Is it the Water??

[Jackie Ramo]

I was out admiring my lovely pond mutts today trying to see if they would come to me - not but still I got a good look at everyone and there is a bit of mark here and there but nothing that worries me.

What did surprise me is the big old girl herself. She is positively glowing with metallics. What's up with that? She didn't have a spec when I got her years ago and in the last year or so they have started to show but now. I wish I could have gotten a decent pic up close and will try again but its like a different fish. Also this close out of such a hard winter I would have expected a bit more time for her colour to come up. I've never thought that GG was a beauty but she sure looked purty today.

[Jackie Ramo]

I edited a pic I took not perfect but one can see the shine

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2398710495_b4645ce3e0_b.jpg


Another view
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2411/2399474092_8640a3b4c5_b.jpg

[carcha koi]

Looking good. Don't let KD see that OCHI in the back ground.

[Terri]

Jackie, GG's always been metallic :HAHA:

Chalk up her lovely lustre to a competent caregiver :grin:, water temp and water quality at this time of year.

[Peg]

WOW! The fish are looking really good Jackie. GG is my fave, but I have a soft spot for Butterflies. :)

[raganwald]

She is positively glowing with metallics. What's up with that?

Water temperature is the first question I would ask. The second is whether she is still growing. If she is still growing, I wonder whether a month or two without physically growing allowed her pigment to enrichen, whereas during growing months the growth might 'dilute' the colour a bit.

No idea really, just trying to spark some thinking...

[Jackie Ramo]

Looking good. Don't let KD see that OCHI in the back ground.

You mean this one

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2398944837_7c0af4b690_b.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

GG has not always been metallic, I have creamcycle pictures of her somewhere to prove it. Ugly old thing she was. She has over the last 3 years become metallic, heavens even old Tweet has become metallic in his old age. Must be that iron pot I keep the TT on.

Reg, GG is 8 or 9 years old, gifted to me when she was 2 or 3 so says the previous owner. Six years in this pond, being queen.

Peg, this is Smith's baby, talk to him about taking her home when you are here.

Here is a close up of the skin and her booboo, not sure what caused this but I am not currently worried about it

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/2399772270_a1a0824c23_b.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

And since I went out and took a bunch of pics of the gang and they are all looking fine here they are:

Having Chiba in the pond is like having a super model, hard to find a picture she isn't in... that is algae on the black baby from last year's head not a booboo

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2188/2398954427_bf2f8d9811_b.jpg

the most often seen view of Little Snot

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2222/2399785164_163dcf841b_b.jpg


The koi I rescued last year, looking good.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/2399781586_30b587a99a_b.jpg

Simply Red, our big male butterfly and guess who??

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2110/2399780098_03de75fd93_b.jpg

Alice and Itzi (does anyone thing Alice's eyes look a big buggy, he does have big eyes...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/2399464522_b3cdc50445_b.jpg

[Terri]

Who's this....
http://www.jackieramo.com/pages/my%20garden/pond/2001-02/images/2002Pond_11_JPG.jpg
I know I know !!! It's a metallic butterfly koi named GG :grin: How I know she's metallic... the white and the colour of the 'red' (happens to be orange but anyways..)
http://www.jackieramo.com/pages/my%20garden/pond/2003/images/2003-06_01_JPG.jpg
It's the white which is the key, that is metallic... so I disagree with your take that GG is not metallic :razz: , and you can't convience me otherwize :razz: http://backyardpuddle.com/forum/images/smilies/11pokesmilie.gif

Just compare GG's white with the white of the sanke you have...

Great pics btw :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

This sanke???? Looks metallic to me ifyou look at the white, a better white than GG has ever had.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1321/1399288162_be26bd5a61_b.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

BTW, have you been surfing my hard drive. Frisky and GG I love that picture

http://www.jackieramo.com/PORTFOLIO/Water%20Colour%20Art/pages/Koi%20-%20Mom%20&%20Baby_jpg.htm

[Jackie Ramo]

Her she is ugly girl with her two boyfriends. Tweet is the bottom one of the twins.

[Terri]

ALL THREE OF THOSE KOI ARE METALLIC!!!!!!!!!

I give up :rolleyes:

[Jackie Ramo]

Which three, the boys and GG, the sanke and the ochiba and GG, ??? :lol:

Got her on the run now!!! :frisbee:

[Terri]

You're going to get an ear-full when we meet for lunch lady :twisted:

The boys and GG ofcourse :rolleyes:

[carcha koi]

Wow, they look good

[marla]

Metalic or not metalic they are all nice and healthy looking. I think Alice's eyes look bulgy because of the dark around them, they don't look out of place.

[flywheel]

Great pics Jackie, and you have a very lovely collection of "mutts". They really look good after the long winter.

[Jackie Ramo]

Thanks guys, yeah they aren't butt ugly but none will ever win top prize.

[flywheel]

Yeah, ya know one person can get just as much enjoyment out of a mutt as the next person gets out of a show winner, so we just need to please ourselves and not worry what anyone else thinks. :)

[Terri]

Very well put Ron :)

[carcha koi]

I agree,but you got to meet them. Talk about fish with attitudes. I have never seen such strong personalities in Koi. :2cool:

[Peg]

That's cause they take after thier Mom. :yup:

[Jackie Ramo]

Its because I give all the whimpey ones away :HAHA:

Ron, I love my mutts, to me they are special and it is hard to part with the ones I do give away. 3 or 4 to go this year and who knows how many babies there will be, only 2 survived last year. One is the black baby pictured and the other is guppy who is in the pond with Tweet, I think. Haven't seen him in weeks.

Marla, since we have a sunny day here today I'm going to try to get a better picture of Alice. He does have bigger eyes than the others and he didn't come up completely to the surface so I could get a good look. Mind other than that he looks very healthy.

[flywheel]

I know how you feel, I got a few that need to go that I'm struggling with whether or not I really should. I just look at them and ask myself if I will miss it if it's gone and that's how I decide.

So far I've kept all 3 of the kids but who knows? :HAHA:

[Jackie Ramo]

Its fine to keep them as long as you have room but with GG taking up huge space and food budge with a couple of others not far behind, its not like having 12 inch fish in there.

I have regrets for a few I gave away, the most is Marmalaide Queen II of the pond who died of egg impactation shortly after arriving to her new home. Would she have survived here... I think so but don't know for sure. I don't blame the new owner, I blame myself for shipping her before she spawned. Also I didn't research the shipping plans properly as I would not have sent her that way. Mind I gave a big yellow butterfly male to the same person and I think he is ok, the pictures promised were never delivered.


I gave a bunch of babies away and most of them were eaten by an otter or was it a mink... again nothing you blame the owner for just bad luck. But then I seldom get attached to the babies knowing they will all be rehomed. I've foolishly become fond of a few currently in the pond and of course Guppy who spent most of the winter in the tank behind my computer desk.

Course there are always the ones I murdered, Frisky in the picture Terri posted with GG. Forgot to put the air pump in and all the give aways died. Frisky was going to a special friend and I'd sent her pictures for a year of 'her' fish. Yep I really regret killing that one.

[marla]

Errors happen can't blame yourself to hard. Mine are all mutts also but I personaly picked them except for the ones in the lily pond, and do like them and hopefuly they can live long lives if I get my skills up. My sorrows come with the ones that have died that came from lack of knowledge, and wondering because of that did they suffer and "If I had only" comes into play when ever I think about them, especialy the latest one.

[Jackie Ramo]

Marla, it is part of the hobby. I wish I woulda coulda stuff. We've all done it.

[Jackie Ramo]

Here is Alice. Now that I have a close up I don't think his eyes are that poppy

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2012/2405685284_333e1c6854_b.jpg

[Jackie Ramo]

Here is Chiba and her mom, body shape says it all

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2344/2405683360_97f300def1_b.jpg

[marla]

Jackie, I agree on Alice, I think the dark around the eyes and the white on the head give it the illusion that the eyes are popping, or head is frog shaped.

Chiba, is a pretty one, and will soon need her own photo album :yup: