My favorite koi

[PlanB]

It's called a tancho kohaku. A kohaku is a white fish with red markings and this particular variety is named after the tancho crane which is a white bird with a red mark on it's head. The Japanese go crazy for anything that resembles their national flag (see Hinomoru CRS). They're pretty rare in part because they can't be bred, they're almost like a genetic defect in a way. The red mark can have varying degrees of quality. The more centered on the head and the rounder and crisper the better. This one's pretty high grade. I hunted over a year for this guy and bought him back when he was about 12 inches and I had money. Japanese-bred koi always fetch high dollar as opposed to domestic bred. Two or three inches later he's still swimming strong (pretty certain it's a he).

[armthehomeless]

Re: My favorite koi...

Beautiful!

[justdoit]

Re: My favorite koi...

That is very impressive fish.      Enjoyed the  pics of your pond.     How many gallons is it ?

Love my Koi.     They are just "pets".    They are in a 900 gallon stock tank but I would dig the whole of the back yard if I could get away with it & the $ too of course.    Will have to do.    [for now]       V.

[PlanB]

Re: My favorite koi...

It's about 1200 gallons... I've got koi that are worth hundreds but there's still a few that I got from Petsmart when I first started that I love all the same. Well maybe not love--that's a srong word... how about curse out loud if I found dead.

Man I gotta post new pics... I actually planted some stuff!

[justdoit]

Re: My favorite koi...

Any other plants you are looking for to put around it?   May have spares to share.

LOL Have lots of kinds growing.       Changing landscape --- new fencing and not tortoise compatable [ either they will eat it or shouldn't ].       Cannas, Bamboo, lilys, monkey grass, cast iron plants,  wisteria, passion vines etc.  

Post me / never know.    Offer open to all others too !     V

[Mzungu]

Re: My favorite koi...

Very nice!!

Do you know anything more about why they can't be bred?

[PlanB]

Re: My favorite koi...

Any other plants you are looking for to put around it?   May have spares to share.

LOL Have lots of kinds growing.       Changing landscape --- new fencing and not tortoise compatable [ either they will eat it or shouldn't ].       Cannas, Bamboo, lilys, monkey grass, cast iron plants,  wisteria, passion vines etc.  

Post me / never know.    Offer open to all others too !     V

Wow, you got a lot of plants. I was going for an asian look so I had some crawling juniper and japanese boxwood, japanese magnolia and asst. water lilies. My thumb's about as green as a cat so all my marginals are either dead or wishing they were. They only thing that's thriving right now is my giant moso bamboo.

[sproett]

Re: My favorite koi...

That's a beautiful fish.  Thanks for the info on him, that was very interesting to learn.  I can't wait to have a yard so I can have a pond.

[PlanB]

Re: My favorite koi...

Very nice!!

Do you know anything more about why they can't be bred?

The red on kohaku koi are pretty much random. Well actually the patterns are random, the quality (sharpness, intensity of the red) is not. You can selectively breed for quality of the redness, but not where on the koi they're going to show up unlike a red cap oranda. Think of it as trying to breed a birthmark.

Tanchos lack the necessary red pigment to show up throughout the body and the fry that show a collection of pigment on the head are allowed to escape the culling to see what develops. People unaware of this will spend thousands on a male and female tancho thinking they can breed them and then retire off of selling their babies. The only certain thing of the fry will be that they will be white fish with red marks. And actually only a very small percentage would be considered high quality. And only a small percentage of those will be tanchos. And only a small percentage of those will be considered high quality tanchos.

But you still have to "nurture" the red mark with diet, water conditions etc. Red is usually the first color to go on a koi. Finding a baby tancho might result in a completely white fish in a couple of weeks. That's why large tanchos are so prized.

And that was my way long answer to a pretty simple question.

[Mzungu]

Re: My favorite koi...

Wow, thanks! Interesting...I thought you meant they were sterile or something. That's pretty cool!

Again, thanks for the explanation.

[justdoit]

Re: My favorite koi...

Have some varigated clumping bamboo [yellow stalk w/ green stripe] that I actually have cut [seperate] and some varigated leaf  ground cover bamboo that is easy to bring a start of.     Ground cover is better shaded from direct sun & gets about as tall as 4 inches, slow to spread but dramatic.    
**I am looking for a large shallow container to put some of clumping in middle & ground cover bamboo at base for an accent to my pond.  Shallow container keeps larger bamboo in check & reduces max height due to limited space.**

Also have some Japanese Iris.  
 
May want to try some azealeas.   Good time to pickup w/ winter coming prices are down.     V

[PlanB]

Re: My favorite koi...

Have some varigated clumping bamboo [yellow stalk w/ green stripe] that I actually have cut [seperate] and some varigated leaf  ground cover bamboo that is easy to bring a start of.     Ground cover is better shaded from direct sun & gets about as tall as 4 inches, slow to spread but dramatic.    
**I am looking for a large shallow container to put some of clumping in middle & ground cover bamboo at base for an accent to my pond.  Shallow container keeps larger bamboo in check & reduces max height due to limited space.**

Also have some Japanese Iris.  
 
May want to try some azealeas.   Good time to pickup w/ winter coming prices are down.     V

You may want to try a preformed pond line at Lowes or Home Depot. I've also heard of people using flexible pond liner to keep bamboo in check. With winter coming these should be on sale too. I want to try planting some junipers again or maybe some cana lilies.

[justdoit]

Re: My favorite koi...

Will check lowes out.     friend has an old cement bowl from a large fountain that would be perfect.   they could come see it in my yard.  LOL

have canna lilies.   4 kinds / 1 is low height/melon flower.      when ready for a start will share   these are what the tortoises are eating so gotta go unless I can make them fit a few in some raised beds.   but there are plenty.        V

[PlanB]

Re: My favorite koi...

I've always wanted a guard-tortoise for my backyard.

[J-WS6]

Re: My favorite koi...

those are really cool!