How to ruin a Shusui

[jnorth]

I'm guessing the water did it. Maybe it was the cold unheated hard winter water. Here is what my shusui looked like when I got early last spring. Whatever it was, make no mistake it was my fault. If the water caused it then its my fault for not keeping it right. (The last statement was for the newer koi keepers, the advanced guys already know it was my fault)

Here is what my shusui looked like when I got early last spring.


Here is the same koi last October. Looks pretty good right? Almost like I knew what I was doing.


Here it is now. Sigh. Another one ruined. Back to the drawing board.

[aquitori]

Damn hard water!!!

[luke frisbee]

Actually Dick you presented the character of a winner....always believe the result was under your control and vow to try again....
We all know sometimes it just don't matter what YOU did.

Edit note: the feudian slip above actually was triggered by seeing a blue and orange koi...I immediately thought Dick benbow....Not JNorth

[mulberryjen]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee Edit note: the feudian slip above actually was triggered by seeing a blue and orange koi...I immediately thought Dick benbow....Not JNorth

Is a feudian slip when you fall down before you can pull the trigger?

Jim, I noticed a few shimi's on my asagi this week as well.....say it ain't so! Daggone hard water.

[dick benbow]

In the spirit of mr Rogers.....' can you say RO water"?

All 5 asagi's of mine where up cruising the surface tonight. It's been wet and cold for about a week and this was the first decent sunny warm day. Had a koi kichi come over and after a while he had to break down and say it was relaxful to watch them without feeling cheated there were no gosanke!

[jnorth]

Could you describe your RO system Dick? How do you monitor your water? Daily weekly or do you have meters? I have this fear that if I start adding RO water I will end up with massive ph swings and kill them all. Basically how do you keep it stable?

Thought I would add for new posters on the board that are wondering what exactly is wrong with my shusui and are afraid to ask. If you look at the last picture you will see black spots all over the side. Those are called shimi's and are not supposed to be there. This basically made a decent looking shusui into a pond mutt. Nothing wrong with that unless you want to take your koi to shows. The shimis on the above koi are so bad that I wouldn't even consider showing it as the demerits from the shimis would ruin any chance it had for an award.

[aquitori]

Here's 2 of my Asagis...I bought both of them as tosai...cheap maybe $30 a piece...The oldest one had dorsail damage when it was younger...They have both managed to stay pretty clean on the head...

[dick benbow]

I like your asagi's, the older one has definetely stayed clean over the years. You're gonna have to help me buy koi at those prices...


My RO machine was inexpensive, does 300 gals a day, 10 % of my pond
with trickle in/out system. i monitored it when i first got it but not anymore. Holds pretty true. About every 3 months the micron filters need changed (inexpensive) and the main unit expensive about every 6-8 months. I wouldn't want something that i have to fidget with daily and that causes any swings in water parameters. I can visually look into the machine and see my 5 micron filter is dirty and needs change...

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow I like your asagi's, the older one has definetely stayed clean over the years. You're gonna have to help me buy koi at those prices...

Thanks Dick, well I try to find the lightest pattern one...I didnt want to spend big money on a nisai or sansai if it got shimi, so I stuck with small ones. This year I bought a Shusui Tosai...It is maybe 5"....I'll post some pics of it and see if it stays clean in my pond.