Koi Markings On Goldfish, Top view Options

[sabao]

"Those used to be mine Tom. I spawned them and then sold them. They are third generation for me. Hopefully, there is something better in the fourth generation.

If judged for their kohaku pattern the largest fault would be the red in the tail and pectorals. I raise kohaku koi too and find it much more difficult to get clear fins in the goldfish. The male on the left needs a tail stop (short section of white at the end of the caudal peduncle). The red should not extend down over the eye as it does on the female. The balance of the pattern is OK. The conformation is OK too.

-steve"

Thanks again for your reply Steve. I'm seeing koi markings on goldfish in photos from Japan more frequently these days, looks like there's lots happening over there. Kohaku, sanke, showa, goshiki, asagi, and likely others. Looks to be a new direction with lots of potential for interested goldfish breeders.

I don't have a lot of knowledge on koi markings, just the bare basics. I know you are a very busy guy but I was hoping you might answer a few questions. Or anyone else out there who is up on this subject.

I know that Kohaku markings on koi is a big subject, and the details of what is ideal for the step patterns is not so difficult to grasp. But once the pattern does not fall into these categories it starts to get a bit more confusing and very interesting.

Can you tell me how, for example, would one judge markings such as this, on a sarassa goldfish? To be a good kohaku pattern, do the markings have to fall into one of the step pattern categories?



Thanks,

Tom

[sabao]

The Japanese goldfish breeders seem mostly to be pioneering this very interesting aspect of the goldfish hobby.

You're right, for people who don't have the big ponds to keep koi, there is an option to develope and enjoy their array of markings but without the commitment to large facilities. For now I think it's quite rare to find good koi markings on goldfish outside of Japan, but hopefully in the near future this will not be the case. The option is available for any goldfish breeder to select for many koi-like markings amongst their singletail fry, and then work towards refinement.

Check out this video of a rare, very high quality four-step Kohaku Comet for example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfvFlyUQLQA...re=channel_page

Tom