Selecting Showa Koi 10 months old [Best out of 25]

In this video we will share a lot of details about the selection process on the Koi variety Showa. We will share showa by showa in detail on which aspects we do select showa, why some of the showa in this bowl are good and others are not.

When we select Showa, we take a lot of characteristics of the Koi fish into account. This includes aspect regarding the red, white and black patterns, the skin quality, the body posture and several other details.

To start with, Showa are Koi that have a black body. As small baby Koi they are entirely black. That is different from for example the Kohaku and Sanke, they both have a white base. On that black base of the Showa, the variety has white and red markings. Red and black together make the balance of the pattern, for that reason the placement of the red patterns is actually less important compared to Kohaku and Sanke. The Showa also belongs to the Gosanke class.

The pattern on the head of a Showa is very important. What is highly preferred is that a Showa has a V-shaped pattern on its head. For young Koi, like in this video from breeder Sakazume at an age of around 10 months old, this V-shaped black pattern often still needs to develop. That takes time, black is a colour that quite easily develops. The black pattern should divide the head into two parts, like a lightning bolt in between the eyes. This is called the Menware or the Hachiware. Hachiware actually literally means divided head when you translate it from Japanese. On the head, it is also important that is has both white and red visible, to create a nice balance.

The black patterns are also called sumi patterns. For a Showa you want to make sure the pattern is nicely balanced. Black and red together make the balance on the Koi. For a Showa it is preferred that the black patches are larger, especially if you want a more classic Showa. For more modern showa, the Kindai Showa, it is acceptable that less black markings are visible.

The black pattern should be of high quality, intense black with shine on the surface of the skin. The gills, and tail area are good areas to look at when a Showa is young. These areas can already display very nice black markings when a Showa is younger, and give a good indication of the quality of the black. Now black is not really something to worry about on a Showa, it takes time to develop and will most usually only become more intensive over the years.

The red patterns, or the hi patterns, should have a high intensity and it should be balanced and consistent over the entire body of the Showa. When you can spot discrepancies in the red colour over the body of the Showa, that is not a good indicator. Make sure it also looks ‘soft’. Soft red on a Koi means it is more stretchable and for that reason it won’t break open when the Koi grows.

Of course also the white colour should be as white as possible. The nicer whiter the white areas are, the more intense also the black areas will look. Simply higher contrast means the Showa will look better. Preferable the skin also shines a little bit, a good indicator for high skin quality which will only make the Showa look nicer.

Join us in the selection of this video by sharing your thoughts in the comments. We numbered each Showa so you can easily refer to one of the Showa’s in the video. Feel free to ask your questions in the comments as well.

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