How old is that koi?

[LammiKoi]

In Koihaku's "please comment on this nisai kohaku" thread, Stan states that tosai = 1 year old, nisai = 2 years old, etc...My question is, when does a koi become a nisai or sansai? If Koihaku's koi was born in April/May/June/July of 2005 then it should be starting its sansai year right now. Is that correct?

I kept on thinking that a tosai is a koi that has not reached its one year birthday. For example, if a koi was born in April of 2006, then it would be called a tosai until April 2007, at which time it would be called a nisai. Or does it become a nisai starting January 1st of 2007 and sansai starting Jan 1st of 2008, and so forth? Could someone please clarify?

[saratogatan]

For Japanesem when you celebrate your first birthday, you are 2 years old.

stan

[evabug1]

There is an article on Pan Intercorp's site that mentions the difference between tosai and nisai: Koi.com - Reference: Tategoi - The Series

[Super Kindai]

[quote=LammiKoi;85246]In Koihaku's "please comment on this nisai kohaku" thread, Stan states that tosai = 1 year old, nisai = 2 years old, etc...My question is, when does a koi become a nisai -> 12 MONTH or sansai? ->24 MONTH If Koihaku's koi was born in April/May/June/July of 2005 then it should be starting its sansai year right now. Is that correct? ->YES

I kept on thinking that a tosai is a koi that has not reached its one year birthday. For example, if a koi was born in April of 2006, then it would be called a tosai until April 2007, at which time it would be called a nisai. -> YES. Also, it can be called as a Ake Nisai (= still Tosai but soon Nisai) at the same time.
Or does it become a nisai starting January 1st of 2007 and sansai starting Jan 1st of 2008, and so forth? -> NO. it's still Tosai and Nisai.

In Japan, the breeding season starts in May. so, generally it changes before or after May.

Bye

[MikeM]

Think of it as: Tosai is a koi that has had its first season of growth, Nisai is second season of growth, etc. The conventional 'season' is May-October. In the Spring after the first season of growth, the tosai becomes ake-nisai. Once the second growth season begins, it becomes nisai. In the West, these concepts of time are foreign. As a result, we have come to use the terms in ways that are outside the cultural context.

Query: Is a koi harvested in October as tosai and kept in a dealer's inventory holding tank, such that it does not have the conditions for growth, become nisai when sold in September?

[ppp]

The age concept for the typical spring spawning is not difficult to grasp. It does however get a little confusing for offsprings from a fall spawning, especially when one considers the age of a koi relative to the growth seasons it has gone through.

[Super Kindai]

Query: Is a koi harvested in October as tosai and kept in a dealer's inventory holding tank, such that it does not have the conditions for growth, become nisai when sold in September? [/quote]

Yes, Any small size koi available for sale at dealer's place right now is Nisai or maybe already Sansai ....even 6"

[LammiKoi]

Wow, it looks like this is another way for dealers to rip people that are new to the hobby off. I was at a koi shop a few days ago looking for a potential baby champion. It just so happened that the dealer just received a shipment of koi btwn 4-6 inches long. I asked how old they were and he said that they were tosai that just hatched in March/April of this year. I was thinking to myself, "dang, these are pretty big koi for 3-4 months old"! Are these really tosai that are born in March/April of 2007 or are they really nisai born in spring/summer of 2006?

[LammiKoi]

One more thing, it just amazes me at how much water space/environment affects koi growth. I have seen nisai that are as small as 6 inches. I have also seen tosai that are a whopping 16-18 inches long. These were the jumbo tosai that Kentaro Sakai brought over for his seminar at Pan Intercorp last month. Wow!!!!

[LammiKoi]

Quote: Originally Posted by ppp The age concept for the typical spring spawning is not difficult to grasp. It does however get a little confusing for offsprings from a fall spawning, especially when one considers the age of a koi relative to the growth seasons it has gone through.

That's the other thing that I am confused about! While there's the occasional koi hobbyist that want small koi to compete for baby champion, most of us want large imposing koi. Therefore, we look for koi with potential for growth. If a koi came from a 2nd hatch in the fall then it would have missed a whole growing season. Also, I would be lost as to whether to call it a tosai or nisai the following growing season......there's gotta be a way to tell the age of these koi.