Hi,

I have a close up shots of the Hi of two different koi.

One is a nisai kohaku and other one is a nisai Sanke.

In this post, i try to focus on looking at the quality of Hi rather than pattern or body shape.

So, this is why i didn't show a photo of the entire koi.

Please tell me what do you think, are they top quality Hi or just some rubbish Hi???

Thanks.

Kohaku:




Sanke:

I dont know!

I am not an expert, but i hope i can help others to have a deeper understand of Hi.

The Sanke's Hi is top quality. The Hi is very even, sticky and shinny.

Although it has a orange color now, because the Hi still have a long way to go before it reach it's peak. And this is a koi for future.

And I think this is the kind of Hi that someone should look for when buying a young koi.

On the other hand, the kohaku's Hi will look more "Red" compare to the Sanke.

And I guess most beginner will go for the Kohaku rather than the Sanke.

Althought, the kohaku's Hi is more red. But the Hi is not shinny and don't have that sticky feel. But if i give her some color enhancer to eat, she will look much "redder". which will fool most beginners, and make them think this kohaku got high quality Hi.

In conclusion,
1) The Kohaku's Hi is the ordinary type of Hi that you will find on some higher quality Japanese export koi.

2) The Sanke's Hi (Should be called "beni", rather than "Hi") is the top quality Hi, and it is very seldom that you will see koi with this type of Hi to be export out of Japan.

By the way, that Sanke is very expensive.....@@"

Thanks.

I bought this male kohaku last year...I was told it is finished...
This is a picture of this year...Is this a bad beni?
Dont pay attention to the black spot. It was a spawning injury, I treated with the caustic pencil.

Neli wrote:

I bought this male kohaku last year...I was told it is finished...
This is a picture of this year...Is this a bad beni?
Dont pay attention to the black spot. It was a spawning injury, I treated with the caustic pencil.

Hi,

The beni on this male kohaku is not the top quality soft and elastic beni. Is is the average beni that you find on most Japanese import.

And i do agree that the beni is more or less finished, because i can't really see sashi on him.

Thanks.

He he he!
This was one of my first Koi I bought last year...newbie Koi...but it looks good for now.

Hi sas.
Agree with what you said, just some thing that I would like to add that I see, others might have a different opinion. The kiwa on the Kohaku is not good and is a tell tale sign that the hi will go sooner or later, am I right I also prefer the hi or beni as you say of the Sanke. Also when you look at the middle of the scales you will see the beni is thicker, this also a good sign, right Just one question- what is the difference between Hi and Beni?

As I see the difference: The Beni on the Hi of the Sanke is great. Hi referring to the red pattern, beni to the quality if the red/hi pattern.

Beni used on Kohaku and good quality Sanke like this one. Hi used on all varieties with red in it's pattern.

Miya Oki Koi wrote:

Hi sas.
Agree with what you said, just some thing that I would like to add that I see, others might have a different opinion. The kiwa on the Kohaku is not good and is a tell tale sign that the hi will go sooner or later, am I right I also prefer the hi or beni as you say of the Sanke. Also when you look at the middle of the scales you will see the beni is thicker, this also a good sign, right Just one question- what is the difference between Hi and Beni?

Why do You think the kiwa is not good ? because it follows the scales.
This picture is when it was younger but it is still the same.

@ Neli - No not because it follows the scales but because it's not crisp and nicely edged, it tends to fade a little some places. Kiwa that follows the scales are called Maruzome kiwa and is in my opinion the best kiwa for future fish. The other one that does not follow the edge of the scales are called Kamisori kiwa.

Thanks Tommy. I got it now.

Miya Oki Koi wrote:

Hi sas.
Agree with what you said, just some thing that I would like to add that I see, others might have a different opinion. The kiwa on the Kohaku is not good and is a tell tale sign that the hi will go sooner or later, am I right I also prefer the hi or beni as you say of the Sanke. Also when you look at the middle of the scales you will see the beni is thicker, this also a good sign, right Just one question- what is the difference between Hi and Beni?

It all depends on if your fish has Sashi or not.

Example 1:
If you have a Gosanke which has has well defined Kiwa, but with no Sashi. You know the Hi of this Gosanke already reached it's maximum potential.

So, if you see something like this in a young Gosanke. It is very likely the Hi will disappear.

Example 2:
If you see a Goanke with not very clear kiwa, but with very even and neat Sashi.

The Hi / beni on this koi will consolidate in the future. I meant, as the Sashi go deeper into the skin; the kiwa will also become more clearer.

Eventually all the Sashi will disappear and the kiwa will be much more well defined.

=============================================

The conclusion is, the kiwa on Gosanke with future potential don't necessarily look very clear when they are still young. But Gosanke without any Sashi, their Hi won't develop futher.

sas wrote:

Miya Oki Koi wrote:

Hi sas.
Agree with what you said, just some thing that I would like to add that I see, others might have a different opinion. The kiwa on the Kohaku is not good and is a tell tale sign that the hi will go sooner or later, am I right I also prefer the hi or beni as you say of the Sanke. Also when you look at the middle of the scales you will see the beni is thicker, this also a good sign, right Just one question- what is the difference between Hi and Beni?

It all depends on if your fish has Sashi or not.

Example 1:
If you have a Gosanke which has has well defined Kiwa, but with no Sashi. You know the Hi of this Gosanke already reached it's maximum potential.

So, if you see something like this in a young Gosanke. It is very likely the Hi will disappear.

Example 2:
If you see a Goanke with not very clear kiwa, but with very even and neat Sashi.

The Hi / beni on this koi will consolidate in the future. I meant, as the Sashi go deeper into the skin; the kiwa will also become more clearer.

Eventually all the Sashi will disappear and the kiwa will be much more well defined.

=============================================

The conclusion is, the kiwa on Gosanke with future potential don't necessarily look very clear when they are still young. But Gosanke without any Sashi, their Hi won't develop futher.

My kohaku has one step sashi and reasonably neat kiwa that is following the scales...orangeish beni and darker beni on the head...I think it is a male, but not sure.