this is a special time in japan

[dick benbow]

when the quiet work of final decisons is underway. Breeders are checking the condition of their carryovers and deciding what to keep and what to off according to the grow ponds available. It's a time when dealers who make a living off purchasing tategoi tosai make their rounds to see what's available by making social calls/rounds. It's a fun to share stories yet a time for serious business.
meanwhile like parts of Europe and the U.S., portions of japan are still putting up with the weatherman! here in the pacific northwest the mountains are getting goodly numbers of accumulations of the white stuff and some is predicted in the seattle area this weekend.

increasing numbers of dealers make the Spring run, to augment their declining numbers of koi for sale . It can be an excellent time to get hold of a good tosai to raise. One that was very close to going out in the mud ponds but didn't make the cut. Usually the first or second week of april is the busiest time and within a week to 10 days the results of the dealer's searchings
begin to arrive.Ahhh, the joys of May day!

around here, it';s a time to get out your old koi bito's and re-read some articles on tosai selection. Anyone gutsy enought to ask Brian what's on Tap for the next isssue?

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow when the quiet work of final decisons is underway. Breeders are checking the condition of their carryovers and deciding what to keep and what to off according to the grow ponds available. It's a time when dealers who make a living off purchasing tategoi tosai make their rounds to see what's available by making social calls/rounds. It's a fun to share stories yet a time for serious business. meanwhile like parts of Europe and the U.S., portions of japan are still putting up with the weatherman! here in the pacific northwest the mountains are getting goodly numbers of accumulations of the white stuff and some is predicted in the seattle area this weekend. increasing numbers of dealers make the Spring run, to augment their declining numbers of koi for sale . It can be an excellent time to get hold of a good tosai to raise. One that was very close to going out in the mud ponds but didn't make the cut. Usually the first or second week of april is the busiest time and within a week to 10 days the results of the dealer's searchings begin to arrive.Ahhh, the joys of May day! around here, it';s a time to get out your old koi bito's and re-read some articles on tosai selection. Anyone gutsy enought to ask Brian what's on Tap for the next isssue?

Have to say I am getting hyped for "Tosai Season"!!! Everyone has tosai to select and that dream of finding and raising a gem amonst plain rocks...

[dick benbow]

So...What is some of the criteria you look for in selection a tosai. Let's say we have a big enough pond to do justice to growth and a very good filter system
to help develop the skin and color?

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow So...What is some of the criteria you look for in selection a tosai. Let's say we have a big enough pond to do justice to growth and a very good filter system to help develop the skin and color?

I keep in mind Mr. Takigawa's selection process of tosai, big head(in width and lenght), big eyes and long body. This what I generally look for Dick in my gosanke selection. I do look at the overall quality of the tosai, kinda of gamble each year but nothing can replace the learning experience. How about you Dick?

[dubtaco]

An important thing to look for is the body shape, a big head and eyes that are far apart, usually a good sign that the koi will grow big. Even if the koi has a nice pattern and skin, if the body is no good the end result of the koi may be less than pleasing.

[dick benbow]

I look for a long head, a bigger tail tube ( tuff to see sometimes but if you know what to look for you can see it while comparing ) and a bigger than average hump just in front of the dorsal.( you can go extreme here so be careful ) I like my whites and reds to be soft. I don't want something that's got the pattern already as it's too expensive. Give me something with black that may surprise me because it's unknown. I like tosai with black stong in the head shoulder area because the tail usually fills in later. Often black misses the heads on showa and shoulders on sanke. I also like to check the black and red along the bottom of a pattern to see how crisp the edges are. It always starts at the bottom edge to give you an idea of what to expect. At Tosai,when buying for
a future fish, pattern has no dominance only it's quality. What i focus on is the body shape at this stage.