Bought this Kohaku in December



less than a month later it is looking like this, bought it as one of the momotaro's from Pet Masters, phoned the guy there and he said it happens and that the hi will come back but i'm not convinced. I originally bought it because I thought there was more red to come out of it, thats what I thought if you look at the first 2 pics

Oh, and before you ask about water hardness, I have another kohaku from the same batch that I bought and the hi on that one is still fine, also have a slighter bigger kohaku which is also 100% fine with it's hi

Hmm looks like you bleached it........

Sorry Cliff, once red is gone then its gone forever. I have not heard of one case yet where red came back.

Where /Are you feeding colour enhancer? In he 2nd picture the kois nose and head looks alot more yellow than the first.

The red will never come back.

The indications were already there when you bought it. Pinkish blury areas around the hi pattern, saw teeth pattern, and a hi spot that already disappeared on the right hand side.

See http://koionline.forumotion.com/chat-koi-related-f33/why-do-koi-lose-its-red-t796.htm

What are the indications that a koi might lose it colours and might become a Shiro Muji? Some say that there are always warning signs, for instance indications on the head that red already pulled back (pink on the edge of the pattern). Some say if you can see white between the scales when you bend the fish, it will probably lose it's hi and obviously, sometimes you can see that all the patterns are starting to become pinkish. Some say that you should ensure that the hi on the whole body is the same colour when buying. Some say that a saw tooth pattern on the kiwa side is a clear indication.

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for your reply, basically I feed my fish up to 4 times a day, I feed in the morning, my domestic feeds a specific portion for lunch and I feed them when I get home at around 17h30 and then again just before I go to bed at around 22h00.

I feed them shogun and for the 17h30 daily I feed them Manda Fu. Also now and then and I give them a combination of seed loaf, garlic, mont clay and honey....but honestly since I bought the manda fu in december I have not does this combo for them. I got the kohaku on the 20th of December and started on the manda fu on the 26th, however my other kohaku's are fine

thanks Paul, I thought the pink was an indication that there was more hi to come out......the guy assisting me there said the same therefore me choosing that particular kohaku....altho selections were'nt much to go on.

Would I be unfair in asking them to replace the fish? Think I should seeing that the charge a hell of a lot more for these supposedly jap import's

let me know

Gooi weg.

spoke to them today and they said I can come past and they will sort something out for me........very happy with that!

Agree with Paul on the fading being present on sale it normally reflects as pink or yellow around the edging. (Highlighted the weak point i could see)Lots of tosai loose some of the original hi as they grow. In my experience it is not often an occurance with imports and happens more with local breeding where the genetics is not as strong. Hi always goes and sumi mostly develops, but can sometimes recede only to appear again later. I all likelyhood this fish will lose all hi within the next three months. Depending on what you paid and what was promised I would chat to the dealer again.

every one talks about hardness i have had koi in the same pond loose all the black and red have pics to prove it i think it comes down to luck of the draw no matter what every koi has an out come some are born to be winners and some just dont sorry for your lose

I'am sorry Q,

I see you did not use the word breeders.

Jaco dont get me wrong, I am an avid supporter of local breeders and prefer achieving show accolades with local selected fish. I am more referring to fish bred locally without a strong genetic line - both backyard experimenting and local breeding without suitable quality stock.