My new Koi

[Cinnamon]

Well I made it to Brett's Fish Farm today. I grabbed Ralph and Diane Bates and we all took a trip. Here are the pics of the Koi I bought. I went for one fish and came home with 6! :lol: He made me a deal I could NOT refuse. I have 3 Kohuka, 2 Sanke, and 1 Showa. At least Brett thought it was a Showa. So now I have Koi that are not pond mutts! !rofl Don't get me wrong I still love my pond mutts. The largest Kohuka was hard to take a pic of. He was antsy in that bowl. I couldn't find a big bowl on the way home to take pics in. I was nervous about it jumping out of the bowl.

I think Brett did me right on the price! Heck I "KNOW" he did. I bought the 6 fish for less than what I spent on my Mutts! My original Koi will freak when I put these others in the pond. They will think I bought whales in comparision!

So here they are. I am ready for opinions! :lol:


Their names are first is Aphrodite, next is Herculese, next is Thor and last but not least is Apollo.

[Cinnamon]

Here are the last 2 pics!
The first one is Venus and the next is Medusa.

[Jackie Ramo]

Hey looking good. I like number 4 the best. but will say Brett has nice fish no matter what. Did you take any pics of his tanks?

So the Q tank is more than full now, fish greed will do that to you. :grin:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I went to the Nursery yesterday and bought plants before we went. I fully intended on taking my camera. But alas I walked right out the door without it :cry: We were in a rush by that point. Brett does have nice fish. I am tickled but I still love my mutts too!

[Jackie Ramo]

Unfortuantely, there are those out there who would class these as mutts. Not born in Japan, can't be real koi :frisbee: !rofl

I have a few Texas imports in my pond :D

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I know that is true. But hey we love our kids don't we? Did your Texas imports come from Brett's? He said these were good pond koi not show koi. I told him I was not in it for the show. AT least not right now haha

[Busy B]

Number 4 was my pick too...but I like them all!

Have you now met the quota for how many you can stock?

[Cinnamon]

Busy B I sure have. Like I said I went for one fish! I hadn't intended on buying 6. But with that kind of deal how could I refuse? !rofl The pond will sustain them for awhile. I told Heiko it could handle it for another 4 yrs. Brett added, "No way! You need to start on the other pond this fall. That way you can come buy some of my good koi!" !rofl

[Busy B]

Salesman first, breeder second! :smile:

I'd love to have some of his fish..someday I will...

I have dreams of having one of his Showa's..

So your going to build another pond?

[Terri]

Nice pics Cin. I like #3 kohaku, nice pattern. That showa has a long way to go, will be fun watching it grow/develop as the sumi comes up.

[Ahhuhz]

Cinn,
How big are they? In the one pic, it looks like they are about 6". If that is true and you call them whales, how big are your other Koi?

[Cinnamon]

Terri it will be fun watching them progress. Brett said they are a good group to learn from. He said you never know how they will turn out.

Busy B Rembrandt has been planning a second pond before we finish this one! :lol: If we ever get through with this one. He is running power to the waterfall today that houses the UVc. I bought a bunch of plants yesterday to put around it. And he brought me an Angel that is over 3' tall today!! I will post pics afterwhile!

Ahh the big one is what I was calling a whale. He is the best I can figure to be 10". My little mutts started out at 3" but now I would guess them around 6" and one about 5". The smaller ones in this group are about the size of my butterfly koi.

[Tammygirl815]

Hi Cinn. I like #1 I think the markings are nice! I only own 2 koi right now, They are just mutts too, but that doesn't really matter to me just yet! Maybe someday I will get a few more. I wanted to see how these did in the pond before I got any more, so far they are doing fine. I have a butterfly and a brite yellow guy. They are about 8 or 9 inches right now. The butterfly one is pretty with long fins he is black with orange. :smile:

[Cinnamon]

I'd love to have some of his fish..someday I will...

I have dreams of having one of his Showa's..



Busy B now just pack a bag and come to Texas and we will drive you to Brett's! It is about 125 miles from our house. Not too bad and we ate a great Seafood restaraunt also. Of course here we lots of good Seafood places!

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm sure Brett could rig some kind of carryon for you to take some home with you... :!:

[Cinnamon]

Denise I am so new at this myself. I purchased my first ones in Oct. We had our pond collapse after a heavy rain. We had to rebuild it with cinder blocks. It was a job. We started it back up Dec 11 and on Dec 15 I bought 4 more Butterfly Koi to add to it the remaining bunch. I hadn't intended on buying 6 more but how I could refuse a deal like that? haha I gave $10 each for the first 4 Koi. $15 each for the 2 Fantails. 2 Koi died and I bought 4 more at $15 each. I purchased all 6 of these for less than what I paid for all the Koi before.

My orginal Koi are not that big yet. Maybe 5 - 6". I do have a black and orange Butterfly as you discribed. He was so sick and I almost lost him. He got well on Halloween. Him being black and orange how could I name him anything but "Halloween" :D

[Jackie Ramo]

I see buying direct has lots of benefits, good koi,nice price 8-)

[Dayleen]

Busy....you don't have to go all the way to Texas to get Brett's fish, he's my main US source. Sometimes i can put one of his next to a high grade Japanese and the know-it-all's can't tell the difference.

A visit to his farm can't be missed though....it's a great place and he's a character!! Pretty neat to see 25.000 Koi come up to eat at once....not to mention the big females pond....they are BIG girls....just watch out for the copperheads.

[Busy B]

Some day when I'm brave and I plan ahead...I'll contact him to have them shipped...I've seen what my plants look like when they show up, so I'm scared :eek:

I know it would probably work...daughter had 2 goldfish shipped from Tommy Hu and they made it just fine...

One of these days...

[Cinnamon]

Dayleen hey I was trying to talk Busy B into a visit in Texas! :lol: Brett is really a character. You read his resume and you are taken back when you meet him. I talked to him on the phone first and I had a hint, but when we arrived it was something else. It truely was a great experience. Heck I may just go to visit sometime! haha The lakes aka "koi ponds" are awesome. You see all these mud lakes. He starts throwing food out and all of a sudden you see color appear up close to the surface. It is truely a site. Dayleen you should see one lake he has. He said neither "Love or Money" could buy these fish. They were awesome.

[Jackie Ramo]

Well then you had better plan another trip and this time take the camera... some people are sooooo selfish !rofl

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I am sure it isn't our last trip. And I won't forget the camera. If nothing else I will drive down there to take pics for you! ;-) I am NOT going to buy any more fish right now. I can't. I have to leave a little breathing room. Heiko said last night if I keep going he is going to have to build the 2nd pond before he wants to !rofl

You remember the guy from the Netherlands that take such awesome pics on KV? Well I am going to have the chance of meeting him. Ralph said he was coming to their next Koi Club meeting. You know I won't miss that one!

[Dayleen]

Cinnamon.....I have been to Brett's and seen the whole place....that's why i said to watch out for the copperheads....we just about stepped on one that was sleeping in the shade.

He is the most genuine sweet person i have ever met. Knows practicaly more than anyone about Koi but is so humble he would never admit to it....a TRUE gentleman!!

[Cinnamon]

Dayleen that is awesome that you have been there. How did you like this part of Texas? Don't judge all of Texas by one place. It is so big we have 4 or 5 different regions in the State. Out west is dry and scrub brush, around Austin is the Hill Country, then you have all the Beach Zones along the coast, then up in the northern part it snows and here we just get rain and more rain! :lol:

Brett is good guy. He is a character! How far away from Victoria are you? I have been to Victoria a few years back.

And as far as the copperheads, that is common thing here. We always watch for snakes. One thing out there is water moccasins also in the water. My husband kills one copperhead every time he weed eats. Me I believe the only good snake is a "DEAD" snake! I hate snakes. My FIL gets all upset with me if I even mention killing King snakes. They are the good snakes. They eat copperheads!

[Jackie Ramo]

Jackie I am sure it isn't our last trip. And I won't forget the camera. If nothing else I will drive down there to take pics for you! ;-) I am NOT going to buy any more fish right now. I can't. I have to leave a little breathing room. Heiko said last night if I keep going he is going to have to build the 2nd pond before he wants to !rofl

You remember the guy from the Netherlands that take such awesome pics on KV? Well I am going to have the chance of meeting him. Ralph said he was coming to their next Koi Club meeting. You know I won't miss that one!


I am envious that you will get a chance to meet Martin. I so wish I was able to get down to his seminar at the show this weekend. I just got a copy of his calendar in the mail (a gift and a wonderful suprise)

Hopefully Martin will give you some picture pointers and you can practise them at Brett's :grin:

[Tammygirl815]

Hi everyone, I was out and took a look at my fish and they are all still fine! The only thing I noticed is the 2 koi are looking so thin, I guess I would be too if I didn't have a meal in the last 4 months :-P other than that all is well :shock: I must be doing something right!

[Jackie Ramo]

Denise it is always a relief to see the fish. I can't see mine again right now but saw them last week. Glad yours are fine. Winter, please be gone....

[Merlin]

Nice fish Cinnamon, :-) I for one would not call them muts, if you wanna see muts take a look at some of my Ghosts, but I love them all the same :grin: .

[Cinnamon]

Thanks Merlin! To some they are mutts but not to me. I have butterfly koi in the pond already. I call them my mutts. Hey but I love them just the same. Already I have to pet them. My female Fantail Goldfish even wants petting after she eats. She hits the feeding ring then comes to me. She won't go away until I stick my fingers in the water and pet her! :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

No wonder you call them mutts, sounds like dogs to me :smile:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie once again they have gotten more spoiled than the were before they got spooked! Are you suppose to spoil them? ;)

[Jackie Ramo]

Certainly you are supposed to spoil them, Shall we spoil them or take them out and spank them !rofl The joy of having them is spoiling them.

[Dayleen]

Cinnamon.....i LOVE Texas !!!!! Absolutly love it. The people are great, the food is great...the scenery is great...LOVE IT....LOVE IT !!!!! We went to San Antonio, Houston, Galveston, Corpus Cristie and a hundred places in between....love it all. I was amazed really just how lush it is there. I had expected flat dry farm land kinda like Alberta in Canada. In stead it seemed green and lush, yes there are huge ranches but not like i expected. There were farms that seemed pretty poverty stricken but that's everywhere. I have nothing bad to say at all...we had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Victoria is on Vancouver Island. We are inland about a 4 hour drive from Vancouver in an area called the Okanagan Valley. We are the California of Canada....warm, nice beaches, excellent weather...lots of sun, not a lot of rain...almost perfect.

[Busy B]

See now Dayleen you've wrecked my vision of Texas...I figured flat dry land...and lots of it...just not as big as Alaska...:lol:

[Cinnamon]

Dayleen what time of year did you come? Most people from up North says the humidity is what kills them here. I had a friend from Toronto come to visit a few years back when I lived in Clear Lake which is south of Houston. It is a very resort type community with tons of big boats and tons of clubs. It was the end of June when she was here. We were at a private party at a marina when we almost lost her. I had to get her inside and cool her down. She didn't realize what was happening. Of course we are uyse to it be she wasn't.

Busy B a lot of people think Texas is like a dust bowl flat and dry. We have so many different areas in this state because it is so big. Now out West it is dry and tumbleweeds abound. Up north toward Dallas and farther up in Amarillo they get snow and ice. Especially Amarillo because it isn't far to Denver. Then we have all the beaches which are communities of their own. Here we have lots of forest and lots of rain! We are sub-tropical. The around Austin is the hill country. One little bit of Texas Trivia here. You can drive from El Paso to Los Angeles faster than you can drive from here to El Paso!

And here we have swamps also as we are only 40 miles from Lousianna. So many different areas.

[Cinnamon]

I have had my new babies now one week today. I have only fed them 3 times. These fish are a lot smarter! When I went to feed them yesterday they cam running as I lifted the foam off the top of the water. Now this morning I was taking out the sponge filter and had it about half way out of the QT. When all 6 of them came up and started nibbling on my hand. The biggest one was sucking on my hand! I couldn't believe it. They are already spoiled. Just wait until next Sat when I put them in the big pond! :lol: Ralph told me Brett's fish are fine and 2 weeks in QT would be enough. :D

[Jackie Ramo]

Put one of you guys in with them now so they can cross contaminate :D That way you will know that the bacteria willnot be a problem.

Can't believe how friendly your guys are. I've decided to starve mine now. :evil:

[Dayleen]

Cinnamon....we were there first week in April, it was 86 degrees and humid. We had our eyes just about burn out of their sockets when we were sitting at a white table at Water Garden Gems....the glare was so bad it was unreal.

It was just fantastic....i think i would be 300 pounds if i lived there....the food is amazing....Crab on the beach, Mexican in San Antonio, steak so tender you don't need a knife....Italian as good as Italy (never new Italians were so prominent in San Antonio) All we needed was some really good Greek food and i think we would never have come home.

Don't even get me started on the people....awesome...very friendly. A state so diverse it's amazing. I would highly recommend a visit to anyone just make sure you see Brett because a trip there without seeing him...is just a waste of time....he really gives you the flavour of the place.

[Cinnamon]

Dayleen if you had looked in the right place you would have found and great Greek restaraunt. We are about as diverse in people as we are in geographical areas. How in Houston you would have found Greek restaraunts galore! In April you miised all the fun !rofl 86 in April is about right. Shoot today we hit 80!

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I couldn't believe it they were so friendly either! I was amazed! I tried to catch one of mine at the start to put in the QT. I don't have a good net to catch them with in the big pond. I need to invest in one soon! I only have a little hand net that has a deep pocket. The only one I could nab was Cinn and I didn't want to put her in there as she is spawning all the time :lol: She was swimming in my net. Goofy fish! The rest of them are too fast for that net. I may come out with some cross breeds. I don't know if the 100 gallons would hold 7 fish do you? It seems like that is a lot of fish for 100 gallons. The water levels are testing out good. No ammonia or nitrites so I am holding my breath. One more week!

[ozzyrockman]

Cinn, your lucky this year things should be pretty quite for you and Rem simply because I'm not going to be passing thru Texas. Every time I am in Texas mother nature welcomes me in grand style the down side of it is it's never in a good way. :backon: we where talking about your new little rascals you do realize once they accept you by chewing on your fingers it is time to give them each appropriate names that fit their dispositions isn't that right Jackie. So how is grumpy doing these days? :D I have a dog that I should have named Dopy instead of Moose although he does smell like one !wow! . Allen

[Cinnamon]

Ozzy I couldn't believe they did that. I know I have been trying to think up names for them all. They are enough different I can tell them apart, at least for right now. I am hoping something will hit me soon!

I decided a way to catch one of mine is make them mad at feeding time. Heiko went to the store to get some plumbing fittings.. (another story as nothing goes easy around here). As soon as he gets back I am going to get him to help me. I think after I drop the feeding ring in they will be right there by me. I am going to try to net one. Whichever I get is the one that goes to QT! All except my female fantail! I don't want pot bellied koi :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

Actually, the rest in the q tank might be good for Cinn. She'll hold those eggs for a week and the baby koi are to young to be interested. Just a thought, Myself I'd rather it be a fish you are not so fond of, one never knows what can happen that's why this step is important. Still easier to treat anything in Q than in the pond.

[Cinnamon]

I may go ahead and put Cinn in there. Rem is after her again this morning. I think she is ready to spawn. How old are the Koi before they spawn? I was worried about having 7 fish in the QT. I check ammonia EVERY day. I checked Nitrites yesterday and they were less than 0.3 . That is the lowest reading. I sure don't want to spike the ammonia. Of course I put the ammonia block in the QT right after I put the fish in.

Ozzy okay we sat yesterday and made a list of names. The biggest new one we are going to call Herculese. I have to figure out the rest. Heiko was saying this morning when we get these in the pond we won't be able to tell them apart. I told him I could tell them apart. He said well there are 3 Kohakus. I explained that the markings were different and I could tell them apart. He said well you are the Mother! You have that ability! :lol: !rofl

Our New waterfall we are going to call it the Parthenon :D

[Busy B]

Oh your having fun aren't you?

We had a Siamese for years (over 20)...Her name was Ischi...for the cats that came along thru that time (and there were lots) we went thru the Japenese alphabet..I think I was Japenese...my husband kept coming up with the names and I can't remember them all now...Roko was next..

Cleopatra somewhere in there? :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

A bit of salt in the q for the nitrites if it isn't there already. Koi normally spwn at the 3 year mark, not always but usually. Mine should have spawned last year but didn't... I'll probably have a mess this year... :sad:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I had my salt level to .35 before I ever put the fish in there. That is one thing I have learned! I decided I am going to stick Rem in there. I am going to put them in the big pond on Saturday. I was asking Ralph about it and he said 2 weeks would be plenty. He said Brett's fish are really safe. He said he has taken a fish from Brett and put it in his pond directly. So 2 weeks in the salt should be okay :-)

Busy B here is the partial list of our names. I can't remember all of them and the list is in my shop. We have Venus (after Venus de Milo - Heiko thought it was for the planet :lol: ), Aphrodite, Thor, Socrateese, Pluto ( I am not too fond of that one for some reason), Ceaser ( I had actually thought of Cleopatra haha), Zues, etc

Heiko wanted to name the big one Zues. I like Hercules better.

[Busy B]

Well then you need one named De Nile :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

Cinn could use the rest although with the salt that high I'd worry about shocking her.... unless you have salt in the outside pond as well.

Cute names, I love DeNile.... something I'm always in !rofl

[Cinnamon]

Busy B hey that De Nile is cute! Although most of the names we have are after Greek Gods. I only threw Ceaser in there.

Jackie I don't have salt in the other pond at all. So now what should I do?? Should I put Rem in there or just take a chance? I am totally confused now. Help me! !rofl I would rather not put Cinn in there. She will come to me and I can nab Rem then. I tried when they were eating and the Koi spooked so the rest of them did too. Dern it! :-(

When we first talked about names I had no idea. Then I threw these Japanese names at him! Sony, Yamaha, Toshiba, Suzuki,.... !rofl

We named our Siamese Sonja. We call her Sony all the time. Then I call her Sony with Trinitron :lol:

[Cinnamon]

Is that too high salt content? That is what the pond guy told me to do before when the walls collapsed. He said keep it from .3 to .35 for 3 wks then do water changes and let the rest go out normally. Is this wrong?

[Busy B]

What kind of goldfish do you have again?

I have a shubunkin that seems to think he is one stud muffin :eek:

My daughter says he's always at it because of the fluctuations in temperture...she does the goldies more than I...my koi are too young.

[Cinnamon]

Busy B I have Fantails.

[Jackie Ramo]

!rofl Sorry I read Rem and typed Cinn, see the two are inseparatable.

I find 0.35 a little high unless you are treating for something and then it is usually 0.3%. Since the fish seem fine I'd lower the salt with a water change and pop Rem in. I was more woried about Cinn as she is tired from being chased. Rem otoh... :D

[Cinnamon]

Jackie sounds like a plan. Rem bought me a nice fish net today with a Telescoping pole. It is great and I could catch all of them in the net ;) I will do a water change right now and then catch Rem and give Cinn a break. I think she may have spawned as the fish were hitting the plants again. It will give her a rest she needs! Thanks!

[Jackie Ramo]

So is Rem enjoying his salt bath :frisbee:

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I guess he is. He is just swimming around the the new fish. It was funny Heiko was playing with them during the water change. We have a 5 gallon bucket for the pond. He would pour a bucket in the QT and the fish would swim in the stream. They loved it as much as enjoyed watching. I guess they wanted a water massage! :lol:

[ozzyrockman]

Cinn, it sounds like you need to incorperate some jets in your pond to give them that true relaxing feeling. :lol: Allen

[Cinnamon]

Allen my fish in the pond play in the waterfall. I told Heiko it was their massage :-o It has to feel good for them to stay under it.

[ozzyrockman]

Actually I should not have put the lol guy on my last post. From what I have seem with my rascels in the big pond love to play in the flow the way I have the water return now while I am building the waterfall because it pushes about 3000gallons of water on the left side of the pond out of a 3" pipe. They go right up to the water return and then shot across the pond I call it my fishy roller coaster ride. It is really fun to watch them :grin: :grin: :grin: . Allen

[Jackie Ramo]

Yes, my koi like to play in the waterfall as well. I have a 250 gallon pump that I run in the inside pond to provide current, not so much for the fish but to move the debris to the filter. Tweet hangs out there a lot but the little guys don't seem to bother with it. Tweet has found the extra liner flap I have hanging down under the water fall and goes under it and pushes it up, spraying water everywhere... took me forever to figure why there was water where there should not be any..... keeps you on your toes does Tweet.

Glad Rem made a good transition to the Q tank. Now he can make friends with his new family

[Busy B]

Fantails?...Golly...must be nice to be able to have them outside...they are so beautiful swimming.

No wonder tho that your having spawning issues...with Cin in the pond by her lonely she just may get a break!

[Cinnamon]

Busy B she is getting a break at least for a few days. I move the new fish to the big pond Saturday. I am anxious to see how they all act. Last time I moved the last 4 koi in it was Koi Olympics :lol: The 2 Koi I had moved slow like the fantails. When I added 4 more Koi it was hillarious watching them. I had never seen them move so fast. :grin:

[Busy B]

Koi Olympics LOL...

got a video camera too? Should be fun to keep track of them also on film and see how much they grow in time.

[Cinnamon]

Busy B I have an underwater camera but until I get my new filter hooked up the water is not that clear. I miss my camera too! :-(

[luke frisbee]

ACTUALLY, I read that a koi can spawn after living a certain number of "warm hours". And I believe it...since my B-team spawned and none were over 14 months.

[Jackie Ramo]

Maybe yours were into survival mode since they spawned in a hurricane. Bonnie Hales says hers also spawn earlier than the 3 year mark.

[Cinnamon]

You know it amazes me that I can keep 7 fish that size in 110 gallon stock tank and not have any ammonia or nitrite spikes. I better watch talking about it I might jinx it. I guess I have learned a little bit in the past few months! !rofl Either that or my fish are just being have and not letting it all out until they get in the big pond SAturday morning! :D

[Busy B]

Not too excited are ya? :smile:

[Cinnamon]

Busy B does it show? :lol: I just fret so much when I have them in the QT. I am a constant worrier about the water and the fish. I test water daily too! You never know in that small amount of water. Then I stop and think that there are people that their entire ponds are that much ;)

[Jackie Ramo]

Now, we expect pictures to be taken on Saturday... no excuses!!!!

[Cinnamon]

Jackie I will have camera ready! I will definitely put the pics up. When I went out to feed the ones in the pond a minute ago I had to stop by the QT and see my new babies. Rem is happy in there it looked like. They all came up and nibbled on my fingers :D

[Busy B]

So does Brett make them that friendly to begin with?

[ozzyrockman]

Busy B, I think Rem and Cinn just have a special way with their kids. Whats that saying "a healthy koi is a hungry koi". :wave: Allen

[Cinnamon]

Allen I guess that is it. I don't know. Mabye it is my magnetic personality! :lol: That is what I tell everyone all the time ;) I was really surprised at the new Koi. I've almost sorted out the names thing too.

[Jackie Ramo]

I do think friendliness starts when they are fry if exposed to humans. Certainly Ian and Terri's fish are friendly as the pics show. Fish from pet stores have been poked and prodded to many times without reward and it takes a long time to tame them.

[Dewi]

Unfortuantely, there are those out there who would class these as mutts. Not born in Japan, can't be real koi :frisbee: !rofl

I have a few Texas imports in my pond :D

When I first sarted ponding,I bought all Japanese koi, (6) only because I knew no different. I now have seven, hopefully I will extend my pond this year, but the extra fish I then by will be pleasing to myself and family. Being Japanese will be secondary.

I gain the most satisfaction from watching them grow, or a visitor who might come to my home and make a favourable comment. Unfortunately for the fish, most of my visitors cant speak a word of Japanese, or would they know
the fish were anything other than Welsh. Pretentiousness is a disease that I hope I never catch, now of to work ;)

[Jackie Ramo]

I agree, what use is a petagree if the eye that beholds it day after day doesn't enjoy if.

[Cinnamon]

Today is D Day. At 9:30 am CST I am moving the new fish to the big pond! YEA! I know Rem will be happy to get back! There weren't any mosquitos around the QT :lol: This should be fun!

[Busy B]

And the trusty camera is where? :smile:

[Cinnamon]

Busy B and the camera was in Rembrandt's hand! :lol: He took pics. I will upload them when it starts raining this afternoon. I have been out planting trees and potting plants. While I planted the 2 Golden Raintrees I found 2 earthworms and one grub worm. Now this was really the first they had seen. I thew them in the pond and 30 seconds they disappeared. And they had already eaten! The new Koi fit right in. They are all happy it seems. I fed them after I moved them. They haven't taught the new ones to eat the orange yet but wait a little while :lol: I had to take a break. Man it is HOT out there! And humid but what is new for here? :D

[Ron C]

The temp here today is 35 windy and raining. We just finished opening the pond at our local zoo. I am still filthy, waiting for the hotwater heater to get the water hot, seems while I was out freezing my daughter took a nice warm bath and my son was getting out of the shower when I walked in. Now I have to wait for some hot water.

[Cinnamon]

Ron want me to send some of this up that way? I have a friend who lives in Racine, WI she always asks me to send 3 thunderstorms a year. Then her winter will be over. She has had one. Someone sent that cold stuff down here 2 days ago. It did get down to 35F and frost. At least not all my plants froze! Last year we went from Winter to Summer no in between. Looks like it is going to do that again this year. It has warmed to 82 now. Here I was ready for Spring as I hate the cold. But I am not ready for summer :lol: I just can't be pleased can I? :lol: !strut

[Cinnamon]

Here are the pics as promised!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pamth@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=a698&.src=ph

I did name them all today also. I will go back and post the names with the pics in an earlier post on this thread!

On the pictures notice the yellow line at the water line. That is what I have to clean off yuck! :sad: But not until it all stops. Rembrandt's black truck is yellow every morning :lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

The sure look happy and it didn't take them long to settle in at all!!! They do love those oranges.

Watch your water now as the increased load may give the filters a kick.

[Cinnamon]

I plan on doing another water test after they have been in there a day. I wanted to give it time to settle with them in it. We aren't far off from the big filter being ready! Then I won't have to worry at all!

[Jackie Ramo]

Well it will take 6-8 weeks for the big filter to cycle so don't relax yet!!!

[Dayleen]

Cinnamon..... If Brett had known you had Butterflies in your pond he may not have sold you those Koi...LOL

Brett doesn't think much of Butterflies and doesn't even think they are Koi. Which must start some interesting conversations between himself and one of his good friends that breeds long fin....and very nice ones too i may add.

I think all your fish are very nice...you have great taste!!

[Cinnamon]

Dayleen Thanks! I did tell Brett that I had Butterfly mutts! :lol: But I added they were my mutts and I loved them! Maybe he knew I would be a good Momma! Rembrandt still can't figure out which is which now. I told him if he looks close there is a difference. They all have names now too :-o

[Ahhuhz]

Funny, I love the butterfly koi. In fact, this Wednesday, I am going to my koi importer, KeirinKoi, an excellent Koi importer, and getting a few straight off the plane from Japan. Guess it is personal taste but I think they are very pretty.

[Busy B]

They are Chuck...the flowing fins can be beautiful swimming thru the water :wink:

[Cinnamon]

I love the flowing tails also.

Jackie I tested the water this morning. The levels haven't changed at all!

PH - 8
O2 - 8
ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate -was a little more than 0 but less than 12.5 It was just a little off 0 on the color chart.

So things look good!

Oh Jackie Heiko wanted me to tell you the only spinach he knows is in a can. He said he will get 2 cans and throw in the pond. He wants to know if he needs to give them a can opener also? :lol: !rofl !rofl

[Jackie Ramo]

Put Rem back in the salt bath :roll: or we will change his name to Popeye. :lol:

[Cinnamon]

I will deliver that message for sure! :lol: !rofl

[luke frisbee]

not the first one, and not the last one, but the ones inbetween are very good fish, especially the kohakus....did brett tellyou they were males? If he sold you females and they look this good at this size..........................?

[Jackie Ramo]

Luke, I see what you are saying about the first one but the last one looks good to me. Will get more white as it grows... maybe

[Dayleen]

Shhhhh....I love butterflies too !!

[Cinnamon]

Luke he didn't say if they were male or female and I didn't ask. I should have. He did tell me that the large Kohaku had one marking away from being a $1000 fish. He told me where the mark should be but I forgot. He is big for sure. I have named it Hercules! :lol: I picked it out by myself on that one ;) I picked one more then Brett and Ralph Bates picked the others. Hey they are better than I am at this!

[Rembrandt]

Hey Jackie,

I really didn't throw them a can opener. I opened it up for them. I am not THAT heartless! :lol:
I did note this morning before I left for work that they had found the spinach leaf. It looks like it was hit with a weed-eater. Pam knows all of the fish like a mother now. Myself, :confused: I get lost in the twists of orange, white, black, etc. Looks like rush hour traffic only a lot faster! :D

Rembrandt

[Busy B]

Better watch out...you're hooked now! :smile:

[Jackie Ramo]

Never mind Popeye, once they start eating out of your hand you'll soon know the all by individual name. Me I name them for looks, keeps it simple !strut

[luke frisbee]

the last one looks to have an entirely red head, which never looks good ...except on an entirely red koi.

[Jackie Ramo]

I thought it had a bit of white showing on the topside.

Pam, have you got a better pic of the fish? :smile:

[Cinnamon]

Luke the entire head is not red. I wish I had a better pic. But both eyes are in white. The red stops short of the eyes. From the pic it looks all red but it isn't. I looked them over close the other day when I was moving them and have since I have had them. I thought the head was all red but it wasn't. I have red up on the markings since I purchased these. I have a question though. The Sanke that has a lot of white is not a good fish? Everyone picked the other Sanke. My I picked her out. I thought it was pretty :lol: But hey I don't know anything about the markings. I am just learning. I did see that the other Sanke has one marking that keeps it away. The one black spot close to it's head. I read where the black should start at the shoulders. Is that correct? Brett had said the largest Kohaku liked one marking for a 3 stage. What ever that is.

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm just learning myself. The first fish has too much white and the red is not balanced. The white is good white though. You have to picture how the fish will look when they are big with the pattern they have and that one will have a red head and a small spot of red on its back. If the red stays at all. You want a fish that has a lot of red with black coming up when it is young.

My Sanke, Ms Doodle, doesn't have enough red at the tail end but I still like her.

[Cinnamon]

Shows you how much I know! :lol: Like I said I did do some reading on Sanke and Kohahu after I bought these fish. One of these days I will have this all figured out! ;)

[Jackie Ramo]

Well then you can be a koi judge!!! !strut I doubt I'll ever get it figured out.

[Cinnamon]

Moi?? Nah I don't think I will figure it out to that point! Hey look at my tastes now! :lol:

[Busy B]

It's like clothes...I buy what I like.

I haven't bought a fish for over a year...haven't seen any that I want to bring home...locally that is..

[Jackie Ramo]

My last purchase was the chagoi over a year ago... the soragoi was a gift last summer.

[luke frisbee]

UNLESS you are buying to show them. Buy exactly what you find beautiful... the "appreciation" of koi is far over-rated.
The judges/koi establishment are ingrained in some real antiquated backward BS. and they lack aram and defend their veiws simply so they can stay "The Koi Establishment", and if you do not see it as they do then you are lambasted by them...your opinions are not discussed, just your being. Much as if it were a pigheaded-based religion.
Toe the party line or get lambasted as a juvenile heretic.

However, that being said, Koi appreciation dogma can help you understand why you like the koi you do...crisp color demarcations, certain placement of colors and patterns....but not all of what they say is true.

[Jackie Ramo]

Well I hate those big fat ones with the humps... Terri says humps are a good thing but those humps are ugly to me. Almost every grand champ has one so I guess I'm wrong and the humps are in fact lovely :lol: But I keep thinking, this is a culture that likes fat wrestlers... ;)

[luke frisbee]

first humps i saw I thought they were on koi that had heads that didn't grow as afast as the body...it looks wrong. it should BE wrong.
The one I don't like is when they say a koi has a "cute babyface" as if it were a good thing! it is a deformed head, somebody is pulling the wool over the Public's eyes.

[Jackie Ramo]

You don't like those little chubby faces :lol:

Why does that not surprise me.

[Cinnamon]

When we were at Brett's, Ralph wanted to see one small Koi. Brett told him he had a funny nose. He netted it then picked it up. He said, "See his nose is off!" Then he politely threw it to the cat! ;) Diane and I about had a heart attack. He explained NOTHING is wasted there. I wouldn't go that far! But I guess in his business you can. He shoots for the prize ones. Me I love ALL my Koi be it mutts or Brett's fish! It is funny with 14 fish in there I can still spot one that is missing. Heiko said I only counted twelve. I looked down and told him which one was missing. He just shook his head! !strut

[Jackie Ramo]

When you are in business one has to have a harder heart. At least the cat had a good meal and probably follows him around for just this treat... !wow! He'd soon not have a buesiness if he allowed funny nosed koi to be shipped. Well perhaps he could find a new specialty ;) Funny nosed koi to got with the ink jetted ones. that is sick!!

Yes, Smith is the same, can't tell any of them except the two biggest apart and has no clue what they others are or how many. Mind, he doesn't remember to feed the dogs either...

[Dewi]

UNLESS you are buying to show them. Buy exactly what you find beautiful... ., that being said, Koi appreciation dogma can help you understand why you like the koi you do...crisp color demarcations, certain placement of colors and patterns....but not all of what they say is true. I agree with the first part whole heartidly, the second, you seem to contradict, why would anyone listen to some-one who is not altogether truthful????? or is this just an opinion you have formed over yeasr of koi keeping. :confused:

[Marg]

Well I made it to Brett's Fish Farm today. I grabbed Ralph and Diane Bates and we all took a trip. Here are the pics of the Koi I bought. I went for one fish and came home with 6! :lol: He made me a deal I could NOT refuse. I have 3 Kohuka, 2 Sanke, and 1 Showa. At least Brett thought it was a Showa. So now I have Koi that are not pond mutts! !rofl Don't get me wrong I still love my pond mutts. The largest Kohuka was hard to take a pic of. He was antsy in that bowl. I couldn't find a big bowl on the way home to take pics in. I was nervous about it jumping out of the bowl.

I think Brett did me right on the price! Heck I "KNOW" he did. I bought the 6 fish for less than what I spent on my Mutts! My original Koi will freak when I put these others in the pond. They will think I bought whales in comparision!

So here they are. I am ready for opinions! :lol:


Their names are first is Aphrodite, next is Herculese, next is Thor and last but not least is Apollo.

Since we lost our 2010 posts and the oldest posts came up....
I read this one first. Do you still have any of these Koi? How do they look now?
Always interested in before and later shots!
Marg

[Rembrandt]

Hey Marg,
We still have them all and growing like monsters.
We are fortunate in that we have only lost two of the Koi since we have started. They were from our first starters.
The ones from Brett's Fish Farm are good.
Remmy

[Marg]

I can see 8002 with the red moon in the middle of the back. Is it 7992, top left ?
I am not sure which the others are.
Have they changed that much that I can't figure it out?
:roll:
Thanks,
Marg

[philly]

They are looking great, there noting like having jumbo koi. :yup: :yup:

[marla]

OMG they have grown HUGE over the years, mine never got that big, then they don't have as much room.

[philly]

Yes Remmy and Cinn should let us know what they are doing for their koi to grow sooooo huge. :grin:

[Marg]

:phfft:Darn.

[marla]

maybe they feed them little children, one slip and that little guy in the picture may be their next meal :lol:

[philly]

You're so funny that's why you will be around for a long time. :grin:

[carcha koi]

Any pics of those Koi now compared to 2005:)

[philly]

Any pics of those Koi now compared to 2005:)

Yes show us the difference in the last 5 years. :yesyes: :yesyes:

[Koidaddy]

Pictures !:yeahbaby:

[philly]

Pictures !:yeahbaby:

Isn't that the rules, pictures and more pictures. :yup:

[Busy B]

Wow..that was a trip down memory lane..

I'm so out of the loop in the koi world..ever since I decided to enlarge the pond and it's still not done! Maybe this year I can attack it..

Cinn and Ren..great job on your setup..koi look happy!

[carcha koi]

Well...........................:koi::koi: