Page 63 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 6

EXTRAORDINARY KOI

‘A DIAMOND FROM

THE DIRT’

Bernie Woollands finds a Beni Ginga for his
fourth article in this Series

Like several other examples in this Series I first saw
this Koi in Germany at the Interkoi Show staged by
AMONGST KLAN the German ZNA Chapter. That in itself isn’t
unusual as Interkoi is the first show of the year in
THE FRY WAS Europe and therefore the first chance for people to
show Koi collected at the autumn harvests in Japan.
THIS LITTLE However, that isn’t the case for this one. This one was
DIAMOND bred in Holland.
The breeder is Jeroen van Keulen of Koicentrum van
Keulen based in Nijverdal and it is a Beni Ginga – the
metallic wagoi (scaled) version of a Beni Kumonryu or a
metallic version of Beni Matsukawabake if you prefer.
The nomenclature surrounding these varieties is quite
interesting so I have included a diagram in the article
to explain.

However, this Koi was a very happy mistake. Ten years
ago Jeroen set out to improve the Sumi on the Beni
Kikokuryu he was breeding. To this end he crossed a
female of doitsu Kujaku × Beni Kikokuryu lineage with a
male Kin Showa. In his words “the spawning was a
failure” not only in quantity but also in quality.
Furthermore, it also failed to deliver anything near the
results he was hoping for. However, amongst the fry was
this little beauty – the diamond in the dirt. Again, in
Jeroen’s words “the only fish of good quality”. So he
nurtured this Koi and when it was in its third year he
took it to Interkoi which is where I saw it.

I can’t remember if it won any prizes there but it
certainly did in the years that followed. I saw the Koi on
several occasions at Interkoi and the Holland Koi Show.

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