I set up four fry ponds today. The water temperature is in the range of 15-18C, so still a little too cool. This year we will be repeating Shiro Utsuri, Sanke, Goshiki, Hikari Utsurimono & Matsukawabake. Not long now before we have thousands of these little fellows.
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Fry ponds up and running
Sunday, September 5th, 2010Comments
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Is there such a thing as an Australian Bloodline?
Monday, August 30th, 2010A variety is not a bloodline, however a variety can have a bloodline within it. Bloodlines are identifiable characteristics within the same variety that are consistently reproduced in future generations. Body shape, colour and pattern development are such traits that can be repeatable (inheritable) in F1, F2, F3 and further generations. Varieties and classifications are artificial standards. They are not based on genetics. There are no genetics for kohaku, or sanke or showa or any other variety. There are however, genes for desired inheritable characteristics. You can linebreed a gosanke, you can have a bloodline within gosanke, however, breeding just gosanke does not make it into a gosanke bloodline. A bloodline need not be limited to just kohaku, or just sanke or just any other variety. Knowing a bloodline and how it develops over the lifetime of the koi helps determine what to keep when culling or purchasing. It may be argued that the knowledge presently applied at the time of separating good from bad koi already points to the existence of bloodlines.
Linebreeding is the means by which a bloodline is established and maintained. However, consistent linebreeding is not common in Australia. There have been numerous outcrosses to unrelated koi. There has been a lot of outcrossing to other varieties.Bloodline traits are passed on through the genotype. The recognition occurs in the phenotype. The majority of Australian koi are a mixed bag of skin, scale, pattern and body types. This makes picking a tategoi difficult as there is muddied mix of genetics determining the future development. To date, the bag of genetic mix has made the production of an Australian Bloodline less likely if not impossible
Lets make some distinctions between bloodline and some other, similar concepts. Some synoyms or related words of bloodline include, lineage, ancestry and pedigree.
Lineage can be confused with bloodline. Lineage is ancestry. My parents are from Ireland and Wales. That is my ancestry. I have a sanke that I know came from koi bred by Keith Dubber. But I can not identify any repeated, inherited traits from any generation since the the original parents.
Pedigree is a ‘family tree’ history. It identifies lines of descent. Pedigree is a tool for mapping geneaology. A family tree is one such chart form to show descendants of an individual. It highlights siblings, crosses (inbred or outbred) and relationships to other lines.
In some animals, the pedigree is also recognises standardized breeds that separates one type from another. These breeds when cross together are true to type i.e. Great Dane Parents will always produce Great Dane offspring. In koi, this approach would not be applicable as Sanke parents will produce at least three different varieties of koi, sanke, kohaku and bekko.
Is there a case in Australia for developing a Pedigree Registry? A pedigreed animal has a recorded ancestry that is often kept in a registry. Pedigree differs considerably to a bloodline. It would allow ancestry to be traced but would not record bloodline traits. It could not be a tool for knowing the future, likely development of a koi. An identified bloodline will allow for some predictability in this area. I say some predictability as environmental influences are important in either realising the development of the phenotype and conversely other conditions can prevent those traits from being fully expressed.
Pedigree is often interchanged with the word purebred. You may sometimes see advertised “Purebred Japanese Koi”, which in Australia is nonsense. They may have a Japanese lineage. They are bred in Australia and therefore are Australian Koi. Only “Purebred Japanese Koi” are bred in Japan.
Where does this leave the original question? If there is/are Australian bloodlines, little of it has yet been identified, less recorded. Given the mainly ad hoc approach to breeding, the existence of an Australian bloodline is in my view unlikely at this time. I do know that there are presently several hobbyists who have been making an effort to stick to a linebreeding program. Out of these, I do believe that over the next 40 years, there will come something that will be called an Australian Bloodline. But, it will only be called a bloodline if someone or several people go out of there way to identify those repeated traits within a known, established line.
I do hope that this discussion will inspire those and future breeders to continue to linebreed and develop that future bloodline/s. Some hobbyists bred koi and some are koi breeders. Everyone starts out pairing koi they can get their hands on in the hope of producing something nice. As you spend time in the hobby, most evolve into koi breeders, who set out with a goal of improving on what they have. They have a vision of what they hope to produce, they stop being people who breed koi and become koi breeders.
Quality Auction Koi
Saturday, August 14th, 2010The quality available at an auction can be quite an eye opener. This good Hikari Utsurimono was sold in August 2009. The teri is rather nice. The size of this koi and it’s overall quality is high. I would be pleased to have this koi in my pond and would consider it a suitable breeder.
Koi at Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Saturday, August 7th, 2010While at Taronga Zoo in Sydney today, it was nice to see a few pond grade koi on public display. Clearly, these are being well looked after and appear to be healthy. I could not find any signs of disease or other problems, which is great given we will soon be entering spring. I know that some members of the Koi Society of Australia have maintained a relationship with the zoo and this is contributing to a healthy exhibit. There are other exhibits of koi in public places where the conditions and the health of the fish leave much to be desired. It is great to see koi kept in the public eye, looking their best, even if I had to explain to one visitor that these were Japanese Koi, rather than goldfish.
A New Era in the Australian Koi Hobby?
Sunday, July 25th, 2010Are we at the cusp of change within the Australian Koi Hobby? At the end of this year, operating a commercial koi breeding facility will require an annual aquaculture permit to operate. From all accounts, the procedures and compliance requirements are difficult to accomplish. Over the past few years 2 of the 3 koi farms in Sydney have been up for sale. One of them was featured in the FOR SALE pages of a major newspaper today. This year the third farm is selling off the land containing its breeding facilities. It is generally discussed in the Oz hobby, that the quality of koi coming out of these farms has been in decline for some time. They have remained the main supplier of koi to pet shops and garden centres. The direct sales to the public have dropped off. There was a time when you would go to one of these farms on the weekend and it would be like attending a club meeting. The quality was there and you would be happy to pay for it. Sadly, if you visit today, you are the only customer, sometimes for hours at a time. There are still some classy fish available for sale, but these are rarer.
So, the serious backyard hobby has taken up the pursuit of producing quality in very small bodies of water during the time when the farms were focused elsewhere. Most of the koi exhibited at shows, year after year come from our suburban ponds. There will be a significant negative impact of the hobby due to the new regulations and compliance requirements. Sadly, the bulk of the commercial side of the business will no longer be supplying koi to small pet shops in the usual quantity. These lower grade koi have a been a common introduction fish to the new koi keeper. The fish produced out of our tiny backyards will not be able to fill the void left by the exit of koi farms. Once a koi keeper sells/trades/barters/consigns or similar, some of the koi they have bred to a pet shop, they may be considered a commercial operation and will be required to obtain the aquaculture permit. The new regulations do allow a koi keeper to sell/trade/barter/consign or similar their koi without a permit, so long as they do not meet two key criteria.
1) Total facilities including filtration must not exceed 10,000L &
2) The koi are bred for the purpose of sale/trade/barter/consignment.
A koi keeper can have facilities greater than 10,000L, so long as they are not breeding for the purpose of selling. Breeding for the purpose of improvement is allowed and the sale of some of those koi is permitted, so long as the primary objective was not 2) – (there is the potential for much subjective interpretation here).
For the past few years, the serious koi hobby has taken up the main responsibility of improving the stocks. Most of the koi taken to shows were produced in someones backyard. Over the next few years, this may be the sole source. The serious koi keeper rose to the challenge of producing the quality the farms ignored. Those people, and the club base will now also need to take the main and possibly sole responsibility of new introductions, without the benefit of a pet shop/garden centre distribution base.
Decline in Hikari
Saturday, July 10th, 2010One of the challenges with Hikari Utsurimono (metallic showa & utsuri), is maintaining good sheen. They tend to decline quicker than other varieties. When you see one with good shine and excellent size, it is something to truly admire. In Australian shows, it is common for the smaller sizes to win best in variety over the larger ones. One of the main factors does come down to the quality of the metallic. Smaller ones tend to be better.
In a previous entry I have been flowing the development of my Shochikubai Hikari Utsurimono. Today’s photo shows how quickly the sheen can go into decline. The first photo is from September 2008 (11cm) and the second from October 2009 (19cm). Today, this koi is a mere 20cm and even if you take into account the lighting differences, the guanine responsible for the metallic is no longer as dense.
I doubt if this koi will get any bigger. Should this koi continue to loose the sheen, it may well end up looking more like a Koromo Showa.
Stabilising Kuro Goshiki
Friday, July 2nd, 2010The genes for Kuro Goshiki; a kohaku-type pattern over a predominately black base have come together in Australia from time to time, including this Tancho Goshiki from 1994.
The challenge with Goshiki comes from the considerable range of looks and shades. Kuro appears to be the rarer type. Most have a paler grayish skin colour. So, while Goshiki is a reasonably stable variety, Kuro appears less so. With Hijaro common, hopefully, the introduction of Karasu sumi (genetically dominant) will make it easier to produce.
Line Breeding
Monday, June 28th, 2010Breeding can be loads of fun. While you can cross and female with any male, the results will vary from down right ugly to nice or show quality. Goals will greatly influence the choice of parents.
When I choose my breeders I look for:
Predictability- I want to ensure that the fry I get are what I am looking for. I aim to reduce the gambles and reduce the number of ugly ones. That is, I want to maintain standard varieties. Eg. If I breed for kohaku, I want only kohaku, rather than a mix of other varieties.
Quality- I hope to breed show-able fish.
Healthy, strong and no deformities.
Size – I want to produce babies that have the potential to grow beyond 80cm
Line Breeding is the deliberate inbreeding in order to concentrate desired qualities. It is inbreeding and occurs when you mate closely related individuals such as brother and sister, cousins, parent & sibling. This helps to preserve the desired traits. It is also a means of reducing unfavourable characteristics. It will increase the number of individuals that are homozygous for a trait. It also increases the appearance of recessive traits. The goal is to increase the number of desired traits, while at the same time reducing the number of undesired traits. Without line-breeding, and selecting for the desirable characteristics, a breed cannot be established, nor could poor genetic material be removed.
By comparison, outbreeding or outcrossing is the deliberate breeding of relatively unrelated individuals. The goal in this stge, is the introduction of new traits.
My out-cross of Hijaro to Goshiki is an example of an out-cross in order to introduce Karasugoi sumi in the hope to produce kuro Goshiki. The desire is to produce a nice kohaku pattern over a solid black base. The koi below is one outcome, where you can see the obvious Asagi sumi from Goshiki and the sumi from the Hijaro – it is a beautiful mix. This koi will then be crossed back to re-introduce the beni pattern over the next few years.
Winter
Friday, June 25th, 2010Winter has well and truly arrived, with frost or fog in the morning and the air temperatures come close to freezing. The pond temperatures run around 10-12C all day (temping for a dip? Not). With no winter feeding and little maintenance, my thoughts turn to planning for the ensuing spring season. This year, I will return to my full-bodied male chagoi-look-alike. Most of last seasons offspring from his pairing are now around 30cm. While they have the look of ‘feral’ Kawarimono, the growth and vigor has confirmed my hopes. They inspire me to carry the genes forward.
