How to pick a stable Tancho?

[aquitori]

How to pick a stable Tancho? I know this isn't an exact science but I heard that the cleaner or the sharper the kiwa is on the Tancho it is more stable...Any thoughts on this?

[luke frisbee]

let me go get a pic of sharp kiwa and then shiromuji 2 months later...well it doesn't show how truly sharp the edge was, but the whole spot was GONE in less than two months. First the stick faded and i was pretty happy, but then the rest of it faded away

[luke frisbee]

I now believe a stable tancho spot is what you see on a 5 yr old koi

[MikeM]

I have acquired a few tosai Tancho that faded over the years. Things I've noted: (1) The hi is very bright, very red; (2) Traces of pink on the body ... what I believe was Hi that faded already; (3) A blur along the edge of the Maruten, perhaps only a thin blurry line; and (4) Very reasonable or low prices. The lesson: If it was any good, it would not be sold as Tosai. Good Tancho are very rare. They are, indeed, a chance creation of nature.

[Russell Peters]

I had two very high quality Tancho that were over 8 years old when they lost there Tancho. Stress seemed to be a big factor with both of these Koi.

[bekko]

How quickly we forget.

Stress In Tancho Kohaku&

MikeM, are the "(2) Traces of pink on the body ... what I believe was Hi that faded already" different from the stress blushing discussed six months ago?

You know, beginners raising fry from a gosanke spawn always think they have a lot of tancho when the fish are a few months old. Almost invariably, this psuedo-tanchoi mark disappears and the fish grows into a shiro muji. The second time around, you learn to discard these fish much earlier. Someone, somewhere, once said this psuedo-tancho mark in young fish is a thin place in the skin in the center of the head and the red is not beni, but the lack of any pigment. I wonder if there is any relationship between this area of thin skin, thin pigment, and the propensity for tancho to loose their spot.

-steveh opkins

[aquitori]

Let's just say if a Tancho had a red at the base of the pec, would that tell us it is less likely to lose the Tancho?

[Mike T]

Toni:

Wish you had asked this question before I bought our Tancho last May... From what I'm reading, our only hope of our tancho surviving in it's present state, is the fact that Shir picked it out for herself and Ken didn't have any room for it...

Will report back in 8 years unless the tancho slips off before then...

Aloha! Mike T

[dick benbow]

steve: enjoyed your comments on culling. My best koi this year was a tancho kohaku.

As mentioned stress and tosai can be all the ingredients needed to make the
marking go away as can high PH.

The 5 year old comment may have sounded brash but the truth of the matter is
3 years and older is a better bet.

2 koi color variations are the canary in the coal mine for water keepers. Shiro utsuri and tancho kohaku.

my favorite koi doesn't seem to loose red but keeps growing it as it's ages!

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike T Toni: Wish you had asked this question before I bought our Tancho last May... From what I'm reading, our only hope of our tancho surviving in it's present state, is the fact that Shir picked it out for herself and Ken didn't have any room for it... Will report back in 8 years unless the tancho slips off before then... Aloha! Mike T

I heard your soft water in Hawaii is good for beni anyways...I love the fact you can get growth all year around and maintain your beni....jealous..