Latest News (28)
Hungry for reading material? If so, take a look at the 'Media' heading, and click on the 'articles' page.
I have been very busy the last few days hunting down, and uploading articles. There are nine articles that I have added, including the very best recent ones from Koi Nations magazine, and the concluding articles to the '80cm Quest', which was focused on growing a bunch of cheap Tosai (under £350) to over 80cm, within a six year deadline. This objective was achieved by 5 years old. Of course, we all hear of Koi that are claimed to have been grown over 80cm, but we never see the proof ;-) Koi can be 'forced' to grow, by elevated temperatures, and all year round feeding. But, such methods result in Koi that may be big, but invariably turn out to be junk because of having been 'pushed'. Our methods though, are just good water, Summer temps of up to 24c, and a nice refreshing Winter. Check out the Koi Nations articles for more info on raising Koi...
Belated news seems to be the order of the day! ;-) Anyway, we can now finally conclude the over-all winner of the 2010 Tategoi Challenge, with the final casting vote coming from Okawa Koi Farm, as coincidentally, both of the finalists this year are from Okawa Koi Farm. The one on the left is now 53cm as Nisai, and the one on the right being 57cm. The winning Koi is the one on the right, and belongs to Raad Hassan (it was no fix!). The other one belongs to Stuart T. As his prize, Raad gets to use the value of his original Koi (£1900, pictured above) to use against another Koi of his choice.
What swung the decision on the Koi above, was the slightly stronger body of Raad's Koi, and the Kiwa being more refined. The skin condition was not so good at the time of photographing, but this is purely a 'condition' issue, and in no way reflects upon the skin quality, as you will see when she grows up.
This year was a close run between these two Koi, and a few others, including a Sanke (Greg), Okawa Kohaku (Paul), and Takeda Kohaku (Wayne).
Ironically, there was one Koi that was a little better than the rest, and this Koi was one we sold last Autumn as Nisai, after recommending her as the best of all last year's Koi to anyone that visited! This Koi measured 60cm as Nisai, but sold after the closing date of the challenge.
In case you are not already aware, any of this years Tosai purchased, already automatically qualify for the next challenge, to be concluded next Spring. The prize as always, is up to the value of the original Koi purchased, or a maximum of £2000. Most of this year's Koi fall inside this limit though, as did last year's Koi.
The closing date for purchases this year, will be August 15th. As last year, there will be two classes '£700 Class', and 'unlimited'.
We have just returned this evening from the BKKS National Koi Show. This year, it was held at a new venue in Stafford, with the entire weekend being run faultlessly by all that helped organised the event!
Koi sales were not permitted this weekend, due to the local council not being prepared to issue a pet shop license, though this actually made it more enjoyable for us, as it meant that a dealers section of the show was laid on for those that wanted to participate. This added an angle of fun to the show that was never present before!
As for the Koi at this weekends Show... perhaps this was our best result yet? Of the 7 Champions, 'Yume' Koi took four of the the awards, with the following...
Grand Champion... John Hellens, with Takigawa 88cm Kohaku 'The Duchess'
Mature Champion... Raad Hassan, with a Matsue 81cm 5 year old Kohaku, that we sold him when Nisai. He has grown her in his own pond, with 'Summer only' feeding, and 24c of water temps.
Adult Champion... Raad Hassan, with a Matsue 74cm 4 year old Kohaku, that he bought with us in Japan as Nisai. This was their 'Kashira' when purchased.
Non-Go-Sanke Champion... Raad Hassan, with a 70cm Takigawa Tancho. We sold this Koi when Nisai, to another client, and then 'resold' her to Raad when Sansai.
We would like to congratulate John and Raad for the above awards, and thank them for their support and faith over the years!
The icing on the cake... 'Ma Boy' (joke nickname) won the top award in the dealers part of the show. This Momotaro Sanke is one that we bought as small Tosai, and raised here at Yume Koi solely to prove that male Koi can get BIG. He is now 6 years old, and 80cm.
I will add photos to this, as soon as I get my hands on some.
Many thanks,
Mike & Elisa.
Yes, it's that time of year! Congratulations to Michael H, whom I haven't told yet. I'm going to see how many hours it takes for him to find out by 'word of mouth' ;-) I have been running a tad late with the judging of this years winners, but the sub £700 class is decided, with this years winner being a stunning Omosako Shiro Utsuri, owned by Michael. This Koi arrived in Spring 2009 as female Tosai of 23cm. As Nisai she measured 45cm when the photo was submitted to us in March. And yes, this Koi does look every bit as good as the photo! She has a wonderful body type now as Nisai, with a graceful bodyline, that blends nicely into a strong tail tube. If you aren't careful with choosing Shiro Utsuri, the bodyline can often become too female looking, or have flat spots on the side of the Koi instead of a smooth curve. As you can see, this isn't an issue with this Koi. This Shiro Utsuri has beautiful thick white skin, and Sumi that holds great promise for the future. One thing that I think is of paramount importance with Shiro Utsuri, is to have white ground that is completely free of any scattered scales of Sumi, and in this Kois case, it is simply perfection! Add to this, the beautifully balanced Motoguro, which is very refined, whilst leaving the first ray free of Sumi, and what we have is a Koi which I think is simply sublime! No pressure on Michael, but I hope that she becomes good enough and big enough to feature on our Gallery pages in the next year or two...
Michael's prize, is a Koi or goods up to the value of the £550 original purchase price of this Koi.
As for our 'Unlimted' class... the winner will be decided in the next few days, but at present, it is a close call between four Koi. More on this later...
Another good day today... Tom C won Mature Champion at the Worthing Koi Show today with a Yamatoya Sanke that we bought as Nisai, and grew here to Yonsai. Tom then took her home, and grew her to the 80cm that she is today. I will try to get an up to date photo...
Congratulations Tom!
On the weekend of 23rd of May, Stuart Toms discovered that he had won Grand Champion in the PKDA Virtual Koi Show with the Matsue Kohaku pictured above. Then, yesterday (31st of June), Stuart also won Grand Champion at the South Hants Open Show with a Yamatoya Sanke, also from us. Read on for more info...
The Matsue Kohaku is one we bought as Nisai, and sold to Stuart early last year as Sansai of 70cm. Stuart then grew her in his own pond to become Yonsai of 78cm. I am hopeful of this wonderful Kohaku appearing at the BKKS National in the future...
The Yamatoya Sanke is the first one we bought from Yamatoya, as Sansai of 56cm in 2002. Stuart bought her in Spring 2003, and took her home to his first pond, of about 3000 gallons. She didn't grow in this pond, and then went to live in Dave Cousin's Streamflow pond for about a year, whilst Stuart built his 10,000 gallon pond in which the Koi now resides. In this new pond, she has grown steadily, but slowly to around 76/77cm, at some 11 years old! Whilst it is unlikely that she will get Jumbo, she should hopefully squeeze past 80cm before she starts to show her age.
Stuart also won Mature Champion in the PKDA Show, with a Sanke which we grew from 15cm to Jumbo Tosai of around 30~35cm as one of 290 Koi, before Stuart took her home and grew her to 78cm, as Yonsai.
Congratulations Stuart!
I have been in Japan since March 24th, and it has been an incredibly busy trip so far. Today will be an easy day with a little luck, but things should be interesting from tomorrow, so keep you eyes peeled. The Tosai that we will be obtaining will be just a handful from each breeder, but of very high quality.
The Koi pictured above represent a cross section of last years Tosai, and now measure between 55 and 60cm. We can only get such Koi in very small numbers, as the breeders prefer not to sell such Koi. So, if you fancy a Tosai that can genuinely have a chance at turning into something special, keep your eyes on 'Fish' and 'Blog' pages, as there won't be many, and won't be around for long due to such high demand for Koi of this level.
Fingers crossed...
Mike.
It has today been brought to our attention, that all of our news items have disappeared from the website!
Anyway, Mike will be off to Japan on January 28th, and will also be attending the Momotaro auction on the 2nd of February. Please visit the Momotaro website to see the Koi that will be offered up for sale. As you are already no doubt aware, our understanding of Momotaro bloodlines is absolutely second to none, so if you have any interest in any of the Koi, please contact us. Momotaro Auction
Nothing to do with the Japan trip, I know, but two weeks ago we received a package of calendars from Omosako. We have 30 of these left to give away, and are available on a first come, first served basis. If you wish, I can put one aside for you to collect when I return from this trip.
Best regards,
Mike.
Yes, it's that time of year! On Monday morning (12th October) I will be flying out to Japan, where I will reside until the 19th of November. The Autumn trip for Yume Koi is always a long one, because we don't just go out there in search of 'any old Koi', we go out in search of only the very finest, and from excellent Jumbo bloodlines. This means often having to go back to breeders repeatedly to see certain harvests, so that we can choose before anyone else even sees the Koi!
As you are no doubt aware, Yume Koi's reputation is built solely on selling Koi that can grow to Jumbo, and then making sure that the owner can achieve the Koi's full potential, with many of our customers Koi now having been grown in the UK from Tosai or Nisai, to 80+cm, and several to 90+cm. These achievements have earned us a fantastic reputation amongst breeders, and this is why we so frequently managed to obtain many breeders 'Kashira' (literally the absolute best single fish of the season). Such Koi as these are more often than not hidden away in secret fish houses, where they are offered to clients on an 'invitation only' basis.
The breeders who's Kashira we have sourced in the past, include...
Igarashi
Matsue
Momotaro
Okawa
Omosako
Takeda
Takigawa
Yamamatsu
Yamatoya
The breeders I will be visiting this Autumn, will include (Niigata area) Dainichi, Hoshikin, Igarashi, Murata, Yamamatsu. (Chugoku area) Matsue, Momotaro, Omosako, Takeda, Yamatoya. (Kyushu area) Okawa, Ueno.
On the 18th of November, I will also be attending Momotaro's auction. Having been buying from Momotaro since 2000, and having spent three consecutive Summers at Momotaro learning about breeding/culling, we are in an unrivaled position when it comes to understanding their bloodlines development traits and possible pitfalls. If you have any interest in any of the Koi previewed on Momotaro's website please don't hesitate to drop me a line.
We also have a new 'Videos' page, which can be found under the 'Media' menu. Please browse these at your pleasure.
If you would like to get additional news updates whilst I am in Japan, please subscribe to our Newsletter, which can be found under the 'Media' menu.
Best regards, and most importantly... Enjoy! Mike.
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It's about time we released the outcome of our '2008 Tategoi Challenge' Pictured above are the winning Koi, and the prizes taken. On the top row, the middle pic is the overall winner owned by John H, bred by Takigawa Koi Farm. To the left of this, was the second winner, owned by Tom C, bred by Matsue. On the right, is the 'Sub 700' winner, owner by Chris P, and bred by Yamatoya. The second row of pics, is of the prize Koi that were chosen by the owners of each of the winning Koi above them. So, the prize Koi chosen by Tom C, was a 35cm Takeda Kohaku. This Koi was the absolute best that I could find (irrespective of price) from all of Takeda Koi Farm's best Tategoi. The Koi chosen by John H, was a 38cm Okawa Kohaku, of which both he, and us, have high hopes. Chris P chose another Yamatoya Kohaku as his prize. Our Tategoi Challenge Gallery is still not complete, but if you wish to see the outcome, then subscribe to Koi Nations Magazine, and get the issue containing all of the results. The gallery will be updated over the next week or so. In the Spirit of the 2008 Tategoi Challenge, we will be holding a 2009 Tategoi Challenge! If you have already bought a Tosai from us this Spring, don't worry, it already qualifies! But, this year there will be only two prizes... 1) Unlimited, and 2) Sub £700. The prize offered up next Spring is any one of our Tosai up to the price of the original purchase, and a maximum of £2000. Unfortunately, we have had a massive run on Tosai this Spring, so have very few Koi left for sale. The closing date for 2009 purchases/entries is 31st July. We hope that our Tategoi Challenge of last year, and this, will demonstrate both now (and over coming years as the Koi grow) how important the subtle difference of 'Yume' Koi makes when the Koi are grown up. In the future, we hope that you will realise that our 'expensive' Koi are in fact extremely good value for money. Here at Yume Koi, we have been undergoing many changes. Some are very subtle, and some are relatively major. These changes are in order that our ponds run through this coming Summer with the optimum of performance, resulting in the best Koi we have raised to date. We are confident that these changes will make a huge difference to the reults this coming Autumn. Of course, time will tell. Should you be interested in any Koi, please make the effort to come and visit, even if you have no intention of buying from us. We promise to make you feel welcome, and without any expectation of a purchase! We are confident that you will be impressed, and we have over 150 Koi here, many of which are not on our website. Such a collection of Koi cannot be found anywhere else in the UK. Many thanks, and best regards, Mike |
More...
We would like to congratulate John Hellens, for winning Jumbo Champion with a Yume Koi Momotaro Sanke that we purchased as Tosai, and sold to John as Yonsai. John has raised her to around 92cm at 7 years old, and we think that she has a chance to become the first 1 metre Go-Sanke in the UK in the future.
Secondly, we would like to Congratulate Dave Dallison for winning Young Champion with a lovely Kohaku that we sold to him when low price Tosai of 23cm. He has grown her to 55cm, and she still has a rosey future ahead of her.
We would also like to congratulate Rob Robson for winning Baby Champion with a low price Tosai Kohaku. We also hope that Rob's Kohaku will fair well over the coming year or so with his excellent keeping skills.
The downside for us... We missed Adult Champion with a 'once in a lifetime' Kohaku that won a second in size at the All Japan Show this year. The general consensus at the BKKS was that this Koi was 'unbeatable', and many described her as the one Koi in the Show that they would like to take home. But, alas, she only got a third in variety. Hey ho, we can't be too gready! ;-)
For us, the BKKS National was excellent! We met many happy clients there, and hopefully picked up some new ones. It was for us, one of the most 'fun' nationals we have ever had.
The water at the Show was up to its usual high standard, though I have heard comments that the pH was too high, and that surely water could have been 'tanked' to the Show in better spec. This kind of train of thought is ludicrous, as the pH 'out of the tap' is irrelevant, as it is the KH and sunshine that will dictate the pH once in the vats. Even shipping in softer water would have made no difference. To my mind, the water team did an excellent job, and deserve gratitude rather than criticism.
As for the picture at the top of our newsletter, from left to right 'Jumbo Champion' 92cm Momotaro Sanke, 'Young Champion' 55cm Yamatoya Kohaku, 'Baby Champion' 31cm Kohaku, and our contender for 'Adult Champion' which won 2nd Best In Size in AJS 2009
Omosako's Latest Farm News
As the UK's main dealer for Omosako Koi, they have asked us to share their latest news with UK hobbyists...
It's rainy season now in Japan, but in the nest weeks or two, this will draw to an end, and then the real Summer begins! So far, 6 Shiro Utsuri breedings have been successfully carried out, along with 2 Showa breedings. Omosako Koi Farm are very happy with the results so far.
Meet Godzilla, a new parent for Omosako for this season. She measures 92cm, and was succesfully bred on 20th May 2009. The fry pictured, are about 5mm long, and this is the first selection. The circled Koi, are entirely black ones, and these are the ones that are kept for raising in the fry ponds.
It's time for the first selection, so Takahiro-san, and Takayoshi-san run the seine net through the fry pond to catch them, so that the Senbetsu (selection) can commence.
Takahiro-san showing an expression of concentration, as not only does he have to keep the net against the edge at the top, he also has to hold the bottom of the net against the side with his heel, so that as few fry escape as possible.
Omosako-san himself selecting the 2cm long fry.
The number of Koi to be selected through on the first selection, is vast, so everyone has to pitch in and help, so that they can be selected before the water in the tank turns bad.
Takayoshi-san selecting fry... nowadays, he is the 'main man' when it comes to making decisions on important Koi.
This one is a keeper!
Another keeper!
... but there's still thousands more to select through!
Takayoshi-san releasing fry back into the fry pond.
As the fry are released, we have to hope that they will fair well through the rest of the rainy season, as the rain is acidic, and can ruin water very quickly. For this reason, the fry ponds are buffered up a little to avoid a pH crash. I look forward to seeing these Koi this coming Autumn!
A misty morning over one of Omosako's mud ponds... Stunning!
Omosako-san and Takayoshi-san checking Nisai in one of the mud ponds. They have put 100 Nisai into the mudponds this year to grow through to Sansai.
More Tategoi in the mud pond, only black & white!
Takayoshi-san having a relaxing smoke whilst observing the Kois behavoir.
Omosako-san observing the mud pond condition.
This year, Omosako have put 100 Nisai, and 1000 Tosai ito the mudponds as their Tategoi. The bloodlines of these Koi are predominantly from Musashi, Panda, Ebisu, Kurokabuto.
A few handfuls of food is thrown in to encourage the Koi to the surface, so that their condition and body weight can be observed.
'Godzilla', a new parent for this year, and 92cm.
Another new parent for Omosako this year, 'Patra'.
The next bit of news, is in relation to the Momotaro auction on May 27th. I had a long sneak preview of these Koi last Saturday, and they really are wonderful, especially the Sanke. I have to say, that they look nothing like the photos that Momotaro have emailed. Some are far superior to these photos, and unfortunately, some are not as good. But, all in all, these, I think, are Momotaro's best auction Koi to date. If you have any interest in these Koi, please don't hesitate to drop me a line. Our extensive knowledge of their bloodline is second to none, having imported many of them since 2000, and watching them grow to up to 90cm+ in the UK. A nominal commission fee of 10% applies, but for this, you get extensive guidance of the Koi in question, and if we don't like the Koi in the flesh, we don't buy it just to get your commission!
Sorry for the lack of updates! I have just returned from an incredibly hectic trip to Japan, so busy, that I had no chance for doing a 'blog' for this one.
However, it isn't all bad news! We have managed to source a handful of extremely high-class Tosai! We are in a very fortunate position, that the amount of business we do with our chosen breeders, is such that they are happy to let us have just a few of their very top Tategoi. This time, we had freedom to have the choice of each and every one of Takeda Koi Farm's Tosai, something that we have somewhat 'inherited' since Takeda-san passed away in 2007. Only one Koi ever was offered up for sale by Takeda-san several years ago, to a Japanese hobbiest. The Takeda Kohaku this time, were by far the best I have ever seen there, and this bloodline is a very famous one!
At Takigawa Koi Farm, we were allowed just two Tosai this time. But, we got the 'Kashira' from one breeding, and a second Koi from another main parent set.
We have also sourced five Yamatoya Tosai, having the complete run through our choice of two of his three Tategoi ponds.
At Okawa Koi Farm, we have managed to get 7 of their Tategoi, which were also destined for the mud pond. These are incredibly large, and very high quality.
We also have sourced a handful of very nice Omosako Tosai.
To summarise, the photo below, is of the 'highlight Koi' of the trip. These Koi are ones we have bought without even having regard for price... they are quite simply, the absolute best!
If you have any interest in these new Koi, please drop us a line.
