The Third Malaysia Mini Koi show is just around the corner, at this moment many hobbyists around the country will be busy putting the final touches to their entry koi. For me personally, preparing koi for the koi show is as much fun in itself as competing in the show. Let me share my simple preparation process but bear in mind that I didn’t win a lot of prizes before nor do I have many years of experience in competing in koi show. I will try to include other things that are practised by other hobbyists that I know.
2009 Malaysia Mini Koi Show
Pumping-up body
The process starts as early as 2-3 months before. The first step usually involves pumping up the body conformation with high protein food feeding as many as 4-5 times a day. But one should be careful of beni thinning/stretching as a result of such intensive feeding and this may be helped by mixing in the color-up pellets in the feds. One should also be careful of the koi developing “tummy” which results in the undesirable “helicopter” body shape. In order to improve the koi appetite, some hobbyists may inject the koi with Vitamin B – I don’t have any experience with this.
Consolidating the color
Once the koi has achieved the desirable body conformation, the percentage of color-up food in the feeds can be incremented slowly to boost the beni quality. In many cases, it may goes up to 100% of the feed increasing from 20% over several weeks and this regime may last for several weeks more. One should be careful of the development of secondary hi (unwanted development of beni) and the quality of shiroji (white skin) which will turn yellowish especially the head area.
Sumi can be developed (finished) more easily by using clay additives. In some of my cases, the sumi improved pretty fast from as quick as 2-3 weeks. Some experienced hobbyists do not need to use such additive; they cited the use of “old” water instead. By that they mean, don’t change water too often leaving old water (but clean) in the pond longer therefore retaining higher TDS (or minerals) in the water. This is not something for the beginners because keeping Nitrate level low in pond with “old” water is a challenge.
Water management
Water quality is the utmost important factor in finishing any koi for the show. The koi will not do well no matter what if the water quality is not there. Therefore, it is imperative to remove fish poo from the filter system as soon as possible. Some hobbyists flush the settlement chambers twice a day to attain this.
Water temperature plays a big role as well. Koi’s digestion and appetite improves when the water temperature is around around 24-25 Celsius, this makes it easier to pump-up the body and consolidate the color. The shiroji will also get better in lower temperature and good shiroji will make beni pattern stands out.
Quarantine and Fasting
It is very very important to fast the koi for at least 7 days before the show. It means no food for a week. Yes, the koi will lose a little bit of its body girth but that usually hardly noticeable. This is important to prevent the koi from fouling the water while in the unfiltered display tank or worse still in the plastic display bag. Water quality deterioration will not only stress the koi and affect its competitiveness in the show but also may result in loss of life.
Koi is often kept in the bag for hours during the show
In practice, the fasting is usually done by transferring the koi to a clean fibre glass tank. It is in this tank, the final touches are applied to the koi. Some don’t believe in using filtration because it’s not enough time to culture enough the bacteria anyway. So it is advisable to monitor and change water regularly. One should also try to keep the water temperature as cool as possible by installing an aquarium chiller or wrapping the tank with heat insulation material or even putting ice in the tank daily (don’t laugh, I have a friend who actually does this).
It is also good to increase the salinity of the tank to 0.5% and taper down slowly over the course of 7-days to 0.1% or less. The salinity causes the koi to shed off the old layer of mucus (slime) from the skin and develop a new layer which is suppose to carry more shine. Once may also add in slight amount of S1 solution in the 3rd day and slowly taper off the coloration until the final day of the fasting period. This solution will help calm the koi and improve shine as well. Please note that coloration in the water (in tank or plastic display bag) will usually results in disqualification.
Bagging and transportation
The last bit is about bagging and transporting the koi to the show ground. This is crucial because without proper handling, one may damage the koi or cause enormous stress to the koi which usually results in the development of red veins all over the body (especially in the case of Tanchos). Make sure the proper size net is available and a sock net is very handy. Ensure that the water level in the bag should cover at least the height of the gills while still have enough room in the bag for oxygen (about 30-40% of the bag). Use 2 layers of bag and tied them separately as well. It is common that the koi bleeds from the gills if it struggles too much and when this happen, replace the water.
Returning from show
While some people will just put the koi straight back into their pond, I like to return them back to the fasting tank with fresh clean water of course. Salting the wate rto 0.3% and treating them with S1 for at least 3 days with no feeding still. If they all look ok, I will transfer them back to the main pond and start light feeding for several days. It is possible that the koi was in contact with parasites or bacteria while in the show ground. It is always better to take precaution because post-show casualty is not uncommon.
Please feel free to add comments especially about your way of preparing koi for show.
