Thread: Kohaku fry

I have 250 kohaku fry that I bought from Adam Byer Koi. They are doing well but I was curious, having never done this before, what proportion will actually end up being red/white? At the moment it looks like about half will just be plain orange, is this about right or will they change colour as they grow?

Hi Alan, havnt had any from Adam but in the past I have found a lot are plain red or orange and Kohaku take a lot of culling to get the correct pattern.
Not a breed I would be concentrating on.
Maybe contact Adam as he is the expert.

I will drain the pond they are in and catch them around mid Oct. I will cull down to 25-30 at that point so looks like I will have plenty to go at

Do you keep them in your top pond Alan?

Yes, the top pond was originally built to house my anoxic baskets but I moved most of them to an IBC when I redesigned the filter. The top pond is now a "lily pond" and part time fry pond. This is the second lot I have done and they seem to thrive in it. The only way I can catch them is to drain down for the end of season clean out. Those selected to keep will overwinter in there and grow on next year with any good enough being transferred to the main pond in 12 months time..

I remember you kept some in the top pond a while back,so they arnt heated in the winter just leave them alone in there?

You got me thinking now as I have a small top pond and could keep a few in there next year.

No heating but it is covered and I maintain a trickle of flow from main pond all the way through. I am not worried about "maximum" growth and it seems to work for me. The first ones were a couple of years ago, a mixed batch from New Forest Koi. I have 8 or 9 of them in the main pond and am very pleased with them.

Sounds like a plan for next year Alan,I used to buy 6 week old from New Forest and grow them on in heat over winter,had some lovely ones from them.