Buying Baby Koi – Part 4

Baby Koi- Part 4: Quality

By: Chai Taevanitcharoen

When purchasing anything, you look for certain qualities.

When purchasing real estate, it’s LOCATION, LOCATION, and LOCATION!  When purchasing koi, it’s QUALITY, QUALITY, QUALITY, and QUALITY; I like to call them the four Q’s!

During “koi-talk”, the word “quality” is always the main topic.

Often, people learn from different sources and develop their own opinions.  Everyone understands and looks at quality in different ways, from breeders to hobbyists.

I believe that breeders are most knowledgeable in recognizing quality.

I find myself trying to learn their techniques.  How do they develop an eye for quality?

They cull fish by the millions, watch them grow and change, and pass on their knowledge from generation to generation.  Their process of learning quality, trial and error, is no different than ours, but because they are able to observe far more koi than any hobbyist can dream, they are able to understand true quality better than we can. Dealers sell many different grades of koi at different prices.

It is up to the hobbyist to learn to tell them apart. Once you learn enough about quality, you’ll understand that coming home empty-handed from koi shopping is a good sign of progress. Koi prices are based on many things.

Quality is the most significant factor in the price and comes in different levels. If you don’t quite understand the word “quality”, and rely on brand names and bloodlines as a sign of an excellent fish, the outcome could be very disappointing. Size is the next most important.

• The bigger the fish, the more expensive it is, as long as it has quality.
• The smaller the fish, the harder it is to predict their future, determine sex, and body development.
• Smaller fish also tend to die easier when sick.

Gender is also popular among hobbyists.  Hobbyists seem to favor females because they grow faster and develop more body volume than males.

Females also usually have a better white.

At koi shows, male fish often have difficulty in beating females in the larger class. Brand name and bloodlines add to the price to koi.

The art of choosing tategoi successfully is being able to see what the breeders see.

Every koi-hobbyist’s dream is to have enough knowledge to be able to distinguish between future champion fish and average fish. Since quality is the most significant factor in price, it is the first thing we should learn about.

To my understanding, these are the qualities of koi, what I call the four Q’s!  They are quality of COLOR, BODY, PATTERN, and FINS.

1. QUALITY OF COLOR:
2. Red– Even color from head to tail and every scale top to bottom. The harder it is to see the out line of the scales the better, in other words the thicker the red.  The evenness and thickness of the red is more important than its hue.  Uneven color in just two or three scales may be an early sign of unstable red.
3. White– Soft, shiny, translucent white is desirable.  Even color from head to tail, with no pink intrusions.
4. Black– When possible, the black should be assessed on white.  Black on red is less elegant and more difficult to evaluate.  When fully developed, each scale should be evenly colored center to edge and have a lacquer like shine.  It should be difficult to discern the edges of the scales, and the pattern must have sharp edges (kiwa).  Blurred insertion at the front of the black (sashi) is desirable.  Top quality black will not fade or camouflage when the fish is startled.  It is hard to determine the quality of undeveloped black.
5. Sheen– For Hikari, the shinier the better.  Ideally the shine should be consistent from the mouth to the tip of the tail, including the nose, cheeks, gill plates, and all fin tips.
6. Kiwa– Kiwa is the edges of the entire pattern. The front edge may look blurry due to sashi.  The back edge and lower end of the pattern should have sharp edges and same color tone throughout the pattern.
7. Sashi– Sashi is where the colored (red, black, yellow, brown, etc.) scale is inserted under the white scale at the front of the pattern, giving it a blurry appearance.  Sashi is normally one to two scales wide.  Tategoi should have sashi.  Doitsu (non-scale fish) will not have sashi.  As the fish grow older, the sashi gets smaller.

What causes poor quality of color:

1.    Red – not holding the same ‘thickness’ of color throughout the scale
2.    Black specks or spots (shimi).
3.    Uneven color.
4.    Indistinct kiwa.
5.    Scale edges that are easy to see.
6.   White – anything less than a clear bright white
7.   Pink areas.
8.    Uneven color.
9.    Dirty appearance.
10.    Black – muddy or dull color
11.   Camouflaging.
12.    Black uneven within the scale.
13.  Dull color.
14.   Sheen- lacking it:
15. Dull (non-metallic) around the nose, gill plates, and fin tips.
16. QUALITY OF PATTERN:

These are the specifics you want to look for:

1. White to the nose, no further than the eyes
2. No red below the eyes or on the cheeks,
3. White pattern cut/break across the neck or shoulder.
4. Red should go down to but not father than the lateral line.
5. White at the tail joint.
6. Popular pattern Marutan (round head pattern); Sandan (three step), Yondan (four step), and Inazuma (lightning).
7. Black on white is preferred to black on red (showa and sanke).

Elements that contribute to a poor quality of pattern.

1. Shimi on the fish.
2. Scattered sumi (black) on Taisho or Showa.
3. Too many black stripes on the fins, including tail, of sanke.  One, two, or three stripes are acceptable.
4. Tobi hi (red spots on one or two scales.)
5. Red in the eyes, fins, or tail.
6. With showa and shiroutsuri, both pectoral fins are white or one white and one with motogoro.
7. BODY QUALITY

Here are the elements of body quality

1. Smooth symmetrical curve from the tip of the mouth to the tail on both sides when viewed from above.
2. Big mouth, big head, wide shoulders, thick tail joint.
3. Tail height.  (Look at the fish from the side, at eye-level.) So the elements of poor quality of body:
4. Pointed mouth.
5. Head too small, short, or large for the body.
6. Body is too short.
7. Flat cheeks or too bowed.
8. Tip of the gill plate curves out or bowed out.
9. Tail joint is too skinny or too small.
10. FIN QUALITY The elements of fin quality you want to learn include
11. Smooth, round, curved pectoral fins of even size.
12. Straight dorsal fin.
13. Round, even-size anal fins.
14. Tail fin- top and bottom halves must be even and straight.

Poor quality of fins may be due to :

1. Pointed pectoral fins.
2. Front bone of pectoral fin has kinks or uneven curves, or not the full length.
3. Pectoral fins too large or too small for the body.
4. Uneven pectoral, anal, and tail fins.
5. Splits in any fins, often seen in dorsal and split in the center of tail fins.  (Sometimes, split fins heal in the future.)
6. “V” in the tail fin is too deep.

Any fish with serious deformities is considered a low quality fish. Some deformities are more significant than others are.

Every deformity has a certain degree of importance.  Some deformities only decrease the value of the fish, while others may make the fish be of little value at all.

When judging the overall quality of small fish, the color and pattern are most important, followed by body, and fins.

In large fish the color and body are most important, followed by pattern, and fins.

The intangibles, imposing appearance and elegance must also be factored into the equation.

Reading books and articles is a basic part of learning about koi.  So are looking at fish and asking questions, but I find that comparison is the best learning tool. Having a knowledgeable teacher is always a plus.

For example, how many of you have had someone actually bend a fish to show you that one red was better than another?  Or flip the fish upside down to show you the fish had mouth or head deformities?

There’s a lot to learn about koi. Each variety of koi has different characteristics.  You should learn one type of koi’s traits at a time.  Try to observe the best of each type and compare it to the worst.

This article is based upon personal observations, research, and past experience regarding “Tategoi”.

Much of this information was learned by trial and error, from Senior Koi Keepers, Koi Dealers, and Koi Breeders. I am not a Koi Expert, just a koi lover.

My intentions are to provide and promote knowledge of “Tategoi” as well as make Koi-keeping fun and affordable.

There is always the possibility of my ideas being wrong and I apologize, in advance if I have offended any Senior Koi Keepers, Koi Dealers, or Koi Breeders. My thoughts and opinions may differ from others’ point of views.

My intentions are not to discredit the wisdom of those more experienced or with greater expertise than I.  I will be glad to speak with you on a more personal level.  Your comments and questions are warmly welcomed.

HAPPY KOI HUNTING!