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Buying the Right Koi
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5) Buy only koi with good
skin quality. 'Snowy and milky white', 'thick, deep and solid
red', 'lacquer jet black', 'absolutely no blemishes', 'clean and
clear head' : these are 'phrases' commonly used in describing good
skin quality and color. In general, good color is
characterized by its depth and solidness, as well as the consistency
and evenness of the hue. An individual Kohaku can't have both
a persimmon-orange marking and a fire-engine red marking - the shade
of the red must be the same throughout the body. The head and
body of any koi must also be devoid of stray spots or markings of
any color that tend to make the koi look 'dirty.' Metallic koi
must likewise exhibit excellent sheen and luster, reflecting light
that makes it stand out among non-metallic koi even at night.
Figure 2. This photo from a
Pan Intercorp (www.koi.com) ad
best exemplifies what 'snowy milky white'
and 'deep solid red' mean.
6) Go for the koi with
better patterns, if body shape and skin quality are of equal quality
among the koi. The patterns on a koi must be evaluated at two
levels: first as individual markings, and then as a total package.
Every single marking on a koi must be solid in color and of even
hue, and should have razor-sharp edges. Taken together, they must be
in harmonious balance with each other, contributing significantly to
the over-all elegance of the koi. Taken as a whole, a koi must
not be heavy at one end or one side only.
Koi with dorsal reticulation
('netting' effect on the back) must exhibit a continuous, very even,
and sharply visible (but not overwhelming) net pattern. The
mirror scales of Doitsu koi, if present, must be uninterrupted and
nicely aligned along the dorsal line of the koi.
The total package formed by the
various colors and markings must make the koi very pleasing to the
eyes.
Figure 3. Poor pattern
distribution such as what's seen
on this koi shouldn't excite you into
buying.
7) Buy a koi that meets
its variety's standards. Every koi variety has 'standards' to
live by, which were defined by expert breeders who seek for
themselves the 'perfect' koi. It's not possible to have koi
that meet all the standards at the same time, since no koi is
perfect. But koi that nearly do certainly command a
hefty price tag. Not every one can and should buy
'near-perfect' koi, but it certainly helps one decide which koi to
buy if he knows what standards to measure any prospective koi
against. For descriptions of what characteristics each koi
variety is expected to have, please see
Koi Varieties.
8) Buy a koi that matches
your concept. Are you a 'Gosanke' purist, who wants nothing
but Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa in your pond, or are you a 'jack of all
breeds', who has a specimen of every single koi variety? Do
you like metallic koi only? Which are your favorite varieties,
and why would you buy others that are not on your list? These
are things that you may want to consider if you have certain
preferences as far as the would-be occupants of your pond are
concerned.
9) Buy the koi that
YOU
like, not what others like. If this means throwing tips 5 to 7
out the window so you can get the koi that you want, then suit
yourself. That will be unusual for most of us, but certainly
well within your right to choose your own koi. Just
don't expect people to beat the path to your door if you ever decide
to sell them later on.
By now you're probably ready to
buy your koi, so go and get them. Just don't forget that while you
are at it, try to keep it
fun!
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