What do you think of this kohaku now and in the future

[rockman]

Here are a few pics of my kohaku...


Good news is that the tear on the beni on the head has almost completely healed over from last year (http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/genera...ead.html)...it is difficult to see where is was now.

I am wondering what other people think of this fish in terms of body, pattern, color, etc. Please be honest. In particular, I am curious what others think for the future...could the beni get darken, more even, and could the kiwa get crisper?

[aquitori]

Body is big and thick. I will wait until fall when we can see how the true quality comes up when the water is alot cooler.

[rockman]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquitori Body is big and thick. I will wait until fall when we can see how the true quality comes up when the water is alot cooler.

My pond is heated..during the summer the temp is above about 70 F and in the winter I have the temperature set about 60 F (alhtough I had excursions to lower temperatures). I gradually ramp up and down between.

Do you think that I should lower the temperature further in the fall/winter in order to achieve full potential for my koi?

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by rockman Here are a few pics of my kohaku... Good news is that the tear on the beni on the head has almost completely healed over from last year (http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/genera...ead.html)...it is difficult to see where is was now. I am wondering what other people think of this fish in terms of body, pattern, color, etc. Please be honest. In particular, I am curious what others think for the future...could the beni get darken, more even, and could the kiwa get crisper?

I do not think the beni will improve. It looks thin and week. Nice big body and a nice big pattern.

[rockman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters I do not think the beni will improve. It looks thin and week. Nice big body and a nice big pattern.

One thing I have noticed is that the beni on the body seems deeper in the center of the scale vs the edge of the scale...also this fish seems to be growing much faster than my other fish that I got about the same time, this one is over 20 inches at 2 years...here is what it looked like a year ago...

Gallery of Koi

One thing I was wondering was if the beni might somehow "catch up" and become more even across the entire scale as the fish growth slows down? Or is the beni quality something that remains always the same as the fish matures?

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by rockman My pond is heated..during the summer the temp is above about 70 F and in the winter I have the temperature set about 60 F (alhtough I had excursions to lower temperatures). I gradually ramp up and down between. Do you think that I should lower the temperature further in the fall/winter in order to achieve full potential for my koi?

Koi are a four season fish. Start bringing down the temp of the pond when fall comes...

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by rockman One thing I have noticed is that the beni on the body seems deeper in the center of the scale vs the edge of the scale...also this fish seems to be growing much faster than my other fish that I got about the same time, this one is over 20 inches at 2 years...here is what it looked like a year ago... Gallery of Koi One thing I was wondering was if the beni might somehow "catch up" and become more even across the entire scale as the fish growth slows down? Or is the beni quality something that remains always the same as the fish matures?

It may be that the body of the Kohaku is growing faster than the beni can keep up with. To me, the beni does not look even and it seems week at the edges. Maybe if you slow the growth the beni can start to fill in.

[PapaBear]

I was thinking the beni was a bit worrisome as well. We have one that had a very similar look to the beni, and it is slowly deteriorating even though it is only about 3 years old. Allowing the winter water temps drop lower for a month or so may help it consolidate a bit, but I wouldn't count on it.

[JasPR]

I agree, the body is growing faster than the beni. This may resolve itself when the water cools or it may be the beginning of a general beni deterioration. Watch those shiro spaces appearing in the beni plate between the scales. If, when the water cools to 65 F, you still see them, the koi is likely in trouble in terms of beni development.