I’ve been a little busy in June with a kitchen renovation project, travel and work. We’ve been working on the pond in between but I haven’t been posting. Last weekend we were in the San Francisco Bay Area for a high school reunion and took the opportunity to drive to San Jose to visit a koi dealer. I finally met Kevin Pham of Genki Nishikigoi in person! I purchased some tosai from him earlier this year. It was fun to see all the koi and Kevin was very helpful, explaining all sorts of things about koi. The pond digger gave me an early birthday present – a female shiro utsuri koi.
Genki Nishikigoi in San Jose, California is a great place to order koi online and to visit in person.Check out this shower filter on one of the tanks at Genki Nishikigoi…One of the many koi tanks and Genki Nishikigoi. All types of koi sold but the better koi are in the back tanks.Two different Shiro Utsuri koi from Omosako Farm. Apparently they are known for the shiro utsuri they breed. As my shiro utsuri gets older she will have more black develop. Kevin pointed out that the large white area on her shoulders will be very appealing to judges in the future. It’s hard to tell in the photos but this koi’s white skin seems much more translucent than the other koi that was bowled. Both are very pretty but the sumi (black) on this koi seems to show the promise of a lacquer quality.This shiro utsuri will be shipped to me in a few weeks. She is just coming out of quarantine and Kevin would like to ensure that she is healthy and stronger. The koi are placed in quarantine for a month after they are shipped from Japan and the medications used can make them a little fragile.While we were away, our neighbor came and fed our koi. The upper pond had an automatic feeder and I received this photo via text. A lot of food in the pond, the feeder at the bottom of the pond and ammonia levels rising. I’ve decided that automatic feeders are not for our koi.While we were away, our neighbor came and fed our koi. The upper pond had an automatic feeder and I received this photo via text. A lot of food in the pond, the feeder at the bottom of the pond and ammonia levels rising. I’ve decided that automatic feeders are not for our koi.Our neighbor took a photo of the likely culprit’s footprint.j
So we came home to all our koi. The water quality is starting to get back to normal / perfect levels. I’m thinking that for short trips, it’s better to let the fish starve for a few days.
Kevin Pham and his smiling young assistant at Genki Nishikigoi
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