On sex of the fish I did some reading last night. If I was to guess the cream one is boy and the orange is a female. Other than the one hole or two hole check they say males are a little more streamlined. Also the males tend to have a bit of a point mid way on their front fins and the females are more rounded. Your two fish photos appear to show this very clearly.
Koi changing color
- Thread starter Shaeward
- Start date
A difference in fin shape...interesting. Although for my guys (Butterfly), I don't think the fin characteristic will work. Here are a few articles that explain how to sex Koi:
http://www.koifishponds.com/koi_sexing.htm
http://www.pond-doctor.co.uk/longsexkoi.html
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/goldfish/breedingkoi.php
Both of mine seem a bit skittish at feeding time but all my fish are still a bit skittish. I'm not sure if that means they're both male or if it is too early to judge based on feeding behaviour. Really, I can't see much difference in my two but both are still very young (about 5" or so).
http://www.koifishponds.com/koi_sexing.htm
http://www.pond-doctor.co.uk/longsexkoi.html
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/goldfish/breedingkoi.php
Both of mine seem a bit skittish at feeding time but all my fish are still a bit skittish. I'm not sure if that means they're both male or if it is too early to judge based on feeding behaviour. Really, I can't see much difference in my two but both are still very young (about 5" or so).
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
my fish winter in a basement pond and i notice a definate dulling of their colors over time while they are indoors. and a quick richening and some changing when they hit the sunny waters outdoors.and i like the light bronze (gold) ogon i guess too!
if your fish has lost color in just three weeks, I would say its likely that the breeder was prob feeding color enhancing food or your water is either harder/softer than what the breeder had. Three weeks is too short to lose coloration like that under normal conditions. Many breeders/vendors as a pesky bunch.
There is a detriment to feeding color enhancing foods when the fish are young. It takes years for a koi to "finish" or settle on its real colors. Stuff like color enhancing food force a koi to finish while young, which is a crying shame. Unfortunately, we as Americans have little patience with koi and want to buy the best and brightest colors in very young fish--which is really unreasonable. The japanese are much smarter and have way more patience, and may buy a young fish that might look dull as a tosai (yearling), but can see the signs that it will be brightly colored maybe after 5 or 6 years.
We Americans are a microwave society--and we want it fast, now, and brightly colored immediately. We don't like to wait. With koi, you need to let nature take its course. Rushing things only works against you and the fish.
Koiguy is right that UV/sun does affect colors.
There is a detriment to feeding color enhancing foods when the fish are young. It takes years for a koi to "finish" or settle on its real colors. Stuff like color enhancing food force a koi to finish while young, which is a crying shame. Unfortunately, we as Americans have little patience with koi and want to buy the best and brightest colors in very young fish--which is really unreasonable. The japanese are much smarter and have way more patience, and may buy a young fish that might look dull as a tosai (yearling), but can see the signs that it will be brightly colored maybe after 5 or 6 years.
We Americans are a microwave society--and we want it fast, now, and brightly colored immediately. We don't like to wait. With koi, you need to let nature take its course. Rushing things only works against you and the fish.
Koiguy is right that UV/sun does affect colors.
Amen! I couldn't agree more. Everyone that comes here for Koi or bamboo want instant gratification and they want it for half of what it costs me to produce it. It seems like it is the most wealthy that are the hardest to sell.
FredrikAnderson
Koi Herder
Well the change is obvious and it has only been about 3 weeks. I have been feeding them tetrapond vib. The yellow butterfly is beautiful for sure. My daughter named it Princess so until proven otherwise its a girl but after reading the articals on sexing, it acts more like a male when it comes to feeding. I have another that is very quick to eat so we shall see. I still like the orange and black (snipper) but I just perferred the original coloring. I am sure that there will be plenty more color changing to go with all the koi I have and I look forward to seeing it happen.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
fredrikAnderson....
how many fish are in your jakoizi? its only 350 gals right? maybe you should step up your 16 gal skippy to a 30+ gal skippy.
how many fish are in your jakoizi? its only 350 gals right? maybe you should step up your 16 gal skippy to a 30+ gal skippy.
FredrikAnderson
Koi Herder
opps, Sorry I forgot to update you guys on my progress. I recently got a 55 gallon drum free on craigs list and replaced my 16 gallon skippy with a 55gal version. I figure that should take care of any kind of overstocking i do. I will still need to upgrade to something larger to give them more room to swim when my koi grow bigger but should be fine for now. I figure I have about 425 gals of water in my system now.
FredrikAnderson
Koi Herder
I have been testing almost everyday to make sure my amon and nitrite levels are good. they have always been 0 except one time the amon was insanely high and i got freaked out so i retested it and it was 0 and i retested it again and it was 0 so i must have just got a bad sample to start with.
if you're using paper test strips (instead of liquid tests), those are very often wrong...
FredrikAnderson
Koi Herder
i have a master pond kit with the liquid tests. I think i just got a bad sample of water. every sample since was 0 and everyone before was 0. so I am not worried.
if you get a sample that's off like that...always retest, yes. It can happen...
FredrikAnderson said:
Always take the sample several inches below the surface, try to avoid any surface water in your test.
I prefer to take mine right out of the bio filter spillway.
FredrikAnderson
Koi Herder
thats a good idea. Mine may be a little hard to get to but I will make sure to test further under the water. Thanks