Showa is losing it's HI?

[Seefdro Tvneik]

I have a gin-rin Showa I picked up from Mitten very early last spring. It is a strong and healthy koi. Most likely it is male and about 13 inches long. It has easily doubled it's size since I picked him up. The koi is from Suda and correct me if I'm wrong Mick. One reason I picked him up was the fact that he seemed to have growth potential, and Mick pointed that out to me at the time. (Not sure if Mick is going to remember that?)

Since last March the showa has slowly lost it's Hi. When I did pick him up there were two areas of Hi from the shoulders to the tail. The showa was predominantly a mix of good defined sumi with a nice white background, AND two splashes of HI (one on it's shoulder, and one at the back, near the tail). The pattern of the Showa is good but not great.

SO....... Now the Hi has all but disappeared, there is just a small speck of Hi on it's shoulder.

Currently I have kept and watch 5 showas develop. This is the fist one which has lost it's hi. Showas can be a surprise for the good and the bad. But I would like to know what I should or could I expect from this SHOWA (suda). KOI EXPERTS on the board. Will the Hi ever come back?????

[111whalen]

Very unlikely that the hi will return. Black can come back but it is rare for red. There were some articles in KOI USA several years ago from Joel Burkhard that had Kohukus that "grew" hi. I bought a Sakaguchi (sp) showa this spring and the same has happened on the first patch-it's mostly disappeared. I'm not sure I'll buy that breeder again. I plan to auction my fish when I get a chance. Sorry to hear-that's what makes this hobby difficult.

[aquitori]

In general if beni starts to disappear, it mostly like wont come back. Like Mark was saying, there are some instances were the beni comes back but those are very isolated cases.

Some reasons maybe the fish has bad genetics to begin with or water condition.

Do you have any pics of the Showa(before and after)?

[Seefdro Tvneik]

The water is fine.....Except for the first few weeks in spring which can be a challenge here In Michigan (or the extreme cold air which moves through).

This is the first time I have seen Hi disaper this quickly. Later today I will take some pics.....Sorry I won't be able to bowl him though.

Since the Hi is just about gone can I offically call him a gin-rin shiro-utsuri????

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by Seefdro Tvneik Since the Hi is just about gone can I offically call him a gin-rin shiro-utsuri????

I can say yes...

[Seefdro Tvneik]

Well, I took some pics....Like I said earlier I can't bowl him up. Sorry.

Here is the gin-rin showa, I mean my new gin-rin shiro-utsuri.


One more





Here is sister (from suda as well)- The hi is nice, but not super thick. Still there though.............



By the way those three koi which happen to be in the background on the upper left side are looking for a new home.....Anyone in MI interested?

[111whalen]

Which Suda is this? I stayed with Suda several years ago and did an article in KOI USA. At that point, he was not much involved with koi. His son and son in law were growing fish-but they were in the early stages of developing there trade. I remember I bought a great doitsu sanke that I kept for over 10 years. (No lose of hi.) I was with Kaz Tekada and Suda told us where to go to see the koi. It was great fun.