Here are some individual photos of some of Mat’s favorites from yesturday’s Sanke sorting. They are only some quick shots. James will be taking their “professional” photos today.

The guys sorted thru more sanke today. These sanke were harvested 3-5 inches and  measured today at 4-6”.  Since they have been harvested these koi have been kept in a greenhouse at 65-70 degree F. They have been on an auto feeder, feeding 4X per day or feeding at 1.5% body weight per day.

All these koi this fall were demend worthy of coming into the greenhouse and not spend the winter in the mud ponds.  But, each time we sort thru the koi, the harsher we get.  Today these koi were split in 3 ways..koi for our wholesale clients, for our retail clients and the third group will move into our grow out greenhouse. These koi will moved into 78 degree F  and fed 12 X a day or 3% their body weight per day.

Mat is very careful with watching the temperature the koi are being moved from and into. If the temperature difference is to great, we can quickly have problems with the koi and with our stocking and feeding rates in the growout greenhouse, a small problem can turn into a big problem very quickly.

Here is a group shot of some very special sanke the Mat is setting aside for an event he is planning soon.

Now that the Ochiba are out of quarantine, it is time for Mat to sort the koi by grade and size.
 

When the koi were harvested, only the koi with the highest potential came into the greenhouses and the others returned to the mud ponds to spend the winter. It has only been a few weeks from when the koi were harvested, but this first sorting of grade was harsh.
The koi were separated into 3 grades – available to our wholesale clients, available for retail clients and those Mat has chosen to move into our grow out greenhouse for another cycle.

I was able to get some pictures of the koi Mat is moving into the grow out greenhouse. They are just starting the individual pictures of the koi and the record keeping, so some more close up pictures to come.

Showa fry are first culled when they are only a few days old. Showa is a black based fish, so the white fry are seperated from the black fry and only the black fry are placed into the mud ponds to be grown.

Showa Fry

Culling showa is a extremely important but very time consuming. We have a small staff, so we are very greatful when our customers graciously offer to help with this task.

This year, it took a few day to get thru all the showa babies. Its very suprising how much growth can happen in the first 24hrs in the mud pond.  For best results, we wanted  to keep the frys’ size similar in each pond. So, each of the three days of culled fry got their own mud pond.  All three mud ponds of showa have come from the same spawning.

Today Mat culled the second pond of showa

Showa baby

showa baby