Auction: Nippon Nishikigoi Ltd. Koi

[MikeM]

The koi up for auction by Nippon Nishikigoi are very interesting fish. One in particular caught my eye... the Goromo. It has the bright red so often seen in Goromo, with the Ai appearing in portions of the Hi, but not throughout. This trait gives more for the eye to catch. I have seen a few photos of ones with this characteristic in Japanese show books. It creates a brilliance that otherwise is not present. I'm curious whether this trait is likely to remain throughout the koi's lifetime. I suspect it will, but do not have experience with it. If I was in Britain, I'd be tempted.

[mynamy1]

That goromo has sharp kiwa and thick even sashi, that means excellent hi. The Ai development is unfinished as yet and shiro is so so nice. Why the price is too low for a good nisai like this? What is the catch? MA Le

ps. Mike, could you take a look at the kohaku too and give me some feed back? Male or female?

[Brian]

I don't think that people realize just quite yet how good a breeder of goromo breeder Takigawa is. Always good value for the money, and NipponKoi are letting these ones go for a mere pennies. I always get to Takigawa too late, and all of his goromo are gone.

[MikeM]

MA le: I really could not begin to guess the sex of the Kohaku. Given its size and age, I'd think it would be possible to determine the sex, but apparently there is some doubt. I think you have to assume it is male. The minimum bid level is very reasonable whatever the sex. A nice fish... if the photo angle was more from the front rather than directly overhead, I think the face marking would grab a lot of attention. It has a graceful look about it.

Brian: Takigawa is not a known name in the U.S., and I cannot recall seeing much in any of the U.K. mags I get from time to time. But, Takigawa koi are showing up this year. Seems to have either exported more to the English-speaking West, or exported to more visible dealers. I've heard that this season U.S. dealers were able to get better quality than normal at breeders they normally frequent and access to others they normally do not patronize. Perhaps Takigawa falls into that category? Anyway, I'm beginning to realize the extent to which there are fine breeders I've hardly heard anything about simply because they are not very prominent in the export market. ....It would be interesting to know how many Best in Variety/ Best in Size and higher awards were won by each breeder's fish in the top dozen Japanese shows...on a per thousand koi produced basis. We all know the big names like Sakai, Momotaro, etc....but these are breeders that produce huge volumes of koi to obtain the few winners. I expect there are small production breeders who do as well or better on a percentage basis, but have little name recognition. (And, hence, more affordable pricing, maybe.)