Hi guys

Please look at the development of the below fish. They seem to be losing a lot of their color (both hi and sumi).
What could be the cause of this or is it just part of the normal development that koi undergo? I know koi's pattern changes a lot but I haven't seen this amount of change in such a short time period...

1) Sanke
Pic1 = 16cm (taken Dec 09)


Pic2 = 24cm (taken yesterday)



2) Doitsu Ochiba Shigure
Pic1 = 10cm (taken Dec 09)


Pic2 = 23cm (taken yesterday)




3) Shiro Utsuri (won't mind a bit of sumi disappearing on this one)
Pic1 = 32cm (taken Dec 09)


Pic2 = 51cm (taken yesterday)

Hi Chris there are 3 reasons that i know off.

1. It is summer time so the kois have grown / stretched and so the colour and pattern appears stretched aswell. If you take a deflated balloon and write on it and then inflate it you will see little parts of the balloon colour in between the ink. This is what has happend to they koi...it will recover in winter time.

2. The first sanke only has hi on the top of its body and very little. As a koi grows it "expands" and the skin on its side stretches. The skin on the top of the koi remains roughly the same and so to red pattern appears smaller but infact its just staying the same. Thats why its important to pick koi where the hi wraps the body. If you look at the hi pattern that is on the shoulder you will notice that it appears as if it had remained the same size while the others seem smaller. That said i dont believe the hi is very strong on this koi and you are running a risk of loosing it.

3. One will lose sumi colour as a koi fattens up. The more "fat" the less sumi will be visible. This can get very technical and there is alot more to it but thats the short reason. it will recover in winter time.