Grading System

Nisei Koi Farm

At Nisei Koi Farm, after all the tosai culls have been completed, the koi that we produce for sale are seperated into four grades.

Premium grade: This grade constitutes around 90% of the koi that we sell as Tosai.  Almost all of these are sold to garden centers and pond stores around the country. The koi are usually beautiful additions to any garden pond. We believe these koi are a much higher grade then you'll find for the same price from other breeders

Select grade: These are koi that are hand selected by Mat. They are usually suitable for entry into a koi show either now or in the next few years.  These koi are a higher grade for a lower price than you will get from most consolidated importers.  They amount to around 7% of the koi we produce.

Tategoi grade: These are koi for the future.  They are very rare, amounting to only 3% of the koi that we raise. Tategoi is the term we give to koi that we believe can improve and become more beautiful in the future. Each year tategoi are found all through the sizes preoduced. We seperated them into inch size classes. The mud pond can only support the intensive growth of a limited number of koi. We usually have a surplus of koi in each size category and we are forced due to lack of space to sell these high-class koi as tategoi. These koi are rarely imported and are usually double our selling prices when offered by importers.                          See Tategoi page for further explanation.