Kohaku opinions please

[mitten]

Small or sparse patterns can be very distracting though they are "flowery". When watching videos of giants on Momo's website, anything with out a BIG pattern looks very odd once it begins to swim.

That said, as a pic, I really like #2's showy sparse pattern. Maybe I like the enhanced color, eh?

[jnorth]

The images are highly photoshopped to get that bright red color and blinding white. So you might ask for untouched photos but I would go with #1 if its any good in person.

[JosephandGabby]

I'd definitely ask for photos that weren't edited with Photoshop before buying them. They probably look a lot different in person...

I agree with Jim on which one has the best pattern, however.

[jnorth]

Quote: Originally Posted by rrc94 Thanks Mojo. Didn't realise that. Probably best to stay away then.

Here is a quick example. Notice the difference in the two photos.

[elunned]

I would not describe any of the photos as heavily altered. Photoshop is very sophisticated program - those photos look like a one-button color balance which often does more harm than good. Sophisticated color editing wouldn't have washed out the scale detail in the white or brassed up the red. (My day job sometimes requires scanning tissue slices and then editing the images to bring out detail in white.)

The pattern hasn't been altered, and the detail on the white shows enough to make some educated decisions. The fins look unretouched, as does the head. The body and bone structure are solid.

I like #1 alot, held my breath as I panned from tail to head, hoping that the first impression was on target. The others don't do as much for me, but #4 is ok. (For the record, all are far better than my best koi.)

PS - is the fish above a longfin? The pecs seem out of proportion.

[jnorth]

Quote: Originally Posted by elunned PS - is the fish above a longfin? The pecs seem out of proportion.

No its just an odd angle but here is a pic of it taken a year after those. Who would have thought that hi would have come up on the nose.

[dcny]

Quote: Originally Posted by jnorth No its just an odd angle but here is a pic of it taken a year after those. Who would have thought that hi would have come up on the nose.

Jim, you have had some remarkable changes in your koi. I don't know if that's lucky or unlucky but certainly good learning experiences. Thanks for sharing all your photos.

-Dan

[koiczar]

Jim

Looking at the first two photos of this kohaku, the one you "photoshopped" gives even a better look in to the current menkaburi problem. If you look closely at the photoshopped image and notice the edges of the hi pattern on the head you'll see some very soft orangish -yellow blurring. This was a sign that the beni could grow and fill in that white area. I just gave away a female Maruyama kohaku that was a really killer fish when a jumbo tosai. She grew to 20" in her second season and was for all the world, one of my best fish (at that time). During the course of last fall, I started noticing that she was beginnig to develop some secondary hi on the front of her face pattern, on her left pec and on the shiroji between two steps of hi. Well, by the time winter was in full swing I thought I had an asagi kohaku. Secondary hi was coming up like weed grass in springtime. It was awful. Then as the water began to warm, the secondary hi began to diminish. I thought, WOW, that's great. Well, it never fully disappeared. So, she is now part of a high school breeding program. Best place for her. Maybe her offspring will be better than her in looks. If they get her body, the kids will have some very nice looking kohakus to watch and learn from.

Mike

[rrc94]

Thank you for all the replies and advice. Problem is that you just can't find the quality I'm looking for here in Cyprus at the moment.

Does anyone know a good quality breeder/agent that will ship quality koi(not photoshoped) to Cyprus?

[farne230]

I agree number one is very nice. Look for body conformation, fin and first impressions. I strongly suggest purchase quality koi from a quality dealer, build a relationship. For my best show quality koi I have use Genki Koi in California. There are many more available. Read the forums and koi magazines.