thoughts on this koi

[dick benbow]

bred by Toshio Sakai

[Lam Nguyen]

Wow, that's a very nice Toshio Sakai kohaku! Is this one yours, Dick? Great conformation with a nice little hump and broad shoulders. From the looks of the body and pecs it looks like it's a female. Very thick and uniform beni. Doitsu I take it. Beni's not too bad either. She has a very interesting pattern, not too boring yet not too bold. And maruzome beni to boot! She looks like a tosai/ake nisai, and hence my question: why would Toshio Sakai give up on her so early? She looks like a gem, Dick. I am sure that you are very proud to have her.

[mstrseed]

I don't think its Doitsu..........................................I would not kick it out of my pond.................

[dick benbow]

and all of 5 inches long

[Lam Nguyen]

Okay, now I am lost! So if it's a wagoi, then it is too finished for it to be female. Also, if it's only 5" long.....do I see a young champion in the near future? Very finished and beautiful koi. Dick, since you can actually physically look at this koi, can you sex it?

[dick benbow]

but because this koi has a thin leading ray on the pecs and is so small I'm willing to bet it's female.....the males in with her were way bigger and a darker red.

[MikeM]

Well, Dick, you got me. Until the last post, you had not said it was a tosai. I was thinking a 5" winner at Amidanokai... a bonsai koi!

Knowing it is tosai, I had to look at those photos quite a while. There is a crystalline shimmer at the leading edge of the Beni on the body. That tells that the Beni is still coming together, despite looking finished in the photo. That has to be some very good Beni to give that appearance when the Beni is still forming. I'm thinking the photos make it more red than in real life. But, I doubt I would have understood what I was seeing if I had been looking at in a bowl with larger siblings. That is quite a 5" wonder.

Your thoughts on 'her' future?

[Lam Nguyen]

I may be wrong, but the more and more I look at this koi, the more I think that there's a baby (not young) champion in its future. Very finished koi and amazing how it's only 5" long. Don't know if it's genetics or just kept in a crowded indoor winter holding tank.

[dick benbow]

on a post regarding this koi in another "parrish", The respected JR felt it was a now koi and not something necessarily with a future. He also felt should it sustain itself during it's progress that eventually something with a better pattern would surpass it in the shows.


So I quess time will tell. I paid full retail price for it, about 25% of what i thought the koi should retail for hence the opportunity to see

It's a known fact that I favor Toshio's koi, But since he has gone marusome, especially in the beni, I feel I have some re-learning to do. With his older stuff, I had that down "pat", but the newer beni I'm still sorting thru some new areas.


Like most things in life, nothing stays static, it's always changing so I try and keep up with the progress the major breeders are making...

[gcuss]

Oh to be able to look at a fish, and see all of that...

Please try and do a photo history on this one so we call all learn from your experience.

Thanks for sharing sir!

Grant