Dick and others..Asagi opinion?!?!

[dcny]

Does anyone have a take on the pecs of young asagi? I've heard contradictory things. Some say to look for little or no red in the pec. Others say that the color in pecs can consolidate like that of showas.

-Dan

[Russell Peters]

Shoichi Hosokai says that there should be no red in a young Asagi, that it will be better when it comes with time.

[PapaBear]

Yesterday while netting our Koi to move to a temp holding pond, one of my tosai caught my attention because of this thread. It began with a narrow blue/black stripe running from head to tail down the middle of its back. It has been getting progressively wider all year and yesterday when I netted it I saw the blue/grey netting pattern forming from the center and spreading outward, but there is still no sign of hi anywhere How does one select an Asagi tategoi if there is no hi as recommended by Shoichi Hosokai? My water is a bit too hard for good asagi water anyway, but it does have me curious.

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters When you are looking at young Asagi, the lighter the better. If an Asagi this age has a lot of color in its scales, then as an adult it will be too dark. I think the picture makes it hard to see the true color of the scales. It will darken in time. As far as Hi goes, Shoichi Hosokai says that it is better when there is no Hi on the Koi until it is four or five years. The reasons are the same. The more Hi when it is young, the more it will have when older. As far as the head staying clear, that depends on the environment it is raised in and the quality of the Koi. Time will tell.

[dick benbow]

like many color varieties of koi, a breeder working with the same parents over years develops an eye as to what to look for from past experiences. here is my experience from breeding them

When they are 60 days old for the first cull i look for red in the tail and pecs.
Red does crawl back into motoaka, but i especially follow the ones already there at 60 days. Those with red in the dorsal the first year, I am cautious of and only keep the ones with red at the very base of the dorsal, not full thru the fin. Red I want to see below the lateral line. the farthur down the better. My first year i did get a taki asagi and that was neat to watch develop.

as far as quoting hosokai he has had two males over the years with the same female. his directions for sembetsu with the first male is quite different from the current one.

if i could capsulize any tategoi of any color variety, it's like the ugly duckling story...some of the plainest janes turn out to be the lovliest lady at the ball.

In my travels in japan while looking for asagi I would only find a few....from three years old and up and very expensive. that told me that to be able to select one at tosai is most difficult. In the KB Hosokai article, the master says he knows for sure at 2.....hence my suggestion earlier to get a dozen one year olds and see if you can get one to turn out......

[Russell Peters]

Dick brings up some very good points. Someone like Shoichi does know because it is what he does. Any one else would be wise to experiment and learn. The alternative is to spend money on a three or four year old. Remember though, when you buy a young fish from a breader, chances are that the same potential is NOT there. Just some thoughts.