets are off. Having been in the hobby a long time I realize how difficult it is to grow a large fish and maintain the quality. Lots of 30cm. fish with high quality but to get to 80 and still get good whites, etc. things have to be perfect.
Mark