ARE SHOW KOI HARDER TO KEEP THAN PET GRADE KOI?

 This is a complex question.  And perhaps it is a question that needs to be asked in two parts;

1)      Are show koi harder to keep alive?

2)      Are show koi harder to keep in good condition over time? ( another subject for another time)

The first question revolves around the Darwinian Theory of ‘Survival of the fittest’ and in that regard, show koi tend to be weaker versions of the wild common carp. Yet show koi ARE from large spawns in which lesser siblings tend to sold as ‘pet grade’ specimens. So this begs the question “how different could they be”?  Well as it turns out, the answer to that question is—how reverted is that pet fish to its roots!

     All koi are inbred to a degree. This is done to bring out recessive genes that give us that great color and interesting pattern.  And nature is constantly there to ‘pull back’ the old dominate genes in what scientists call ‘atavism’ or reversion to the wild gene. So in a spawn of 150,000 brothers and sisters, some will indeed come out looking all the world like a wild type and others will be the ‘golden child’ and possess all the recessive genes and phenotype that the breeder is after.  So we see near perfect pure white and red fry with elaborate stepped patterns and we also see brown or even all red individuals.

   When we expand this reality we also see that some varieties tend to hardier than other varieties. And often it is down to how close or maybe better—how far we have moved away from the ‘look’ of the solid patterned, wild colored common carp.  So breeds like chagoi, asagi, ogon, etc are expected to be hardier than refined fish like showa and sanke and kohaku.  True enough if that were the ONLY criteria for survival.  We must not forget one thing- the individual and its ability to adapt.

    What this all means is that we must accept that our specially bred nishikigoi are indeed more delicate than their wild cousins the common carp. But they the range of ‘delicateness’ of our purchases can vary from individual to individual. That being the case, we need to handle and cater to our new purchase with the weakest individual prototype in mind. By doing this, we insure a good survival rate for all our purchases. Anything short of that will be playing a kind of Russian roulette with our charges.

  This would not be a complete article however if we did not stop for a moment to discuss a universal physiological behavior that all living things experience while trying to adapt to a new stressful situation- and that is G.A.S. ! No not gas – but—GAS or General Adaptative syndrome.  This is the physiological stress or physiological stressor that causes changes in other physiological functions such as immune response, circulatory changes, kidney function etc, in an effort to ‘adapt’ to change.

   Our inbred koi still have coping powers and in some areas, actually better than a wild carp. But the individual might not. And because the G.A.S. sequence has stages to it, we can often receive new fish that are already along two stage II or stage III in this sequence of stress.  Indeed, a live swimming fish can be, for all practical purposes doomed when we buy it and no matter how good our systems are and how sensitive we are to a new arrival’s needs, they fish is going to die as it is too far gone, physiologically speaking.

    So how can we assure our new show koi survives as well as its sturdier wild cousins and even its ‘more reverted siblings’?  Assume the fish is in need of support and move all new purchases to a quarantine system first.  The quarantine water should be well filtered and of the highest quality. The fish should be allowed to settle in with dim light and clam conditions. Resist the desire to overfeed a new arrival. Instead, allow it a clam well aerated environment with some companionship. Keep the water lightly salted with solar salt (99% pure) a neutral pH and a temperature of 72-76 F.  Resist netting the fish or disturbing the fish. In this setting your koi should ‘seem’ as healthy as any wild carp within three or four days. 

   ( to be continued)         James Reilly, ZNA NA District Chairman