Page 23 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 11

This is not down to the skill of the UK Koi keeper or
any magic food source, it may be just down to their
geographical location and the water that is prevalent in
that area.
A classic example of this is the Shusui and Asagi
varieties, if you buy a beautiful blue Tosai Asagi or
Shusui and put it in a pond in the South East of
England, it will invariably be black by the time it reaches
Sansai. The water in this part of the country has this all
SOME KOI to regular affect on about 80% of Koi purchased in
these varieties, but after doing a little trial and error I
WILL DO now have two breeders from which I purchase all my
BETTER IN Shusui and Asagi and less than 10% of these suffer
from the ‘going black’ syndrome.
SOME PONDS It doesn’t mean that these particular two breeders Koi

THAN IN are any better than anyone else’s when purchased in
Japan, but they certainly are after two years in South
OTHERS East England.

The reasons for this difference in development from one
region to another not only in Japan but also here at
home, should really make all of us think about the Koi
we purchase and obviously ask as many questions
about the Koi we intend to buy.

Growing Koi to a very a high standard in a UK pond
has very long odds, the Koi’s future growth, skin
development and colour development are all dependant
on everything being perfect. Perfection is a tall order,
made even less likely if you are going to rely on luck, so
why not shorten the odds and buy a Koi from a
bloodline or a variety that will do well in ‘your’ pond.

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