Here's a little news from NKF

[gjs63]

It's been about 2 months sice the breeding started and now it is time for the culling. Well, this summer it seems to me that it has been very hot,,,right now the heat index is around 100+. My husband was in Missippi last year working and he said, it feels worse here. Add working in a greenhouse and it's not pleasent. What makes it worth the hard work is the outcome. Mat is working with a smile as he goes through the spawnings selecting the keepers. Below are some pics of the AiGoromo spawn. The group with the blue bottom are some of the keepers. This female produced an amazing amount of eggs and the pareing has produced an incredibe amount of well patterened babies of high quality, and also with ginrin. This female parent was spawned at NKF in 2006 from a Magoi line and so was one of the males. So look out for these in the fall,,,they look special. Some details,,,,,,six weeks old,,,third generation,,,,2 1/2" to 5",,,40% were kept around 2000 fry.

[dick benbow]

Maybe it's just the anticipation or the promise of things to come but I love seeing the starts of a new season.

One of my favorite Kohakus of all times was a 6 step, Matt made available to me that he bred and stuck away till nisei.

Anyway...keep the pics coming

[dick benbow]

Is matt filling his blog with these kinds of pictures?

[gjs63]

Jennifer has put some pics of the breeding sets and some baby photos on the blog. Once the fish reach tosi harvest, they are photoing them so they can see the progress, or not, of the fish. When I went in the green house Mat walked me down the lane between the growout tanks pointing and telling me what spawn was in each. He was very enthusiastic about the Fishback Sanke and the first showa spawn. I have to take notes because I just can't keep these fish strait. This years harvest will be "WOW TIME" The years of work and patience are starting to pay off and will be evident at harvest time. I can't wait to see the result. AND,,,guess what! Yuri is back! They have kohaku babies to cull next week. I hope to be there and get some photos. I also have some showa pics to share But I need to figure out how to clear out the old photos that are on here. Joyce

[MikeM]

Ah, the little ones. There is something special about their prettiness and promising future. It is hard not to begin anticipating the harvest. Thanks, Joyce.

....Meanwhile, let the extreme heat move on. It cannot be good for the oxygen levels in the mudponds to have morning lows in the 80sF. To think that in 2009 it never warmed up.

[gjs63]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM Ah, the little ones. There is something special about their prettiness and promising future. It is hard not to begin anticipating the harvest. Thanks, Joyce. ....Meanwhile, let the extreme heat move on. It cannot be good for the oxygen levels in the mudponds to have morning lows in the 80sF. To think that in 2009 it never warmed up.

Hi Mike, The oxygen is a concern with this weather, but at NFK they do have air lines throughout the farm, so the ponds are airated and walked on a regulated routine. Also the culling process keeps the ponds from bring overpopulated, and at the same time they remove the tadpoles that use up resourses. Joyce

[redman]

Wow they look great Joyce. Do you have any pics of the parents?

[gjs63]

Here are pics of the parents of the AiGoromo spawn. The first pic is the female. Joyce

[gjs63]

In taking these pics I realize how much like Kohaku the total spawn looks. The first pic is the keepers from the first cull ( I think these are the middle size)and the next is the un sorted middle size. I think I missed the first sorting that removed the bigger size. Its like comming in after act 2 started and thinking you not late. I hope I didn't just confuse you all. I just found out that Mat wants to do black baby cull on mon and tues., so I may not get to take any pics of the kohakus. We'll see. I still have some Showa pis to share tomorro. Joyce

[dick benbow]

thanks for posting the pics of the parents. It's been awhile since i've taken the long plane ride from seattle, so nice to see what's going on.