How would you rate these koi?

[LammiKoi]

I have always enjoyed looking at other hobbyists' postings of their koi and critiquing them. To return the favor, here is a sample of my collection. Please let me know what you guys think.

Koi #1: Sakai of Hiroshima Showa 13 inches long
Koi #2: Sakai of Hiroshima Sanke 9.5 inches long
Koi #3: Omosako Shiro Utsuri 9.5 inches long

To my knowledge all three koi are nisai.

[MikeM]

They look nisai, but are the size of tosai. Their history in inventory would be helpful. Have they been sexed?

...if their size is due to being kept a year in inventory on low rations, give them top notch growing conditions and you won't wait long to be shocked at the growth and changes. The gosanke appear more finished than they should for their age and size, but that happens with inventory fish. At this age I have seen them have a growth spurt that catches up to where they should be in length. If the beni is quality enough, it will keep up. If it is marginal, it may not. Sumi plays by its own rules. For the long term, I'll bet on the Shiro.

[jbolding]

The first two look like very colored up tosai. It's difficult to say to much beyond that , but I will stick my neck out. The Showa looks as if it's beni may be breaking or aleast have some holes. Of course this just may be a photographic issue. The Sanke's sahi looks like it may be three or more scales deep, but it does appear even. As for the Sanke's sumi your guess is much better than mine as I can't see any hidden sumi in the photo. What I do see looks like it is coming through on the beni rather than the shiro. The shiro looks like a typical tosai of decent quality. But as for the future of these fish you have a long way to go. The only one that looks like a potential female to me is the Showa, but the tail also seems a little slim for this size of fish which will likely get magnified over time.

I would appreciate it if you could keep us updated on thier progress. PS photos lie.

[aquitori]

Among the three, Sanke, Shiro, Showa....that order.

[Super Kindai]

Cute! Nice pattern all of them

[LammiKoi]

Thank you for all of your guys' input. Clearly I am still a true novice when it comes to koi. These koi are all nisai. The sanke and shiro were purchased from Joel Burkard this past April. The showa was purchased last month from a local dealer.

They are kept in a 7,000 gallon 5.5 feet deep pond with about 20 other koi, so I don't think space is an issue. I am currently feeding them a combination of Aqua Master growth and Tetra color-enhancing pellets about once to 5 times daily, depending on my schedule. I am looking into switching to Dainichi growth and Izeki and shrimp combination and getting an autofeeder. It's frustrating to not see them grow .

As far as water quality is concerned, the last I checked there was no trace of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. My pH has been high at around 8 to 8.4 since I finished my waterfall about 4 months ago, so this might be the cause of the lack of growth. Also, does salt concentration affect growth, too? I had it up to 0.25% about a month ago when one of my koi showed signs of fungal infection. It is now down to about 0.12%. Urgghhhh, it's frustrating cuz I want big koi.

[MikeM]

I recommend against using color foods for young fish, but if it is just a small percentage of the total amount fed, it should not matter. I think it best for the color pigment of young fish to develop in its own time.

I suspect there is a problem with your testing. Unless all of your koi are quite small, or you are doing tremendous amounts of water changes, there should be some nitrate being produced by the filtration system.

If water temperatures are above 70F, water is in good condition and they are fed as much as they actually eat, they will grow. If growth is a problem, I'd suggest focusing on getting the water as good as you can.