Culling Kohaku

[gjs63]

Hey Mat, I know you are quite busy, but could you pick your favorite, and tell us why. It would give us a better understanding of what the breeder looks for when culling. Thanks, J

[dick benbow]

#6 is a nice choice Mike. I used #5 with Carl because I wanted to get a response from him While the photo leaves something to be desired you can still make out a clean nice white nose and uniform beni thickness. With Tosai many times the mess behind the head condenses and cleans up to give you a unique pattern. So an early "fault" can becomes a strength. A freind of mine bought one of Mat's magoi sanke's with spmething similar going on. It's now 16 " as nisei and still growing and cleaning up really nice. I can wait to see it this time next year. Gonna be a difficult fish to beat in the shows.

I started a thread on white and hope some folks will lend their knowledge to it. It might change some folks minds about what to look like at this stage.
Rather than the bright white I like the ones with white that looks like 2% milk
at the stage pictured.

[Richard Rombold]

Dick,

I would certainly say that number six is a nice fish, but evenness of beni is not a description I'd use here. The beni is deep and I'm sure it will finish, but configure your browser so you can view 6 and 7 side by side. Look at the thickness of the beni on 7, on the head, at this age, and compare this with six. On the shoulders look at the unevenness of the beni on six. Is it the finished look of 7 that worries you? Seven is a good koi with potential in my book, and I think I'm the only one on the board which likes either 3(first post & best fish of the litter hands down) or 7. Let's have Mat set up a separate pond so he can raise these up another year and then compare.

Richard

[mr_koi]

Sorry somehow I double posted

[dick benbow]

Good for you Richard, looks like your hard work over the years has developed
a keen eye.

Was anxious to hear back that Ross is ok. For those of you who have never met him, he's the type of soft spoken person who you are immediately drawn to. Very important to the work that goes on at Nisei.


Let's hope all the hungries stay away from our koi as they grow as it would be fun to see how they develop. thanks mat

[HEADACHE6]

I look forward to this Future Class !

Glad to hear Ross is ok . As Dick has said , Ross is a great guy .

[MikeM]

Very interesting. I hope they can be segregated for photos at the next cull.

Richard: Try to explain in words why you chose #3 over #6. I went for #3 on 2 primary grounds. 1) The head seems almost like glass, looking into the flesh and bone, indicating to me a potentially very fine skin. 2)There is a lot of 'shadow' of Beni, making me think the Beni is less developed than on some others (not necessarily less potential), while the Shiro in the 'clear' areas has a silky sheen similar to #7. Altogether, I was thinking excellent skin. ... Now, where am I missing it?...Really. I know I did.

[Richard Rombold]

Mat,

I am only just learning about quality. However, it's a real thrill to see the offspring from that magnificent female. I really would like to be able to follow along their development if you had the time and luck to do so. I know posting takes a lot of energy and time, but it's good to learn more about your farm.


Mike,

Sorting koi and looking at pictures of koi are two entirely different things. Sorting is more instinctual if you will, and looking at a picture is more intellectual. When sorting fish you are looking at a blur of pattern. Your mind opens and drifts through a bowl not searching for specific traits but rather a match to your ideal fish. When you find one close to your ideal it's like hearing that perfect note, or a good guitar rift. It doesn't happen often.

There are too many variables to consider for it to be an intellectual process. It's emotional. It's all consuming, but not at all. The right side of your brain is going 100 mph while the left sits idle. Posting on KB forces me to translate what my right brain knows into words that the left can understand. A long winded way of saying I don't know if I can. It's just obvious. I can't really see the 3rd kohaku from the first post in any detail. It doesn't matter. It's it. Where is our poet Marie when I need her.

Richard

[mr_koi]

Sorry I have double posted. I just spent an hour typing and then got kicked off, I'll try again later.
Mat

[cppond]

Quote: Originally Posted by mr_koi Sorry I have double posted. I just spent an hour typing and then got kicked off, I'll try again later. Mat

Matt

We've all done that before.

Any time you are going to post something long, it is safer to to do it in a word processor and then copy it into the "reply" box.