Help me classify my koi

[vertigo72]

Hey all,

I want to put a "plaque" at my pond, with pictures of my favorite fish and their names, classification and year of birth (as well as "godfather/mother" as some of them were bought with a coupon my girlfriend received as birthday present).

Im having a hard time getting the classification right though, so I snapped some pics, added some numbers and hoped someone could help out. Suggestions for names are also welcome btw, I still havent named any.

Here is what I think I got so far

1: Yamabuki Ogon ?
2: ?
3: ?
4=12 (my bad) Tancho Sanke?
5 : Kigoi ?
6: Asagi Shusui (fairly sure)
7: Tancho Goshiki ? (he is metallic white expect for the red spot with small black spot on it)
8: Asagi Shusui (fairly sure)
9: Some kind of Utsuri ?
10=11 (my bad): Utsuri-something? No clue.
12=4: Sanke ?
13: Tancho Sanke?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[fishin4cars]

I'm not great at this and my answers are by far not 100%, that being said.
1 Kikikoryu some refer to this as a ghost koi or dragon koi
2 Picture is not real clear on this one but from what I can see, Yambuki
3 appears to be doitsu, and 2-3 could go in a classification as sushi, also,
4-12 appears pretty correct
5- Kigoi or Ki ogon Pretty much either would be be about the same.
6- Sushui not asagi
7- correct
8-Shusui not asgai
9-I would go more toward Showa, Utsuri should have only two distinct colors
10-??
12- sanke or showa, three colors on the head? Sanke in most cases will have black stripes radiating from the body outward on the pectorals, showa had three colors on head and a more solod pectoral fin although they can have a black spot next to the body, there is also some that look at the color down the body, If it the color goes all the way into the lower belly region is showa, half way down is Sanke. To me some are easy to tell yet some are the hardiest to tell apart.
13- same thing, NOT tancho, tancho is marking clearly on the head only, if the color passes onto the shoulder they are no longer classified Tancho

Note; Sushui is a German scale or scaless koi, Asagi is a fully scalled koi, that's the main difference. from my understanding there is either sushui or asagi, not a mix of both, scaling is the primary difference.

BTW, #8 and #10 are the two I think I like the best from the pics.

 

[vertigo72]

Thanks a lot fishin! Why cant I click on the thank you button more than once!

1 Kikikoryu some refer to this as a ghost koi or dragon koi

Googling on kikikoryu I cant say I find a lot that looks like my 1, but for ghost and dragon koi I get nearly exact looking fish, so I think you nailed that. BTW, if I thought mine was big, lol, its tiny:
http://www.carp-gps.com/images/download/Nov08/Jake/12kg schuppe_1

2 Picture is not real clear on this one but from what I can see, Yambuki

Here is another picture with 2 and 3 (and 7), if that helps:

And here is a closeup of 2:

They are actually among my favorites. 2 looking so aggressive and really bad ass, and 3 so gentle.

6- Sushui not asagi
7- correct
8-Shusui not asgai

Ah yes, you are correct. Only scales along the back fin. I was going too much just by color.

BTW, #8 and #10 are the two I think I like the best from the pics.

Good choice. 8 is really nice, he was one of the "hand picked" fish at my dealer. I think Ill call him babyface cause he looks so cute. 10 seems to be something rather original, I cant find any koi looking like it. I wanted a black koi but was afraid of rarely seeing it, so I settled for something dark with some color. Thought he looked great. But wouldnt it be the same sort as 9, which you classified as Showa?

 

[27goldfish]

The one with the golden "cap" is awesome!!!

 

[fishin4cars]

2 and 3 i'm not sure what they would be called, they are doitsu but other than that, I don't know, they are nice looking fish!
#9 is unique one side of him looks like one kind the other side looks more showa for sure!
If you decide to go for a black, which BTW i think would show up in your pond pretty good, But if you'll look for a karasa with the white edging it will really show up nice or if you want something even cooler, try a Kumonryu, the ever changing koi! I promise a good one will become one of your favorites very fast! they change with the seasons, I had one but the Heron got it, been looking for another one but I want butterfly, all the ones I like are standard but I'll be patient, I'm on the heavy stocked side alreday right now so I'm not in a hurry to add anything new for the time being.

 

[vertigo72]

Well, its not important if the classification isnt 100% accurate or detailed, but since Im gonna put a "plaque" up, I do want to add the type of koi and it would be silly to get it entirely wrong. Especially if someone would visit who actually knows about koi . Might take weeks to get good pics of all of them individually though. I know, to do this properly Id have to catch them and put them in a small tank, but Im not sure I want to try that just to get a picture.

As for the black koi, and being worried about not seeing it; I purchased it before the pond cleanup, when the water had less visibility than a bottle of ice tea. Remember, it used to look like this:



As for adding new; probably not this year. I want to make sure everything is well now before I risk anymore fish. Im still seeing occasional flashing and most of the fish are "yawning", ie, opening and closing their mouths all the time. Water parameters are spot on and cant find anything on the scrape, so Im hoping it will just go away.

 

[blly8325]

Nice fish I really like Number 2 Yambuki? I like that feeder ring you have could you tell me where you got it ? My skimmer is making me waste money on food!! Thanks.

 

[fishin4cars]

Nice fish I really like Number 2 Yambuki? I like that feeder ring you have could you tell me where you got it ? My skimmer is making me waste money on food!! Thanks.

Are you catching food in the skimmer? If so I had that problem too, I placed a airstone directly in front of the skimmer door, this gives more oxygen to the bio filter, pushes the food away from the door and back outward in the pond for the fish to have more time to eat, and add oxygen to the fish. Works great for me.

 

[blly8325]

Are you catching food in the skimmer? If so I had that problem too, I placed a airstone directly in front of the skimmer door, this gives more oxygen to the bio filter, pushes the food away from the door and back outward in the pond for the fish to have more time to eat, and add oxygen to the fish. Works great for me.

Unfortunately that wouldn't work for my set up, I have to many trees around always dropping sticks small leaves and other crud in the pond, especially an old juniper what a mess. i want to cut that bad boy down in the fall, looks like it's dying. Yes so i need my skimmer un blocked. Thanks for the advice though i'll try that after i tame my tree problem.

 

[fishin4cars]

All you do is turn on the airstone while your feeding. Done feeding move it away from it or turn it off.

 

[blly8325]

All you do is turn on the airstone while your feeding. Done feeding move it away from it or turn it off.

Ahh didn't think of that. Cool I'll hook one up with a timer

 

[fishin4cars]

I have a little air line valve that is right in front of me the feeds the airstone, I have another airstone that feeds the bio filter, and one that is feeding a small lotus container that has a few mollies in it, so there is always something running, I sit down go to feed turn on the air and the food stays right in front of me,the air rising pushes the food away from the skimmer. None in the skimmer at all. If I forget and leave the air on no biggy, it's drawing settlement from the deep end of the pond, If I turn it off I'm skimming like normal. I'm telling you it works great and easy to put together and easy to hide. No extra wiring needed, run air line hose, LOTS cheaper! LOL a airline valve, $2-$3 bucks at a aquarium store and $5 for a good airstone, I don't like sandstone type, they clog and breakdown to fast. ceramic stones are far better.