my asagi

[powerman]

i bought this asagi in march so i've had him for 10 months......growth is good.....he was about 6 inches then.....and about 14 inches today....i like him except there is this forehead shimi......i have heard that shimi's are brought on by hard water but my water is as soft as it can get.....just wondering are some fish predisposed to get them or is it always the water hardness...and if i can do anything to help it to fade.........i moved some fish to make room in the quarantine tank...so i took a few photos before i put them in the outdoor pond.....the second picture is the asagi in march and the rest of the pictures were taken today while i was moving fish from the qt to the outdoor pond......anyway with the new arrivals in the near future, these guys get the boot........

[koiczar]

powerman

Asagi are well known for getting shimis or turning completely dark. At this stage, I wouldn't do anything. Also, this fish otherwise is really developing nicely. that white band down the lateral line is usually the sign of a very high quality asagi and is very important. Usually, it keeps the beni from creeping up too high on the sides and looking messy. Who is the breeder? If I was to guess, amongst Japanese breeders, I would say either Hosokai or Otsuka!?

Mike

[Russell Peters]

I think there is already too much beni on it and it is pretty dark for its age. The black spot will not go away either so I believe it will get darker and dirtier as it gets older. If you find a better one let it go.

[powerman]

Quote: Originally Posted by koiczar powerman Asagi are well known for getting shimis or turning completely dark. At this stage, I wouldn't do anything. Also, this fish otherwise is really developing nicely. that white band down the lateral line is usually the sign of a very high quality asagi and is very important. Usually, it keeps the beni from creeping up too high on the sides and looking messy. Who is the breeder? If I was to guess, amongst Japanese breeders, I would say either Hosokai or Otsuka!? Mike

thankyou for your response......i am not sure of the breeder...i bought this fish at pan intercorp and i thought that all of the fish in this tank were from toshio sakai.....it could be that the asagis were from a different breeder than the rest of the fish and they just didn't tell me.....anyway i am a rookie and when i was picking out the asagi i looked for a clear head.....good beni....even scales and no defects...

[powerman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters I think there is already too much beni on it and it is pretty dark for its age. The black spot will not go away either so I believe it will get darker and dirtier as it gets older. If you find a better one let it go.

i hope that it doesn't get messier and dirtier......i thought that it looked pretty clean other than the one shimi spot.....you have alot more experience than me.....so thanks for sharing your opinion....and if it turns out you are right i guess i am looking for a nice asagi......hopefully a female.......but for now this one gets to call my pond home......

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by powerman thankyou for your response......i am not sure of the breeder...i bought this fish at pan intercorp and i thought that all of the fish in this tank were from toshio sakai.....it could be that the asagis were from a different breeder than the rest of the fish and they just didn't tell me.....anyway i am a rookie and when i was picking out the asagi i looked for a clear head.....good beni....even scales and no defects...

Are you sure about Toshio Sakai? Was it Sakai of Hiroshima?

[Birdman]

I had two Asagi's in my pond. One is just fine, the other started to darken up because I kept my water to hard for it. 125 ppm. So I found it a new home with softer water. From my experience Dan I think it will continue to darken up. What is your GH and KH?

[powerman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters Are you sure about Toshio Sakai? Was it Sakai of Hiroshima?

sakai of hiroshima.........you are right.....i am not sure if the asagis were from there though.....

[powerman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman I had two Asagi's in my pond. One is just fine, the other started to darken up because I kept my water to hard for it. 125 ppm. So I found it a new home with softer water. From my experience Dan I think it will continue to darken up. What is your GH and KH?

the gh and kh from my source water is almost nonexistant.....very close to 0 gh and only 52 ppm kh.....so i add calcium chloride and magnesium sulphate...and some baking soda..........my outdoor pond runs about 71.6 gh and 89 kh...the ph is very stable around 7.9-8.2 so i don't worry too much about the kh......inside the garage i ahve a quarantine tank....500 gallons....i keep the kh much higher in there...around 179...because of the reletively high stocking and feed rate.....in there i haven't added anything for the gh and so i get a reading of 0 to17.9 for a reading.......i have tried buff it up in my water and it doesn't adjust the kh as well as baking soda.............i got some lithaqua from russell and will be trying that i also was going to look into incorporating some crushed limestone into either the shower or a new upflow filter......i have tried oyster shells before but they dont seem to disolve well for me because i have a high ph and they dissolve better in acidic conditions........any way the asagi was in the outdoor pond for the summer and when the water started to get colder this fall he started to get some koi pox....i moved him inside to the quarantine tank and that cleared up in a week with no treatment other than warm water.......so basically he has been in low gh since i have had him..