--- But names will never hurt me!" LOLs

well names may not hurt but they certainly can confuse us !!

I posted the article on Nomenclature so as to give the budding koi keeper a sense the sub-divisions that exist out that. Sub-divisions that break our hobby (and therefore both focus and commitment to details) into different hobbies. Hobbies that are just as different from one another as goldfish bowls are to tropical fish keeping and marine fish keeping.
In this conversion some of us got into the Japanese view on 'GOI'. I'll begin with a riddle:

ALL KOI ARE GOI
BUT NOT ALL GOI ARE KOI!!
CAN YOU TELL US WHY?

All 'koi' are common carp. But all common carp are not koi. And certainly all common carp are not Nishikigoi!

Our first ZNA chairman Kuroki San clarified this point some 40 plus years ago when he said ( paraphrase) that nishikigoi are a unique creation from Japan and that koi has become the short name for colored fancy carp and goi is the description of the magoi ( wild, feral or domesticated food magoi).

Nomenclature for the beginner (and not so beginner!)

We have talks a lot about koi, koi varieties, variations and genetics ( including where Indonesian long fin ‘dragon’ carp fit in). And I still get the sneaking suspicion that USA judges and ponders are still not ‘solid’ in the demarcation lines?

So let’s try this----

Pond fish—any fish that can live in an outdoor pond. They might be any temperate water fish ( or warm water fish in Florida such as Africans). These fish belong to closely related families—common goldfish, fancy goldfish, Shubunkins, comets, mosquito fish ( hardy tropical), native temperate water fish like ‘sunny’s ( Crapies), colored carp, long fin carp, common carp and ‘koi’. They can live in a basic water feature for a while. But some only flourish in certain settings and therefore death rates are very high in pond fish in general.

Koi—as a sub-division of common carp with color--- Indonesian long fin carp crossed with ‘koi’. Colored carp automatically called ‘koi’ and Japanese nishikigoi called ‘koi’ for short. These ‘koi’ can originate from any of the many Asiatic countries that breed common food carp, tropical fish or colored carp. In addition, western countries also produce a basic koi product.

Japanese koi—those fish that are off spring of Japanese carp, resemble Japanese koi in their basic color mutations . this means that they can be produced anywhere in the world as long as they can trace lineage. They tend to be less expensive that true Japanese produced “Japanese koi”. Today, some of these sources are producing truly good show and pet koi.

Nishikigoi—a product of Japanese breeders originating in select areas of Japan that have lineage, are recognized as one of the 13 Japanese ‘koi’ varieties.

Show Nishikigoi—the upper 20% of all Japanese ‘koi’ production. As fry and youngsters they have potential to represent well the standards of each variety and as such, are called tategoi. the tategoi being a fish with potential and implied, good genetics.

Show koi and pet koi—the remaining grades of Japanese production that are male koi of excellent pattern and color and will be able to compete in koi shows in the pre-adult and young adult sizes. This might also include some female fish of good pattern that might represent value in the koi show circuit.

The next grade lower of Japanese ‘koi’ are a reasonable representation of nishikigoi and be considered pet fish of the highest quality. These fish are the heart and soul of the Japanese production and allow for the upper to 10% to exist as an economic possibility.

JR

2) In winter a koi is moving at the surface as the pond, swimming as if they are hypnotized. What is it doing??

Koi are cold blooded animals. And in temperatures below 46 F they loose control of balance. In fact, I recall in a winter trip to my friend's koi shop seeing a vivid illustration of this. This dealer has a massive modern koi shop and outside the shop is a large but shallow pool that holds some production fish. In that pond were a hundred shusui. It was a cold and windy day and I'd estimate that the temperature as in the high 30s to low 40s. But the wind chill made it feel a LOT colder. I walked up to the pond and ALL the fish were on their sides! I thought they were dying! The breeder just smiled and said in a heavy accent-- " just sleeping!"

Another important physiological fact is that koi that are in good condition entering winter will , as a response to colder water, begin to shift what muscles it uses as water cools. Nature is amazing. And cold blooded creatures have a tactical strategy to survive. Nature is also very practical and logic prevails-- if a block of muscles is designed to make a fish swim fast in quick bursts, it is great for escape. And when a fish wants to move fast it can uses these muscles along with the slower muscles. But in winter expensive muscle movement ( expensive being any muscle that requires a lot of energy at a time of year when energy must be preserved) is to be shut down. So the cold effect AND the physiological 'choice' to not employ certain muscel blocks all works to help the fish survive the winter. Movement is to be minimal and when necessary, slower, muscle mass can be used-- muscle that requires less energy " more miles to the gallon" so to speak. This does create however an odd wagging motion and not a lot of speed. Again a perfect harmony of limited movement due to cold and need to conserve.

So once again, study your koi, look for other symptoms that will give a better idea of normal vs abnormal condition/movement.

Is there a film on the koi?

Is the koi red or streaked with red veins?

Are the other koi doing the same thing or are they all resting on the bottom?

Are the fishes fins clamped or ragged?

These answers will all help to assess if the fish is trouble or just wandering and looking for the sun or away from a cold current.

JR

1) A few koi are seen ‘mouthing’ the pond surface near the walls. But no food is visible, what are they doing??

I put this one up as it is a great example as why we really need to know koi behavior in order to see problems early and also not to act or react too soon!

So when koi ALL rise to the surface and are 'mouthing the surface' in general you always need to think ' gills!' This can be seen along with OTHER symptoms of distress. Clapped fins, wobbling swimming, odd movements and lethargy.

But in my question-- a FEW koi are mouthing the surface at a specific location-- the ways.

It could be algae and that would be the end of that behavior lesson--- the lesson being that koi love to browse!

My question is a little more mysterious! They seem to eating something 'invisible'! And they are and it is!! When you feed fish a bit too often or when the temps are not right for the mix you are feeding, the system builds with DOCs. And these Dissolved Organic Carbons/Compounds are air loving molecules-- meaning they are attracted to the surface and settle/float in density around the walls of the pond. Now koi have better 'smelling devices' than Bloodhounds! The barbels lead them to smells. The oils and proteins of DOC are detectable to a creature that must forage in greens and mud for the slightest bit of protein (live dead or decayed). So the fish 'mouth and suck in' the surface water that is coated at the surface with good smells.

Koi your koi and its behavior will help the traumatized beginner ( from previous bouts with parasites and gill infections) from over reacting to this behavior--

remember

1) Are all my koi doing this?

2) What other symptoms do I see?

3) Are fish interesting in feeding?

4) Do my water testings check out o.k.?

5) Did I do anything different lately? new fish, new water changes etc

6) Are my fish just being 'carp'?

Why koi ‘do what they do’??

My second favorite subject after genetics of the clan Nishikigoi is – why do koi do what they do?

So I’m going to ask some questions and see if you know the answer:

1) A few koi are seen ‘mouthing’ the pond surface near the walls. But no food is visible, what are they doing??

2) In winter a koi is moving at the surface as the pond, swimming as if they are hypnotized. What is it doing??

3) Koi are entering the autumn season and all of the sudden the shiro Utsuri are looking better than ever! Why?

4) A koi is rubbing against one particular pipe in the pond. Over and over it swims to the pipe and pushes it body against the pipe. Why?

5) A new koi is introduced to the pond and the fish swim after it and seem to be most interesting in the new comer. Why?

6) A fish is anesthetized and when returned to the pond, all its pond mates follow it as if in a ritual. Why?

7) A koi looks like it is ‘chewing’ but no food has been added. Why?

8) A koi gets ‘cloudy’ as if a film is on its body. What does this mean?

9) A koi blows bubbles as it goes to the bottom of a deep pond. What does that mean?

10) You wake up and go out to feed your koi. The pond is covered with ‘suds’ and the fish are all at the surface gasping for air. What happened??

JR

Shiro – Graduate level   (Judges)

  We have covered in a 101 class ;

1)      The mutation of shiro

2)      The concept of base color

3)      The difference between selective bred shiro and natural mutation shiro

4)      Hard white and soft white skin

Moving up to an even more in-depth understanding,  I’d like to introduce to our student judges the different genetic  types of shiro and how they make our koi very  different fundamentally.

The nishikigoi clan can be sliced and diced in many ways.  The most fundamental way being by their base colors.  ZNA teaches us that koi are eitheir black based or white based.  And this should be of no surprise as nishikigoi rises from magoi and specifically from Asagi magoi ( giving us white base) and also from Tetsu magoi ( giving us black mutation colors and also a different ‘branch’ of shiro/pattern).

  Asagi magoi is so important because it carried both black and white base.  The hyper-melanistic  forms rising in the later Karasu clans and the Narumi asagi leading towards the true Leucistic forms.

  These two avenues represent the ‘breaking out’ of combined mutation traits of white and black into two separate, yet parallel lines of change. And that in turn gave us two very different types of shiro.

  To take the next step in Shiro study we need a bit of a genetics conversation – As just mentioned,  Shiro in nishikigoi comes about from two very different sources/ways. And as far back as the 1960s the Japanese breeders knew of at least one of these sources as evidenced by the creation of white within the karasugoi clan and its systematic breeding program.  This line of primitive black fish represents the extreme of hypermelanism yet it is also the best phenotypic example of a certain mutation gene.

 This in fact is first shiro we can discuss. This gene is what the Japanese breeders called “the white spreading gene” and what modern geneticists might call the modification gene or the Epistatic gene. This  white gene in effect ‘covers’ the real color of the fish! Put plainly, The base of the fish is black yet the white spreading gene expresses itself in place of the base color. This domination represents a hypostatic or suppression of the greater  color and inhibits the expression of that color gene.  To summarize, this white spreading gene covers and inhibits the true base black color of a koi.  We see this demonstrated nicely in the progression from hypermelanistic crow to hajiro to hageshiro to kumonryu to shiro utsuri (in one of the two forms it exists in).  As the white gene spreads over the fish, the fish becomes progressively whiter until the matsukawa bake and shiro utsuri look similar to white based derived specimens gotten thru another gene/route.

  The second shiro, recognized as a more valuable shiro, is not from the spreading gene. But rather from another natural mutation or expression of Leucism.  In this case, we have the skin itself drained of all color and when reinforced by a pattern mutation know as Pie bald gene, the effect is quite amazing!  This is a dominate trait in dorsal patterned fish like kohaku  but can ‘disappear’ in some of the offspring.  Yet it is still carried by the black fish into the next generation. It is this complex that brings us BOTH black based fish (carrying shiro but basically black and mutations of black such as red) and true white leucistic specimens or white based fish. And as these two strains are isolated we see white based fish with dorsal patterns of piebald with very refined white skin AND we see black based fish like the showa, express Leucism within the skin as they age.  This is a case of incomplete dominance when no piebald pattern is exists. Instead this gives rise to the wrapped pattern of base black partially replaced with mutation black (red) and shiro from Leucism. And interestingly enough, a DIFFERENT look to shiro utsuri than the other Leucism ( the white spreading gene) brings us!  This is WHY there are two very different looks to shiro utsuri and to the amateur seems like the MOST improved of all fish after the Gosanke. In truth it is a different source of shiro and easier to improve than the spreading gene shiro’s.

 If you study the white of the two forms of shiro (spreading and pure Leucism) and add the piebald pattern and understand the wrapped pattern ( interplay of shiro on sumi)  and its genetics, you will begin to understand koi from a higher level and likely appreciate the nishikigoi even more that you did before you studied these two variations of shiro gene expression.    JR

JR here. Here again like that TV dog with the bone, on that commercial, who can't seem to rest until he knows his favorite chew bone is safe, sound and put where it should be!

    When we enter this hobby we really are drawn to shiny, bright and deep colors (and especially their combinations) like red and black. Beni and sumi ARE impressive and Beni, especially, is THE art form in modern koi. With sumi being the very close second.

But as we get settled down in this hobby of koi as living (and aging) art, a new eye takes hold. And to the casual observer it might be said that koi appreciation moves to details and more subdued taste.

  As Far back as 1970, teachers of koi appreciation as living art would tell every beginner that the white skin of koi is important because it acts like the canvas for a colorful painting. How wise that simple statement is when you embrace the science behind Nishikigoi's mutation skin.

And that skin really all begins with the dermis and its arrangement and characteristics of fiber within the maturing (and differentiated) skin.

But in the area of color-- there IS no more fundamental place to start that the color of that base skin. And I and others (and others before us) within ZNA have taught for so many years -- the base is either black or white with white being the key to refinement of skin TYPE.

I began this talk with separation of hard and soft shiro. They are different and one is more desirable and probably 'better based on the potential it holds. The other, the hard shiro, is also very beautiful in young fish especially. Why is that? Because as each skin type matures, it grows in complexity, with certain sub-divisions of the skin layers really expanding and making for MORE possibilities for the 'colorful painting within. A mature, complicated and remarkable canvas for, hopefully, a painting that deserves the base canvas!

If you're still with me, consider this--- nature produces a canvas that is of the material and 'blankness' that will set off in a three dimensional way, the grouping of sumi and Beni that expand within it and on it. This 'blankness' is so clear and devoid of any shading of sumi that it can only be described as 'pure'. Selective breeding can help here and if time is no issue, can be man made over decades. But nature and its desire to try all variations for survival will 'throw' much of this basic blankness from time to time. And so we 'perfect' white snakes, amphibians and birds-- pure as snow. And we see pure white fish. Breeders can then selectively breed for this trait to assure greater numbers than nature could or would ever produce in the wild.

What I've just described is the emergence of koi from goi. The missing link between the wild common carp and the domestic colored carp known as Nishikigoi.

As the old pop song said " Free your mind and the rest will follow”     JR

UNDERSTANDING WHAT WINTER MEANS FOR KOI----

 Winter is a time where all the natural things of summer and spring ‘go to sleep’ and ‘wake up’ in spring to renew their active lives. Green trees, flowing water, jumping fish, crickets and frogs, all come alive again in the spring.

  And we really don’t usually think much further about when the average ponders ‘puts their pond to bed for winter’.

  But then there’s that pesky naturalist Darwin! He told us that survival is only for the fit! So what are the challenges that make for a better natural product? Could WINTER be one of them?!

  If I haven’t reached you yet—I’ll shout!  WINTER is one of those things that makes carp stronger as a species—that’s – “as a species”. It does not mean that YOUR pets necessarily will be spared the stress of winter!

 Want to help them out? Yes of course you do----

 So here are the things you need to know to allow your pets to survive the winter in Northern Midwest and in the east from the Tri-State area to the mid Atlantic region and from Oregon to Northern California.

  First you need to appreciate and understand that koi are common carp. Inbred common carp with robs of amazing color and elaborate pattern—but common carp just the same. Winter is a test of their survivability.

   So winter is BAD, then? NO not really. It is rather a challenge that carp have faced for some 40,000 years. And in coping with this condition, as four season fish, they have adapted. But here is the million dollar statement---as they ‘adapted’ they came dependent on winter!! True! Koi are conditioned to experiencing winter and because if that—they have actually become to need it. This is best demonstrated by their very breeding cycle and physiology that prepares them for an upcoming winter long before it arrives. They can’t KNOW that, but their biological clock does.

  Think of winter as a tonic for preparing for next spring’s breeding cycle and also as a way to drain the excesses of spring and summer. For a carp’s job, like the ant and the squirrel, is to prepare physiologically speaking when the days are warm and long for the winter ahead.

  Natural is fascinating in its wisdom and koi like every other subject of nature, is wise to the future and the rules of nature. Once the light becomes less intense and lower in the sky and night temperatures change, the koi works frantically to store sugars in its organs for the long winter ahead. And the point here you need to embrace is that you can’t stop this!

   It is just as important however not to ignore this time of year. When autumn sets in your koi become very active. They are invigorated by the cooler night temperatures but are also aware of the shorter days of sunlight. They are well oxygenated due to cooler waters but also beginning to shift into the winter mode.

  Your koi might be under ice or under a nice solar trapping tent—they are equipped for stasis—a condition of complete rest for cold blooded creatures. In either case, they are closing down all ‘non- essential systems’ like any good submarine or star ship commander might. This well be their life for the next 8- 16 weeks. Longer than that and ‘supplies’ start to run out. This is usually seen as disorientated fish wandering the margins of a pond in late March/ early April. Or heaven forbid, in the winter thaw of mid February.

    Once spring comes, your koi will be fine and know that the experience, when done in a muted way, is healthy and part of a natural process and tonic. If done badly however it will mean the end of your koi.

   The key here is to make sure your koi are in tip=top condition going into winter. Cover the pond and allow for an air space. Do regular water changes once a month. DO have an indoor pond as a precaution. Remember that the very young and the very old should not be exposed to Darwin’s law and should be brought inside.

 In the end, when we take responsibility for living things we become their sole provider of living conditions. So do your best to be a responsible koi owner and help your pets to survive the test.    
                                        
                                                           Best wishes,   James Reilly USA District Chairman.

Understanding sumi on a deeper level        

                         By James Reilly USA ZNA District chairman

 For those veterans in the koi hobby and show ring, talking about ‘Sumi’ is a pretty common conversation. But I’d like to challenge our ZNA judges to take the next step in understanding sumi.

  We have all been educated as to the different types of sumi—we have diligently learned the Japanese terms, the breeders who introduced the types, the varieties that show these variations and we have even mastered the Japanese expressions of different tones and expressions for the basic color of black!

 And to those that have made this journey and know their ‘sumi’ I salute you!

 I have always found it both fascinating and rewarding to learn the old Japanese ways and explanations and then apply western biology and physiology to the lesson. For me it completes the circle and the lesson. What I have found in addition to that however, is that a greater synergy of understanding occurs when one has all dimensions of a subject in place.

  In the case of ‘Sumi’ let’s see if we can’t assimilate some basic science (genetics in this case) into the Japanese explanation of what is ‘good’ sumi and what is weak sumi.

 Before we get into the actual point of this lesson, we need to get some basic physiology down—

  Sumi is a color cell. Typically found in epidermis, upper dermis and lower dermis, these cells (melanocytes) are often found amongst the fat cells of within the dermis. These cells can be large or small, numerous or sparse, dense and linear in arrangement or thick, dense and deep in concentration.  These cells can also be covered and associated with luster crystals or with luster cells. And these sumi cells are storage facilities of naturally produced melanin.  Melanin is a pigment that is derived from tyrosine, a common amino acid.

   Melanin itself is a common component of living things. But in koi it is both a natural and selectively bred for trait.

  And here in lies the deep lesson of sumi--- Sumi can appear naturally in individuals and they can be selected for to intensify that trait in future individuals. OR sumi can be better than even the results of twenty years selective breeding when it is derived from natural mutation.  In short, when it comes to selective breeding results verses nature’s mutation for strong sumi we might say that “you can’t make a sumi mutation ‘silk’ purse out of a selectively bred ‘sows ear’! 

 To appreciate that statement let’s look at what actually happens when a gifted eye selects for sumi trait. In this case, we find an individual with nice sumi. We breed this fish in order to ‘introduce this trait into its progeny.  And we patiently select the best offspring and repeat the process. This results in individuals that represent the best of the best within that gene pool. This is, in short, an effort to concentrate the amount of melanin in the skin thru the intensifying of cells and cell type.

  Now let’s compare that to a natural mutation for good sumi. If you refer back to the points above regarding melanin being a natural metabolic function of simple amino acids to form pigment, what would happen if an individual was born with a mutation in this area?  In this case, the animal or fish is born with a mutation defect that causes the individual to over produce tyrosine or in other cases, to be unable to ‘turn off’ production. In this case, we can’t stop strong sumi! Indeed it is harder to breed this ‘out’ than to breed sumi in’!

  At this point the bright bulbs reading this will be saying “Ahh ha!!! So THAT is why he keeps going on and on about those principles 1-2-3 etc. ALL koi do have a black or a white base”!

   This is also why the early asagi and the lowly Karasu goi are such important lessons in understanding color in koi. Each represents the living battle of melanin and its war with ‘no melanin at all—IE Leucism. As a side note: this makes shiro utsuri an amazing creation.

  So melanistic forms bring us the very best sumi types. And selective breeding of melanin cells only can produce so much. Instead, selective breeding of individuals that possess genes for hyper-melanin (heterozygous) are important building blocks to excellent sumi (dense, deep and shiny).