Koi-bito and Mystic Koi present the Omosako Grow-out Challenge

[powerman]

it is almost 11 pm......i went to seattle...to sea tac airport tonight after work to get my koi......i made it down there around 5 pm.....by the time i got home, it was 8.....i let the fish get acclimated to the water temp...took some pictures.... put them in the quarantine tank......and down loaded pictures....i thought i should upload a couple before i go to bed.....the fish look good........big size differential between the smallest and the largest ...........details on my grow out thread.....

[Auntiesue]

Quote: Originally Posted by powerman it is almost 11 pm......i went to seattle...to sea tac airport tonight after work to get my koi......i made it down there around 5 pm.....by the time i got home, it was 8.....i let the fish get acclimated to the water temp...took some pictures.... put them in the quarantine tank......and down loaded pictures....i thought i should upload a couple before i go to bed.....the fish look good........big size differential between the smallest and the largest ...........details on my grow out thread.....

Nice group you got there!! It's going to be so much fun watching all these babies grow!!

Sue

[powerman]

i am looking forward to it........i got my three....and rodl wanted to work on other priorities so i got his three and i also got t189 so i ended up with 7 fish total......it was alot of anticipation...waiting for them to get shipped...and now they are here......i was very happy with the size of fish 133.....8 and 3/4 inches...kind of dwarfed the others....she is going to be awesome....

[Auntiesue]

i was amazed at the difference in sizes. Even with the two I picked. One is huge ... the other tiny and still hiding under the PVC line along the bottom of the Q-tank!! I guess the other larger fish make her nervous!! I have to toss sinking food clear over to the side of the tank so it settles down around the PVC line so she has half a shot at getting any food at all before the others grab it all up. She scoots out quickly, gobbles up a few pellets and scurries back to her special place. So funny to watch. The other one is out swimming with the rest and I can see why she is larger. She eats like a little pig.

[cmungo]

Just heard from Shawn and it looks like we have another 2 weeks before shipment. Our fish have a pine cone problem.

This is going to put them a full month behind some of the other fish. Couple that with the fact that they will be coming in weak and sickly it looks like the grow out competition is over for them.

Oh well, maybe next time will be better.

[PapaBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by cmungo Just heard from Shawn and it looks like we have another 2 weeks before shipment. Our fish have a pine cone problem. This is going to put them a full month behind some of the other fish. Couple that with the fact that they will be coming in weak and sickly it looks like the grow out competition is over for them. Oh well, maybe next time will be better.

I seriously doubt they will still be either weak OR sickly when you receive them. I don't think they'd even consider putting 'em in a bag if that was still the case.
I also wouldn't write off their chances just yet either. Remember, it is much more than a "most growth/biggest fish" contest. Quality, pattern, etc... are going to beat out size in a tosai/nissai growout every time.

[MysticKoi]

Robert,

Hmmm... here's the bit. We've had two koi out of two hundred which have either been bumped, bruised, or scratched. One of these two, unfortunately, is one that you selected. Otherwise, all the koi are healthy and happy... including the two others you own. So... no worries.

Kind Regards,
Bill

[Auntiesue]

Robert, if I was in this situation, I wouldn't be concerned one bit. These are babies and have the great ability to catch up IF they are behind the others already shipped, which I doubt. Keep in mind most of us have our new charges in our Q-tanks and many will not be able to release their fish into the main ponds until late spring when things warm up...me included. Most of us are dealing with our winter conditions which prohibit us from gaining any kind of advantage over the others, except those few that are in truly warm climates. I am participating in the grow out even though I live in Minnesota, which definately is not optimum conditions to grow out koi. Heck, my fish are lucky if they get a full 5-6 months outdoors. The rest of the time they are winter holding tanks much too small and overcrowded for their own good which really makes for taking care of them the right way a challenge.

So don't be so quick to write your babies off for this contest. They'll be just fine!!!

Sue

[CarolinaGirl]

They will do just fine Robert. Most of these fish are going into unheated QT's anyway and won't start growing until spring, so your fish are not at a disadvantage, except for possibly the one of yours that has a health issue right now.

[luke frisbee]

Dang Robert
Sorry to hear about your bad luck.
Pine-coned koi rarely survive and if they do they loose their color and conformation.
Am I gonna get a time out?


Seriously Cmungo,
ya still got time to make em purty...