Mike McMahon

The daily life of a koi breeder is filled with much work. It follows a cycle of seasons. What follows is a "typical" Niigata Koi breeder's year of activities.

May: The Koi breeding year begins in May. Concrete ponds and vinyl tanks used for spawning are disinfected. Parent fish are selected and placed together for spawning by the end of the month, if the breeder is using natural methods. Some use artificial methods to better track parent combinations. Many breeders stay with the parent fish throughout the night, sometimes for several days. As soon as spawning is completed, the parent fish must be removed and the eggs disinfected. Begin moving fry to mud ponds previously prepared. Showa receive their first culling within a few days of the fry becoming free swimming. Only the black fry are saved. In this hectic month of late nights and early mornings, the Koi breeder will seek to dispose of all fish left from the prior year's spawning that were not placed out in mud ponds. The month is also filled with a daily routine of patrolling the mud ponds. Adult fish being grown an additional year were placed in the mud ponds previously. The daily patrol includes two or more feedings and checking all the protections against predators. These include monofilament strung across ponds to protect against fish hawks and the like; fencing to protect against wading predators. Pond perimeters are inspected for signs of other predators.

June: Spawning continues, as does the daily patrol of the mud ponds. In addition, the first culling of fry placed in the mud ponds occurs. The ponds must be seined and every fish individually examined. This is also the time when greenhouse ponds and filters begin to be cleaned after long use over the winter months. Construction of new concrete ponds and greenhouses also commences.

July: The second culling of fry occurs in July, and requires a trained eye. The first culling primarily eliminated deformities. In July colors begin to become apparent to a trained eye. The daily patrol of ponds continues late into the night, as the greenhouse ponds and filter systems continue to be cleaned one by one.

August: The third culling occurs this month, and can be particularly stringent. What had been hundreds of thousands of fry must be reduced to only a few thousand. Otherwise, there will be too little of food in the pond for the young fish to develop properly. The daily patrol of ponds continues. Since the ponds are often dotted around the countryside, this task becomes more difficult in the shortening days of late summer. For many breeders, there may be a half dozen or more ponds separated by more than a thirty minute driving distance over rocky, dirt roads. This is also the month when greenhouse ponds are placed back in operation so that filter systems are prepared to accept the harvest about to arrive.

September: The tosai (first year fish) harvest begins. The fry placed in the mud ponds in June are now 3-5". As they are harvested, they are culled once more. Also, they are sorted. Some that are considered too good to throw away, but not good enough to save over the winter, will be sold in bulk. The better tosai are separated for growing over winter indoors. And of course, the daily patrol of the mud ponds continues, caring for the adult fish.

October: This is the traditional start of the autumn harvest. Mud ponds must be drained and the ponds seined so that adult fish can be individually captured, examined and returned to the farm's holding tanks. The koi that are 2-5 years of age represent the greatest share of revenue to the koi breeder. Each is inspected and disinfected of parasites. During this time, dealers from across Japan, as well as from foreign countries, arrive to get an early selection of the fish being harvested. Some preferred hobbyist customers also arrive at the farms, generally accompanied by the dealer through whom all sales are made. This is also the month when hobbyists who have boarded their fish for the summer to get the benefit of staying in a mud pond arrive to pick up their fish. There is no guarantee their fish have survived, but they have paid the breeder for the privilege of having their fish grown in the breeder's ponds.

November: The breeder is still dealing with dealers and hobbyists eager for a prize fish. This is the month of auctions, at which the very best of a breeder's crop of older fish is made available. This is also the month of several major shows. Important customers' koi are entered by the breeders, or sometimes a dealer who works closely with a breeder. These shows are of great importance to the breeder, because winning major prizes at these early shows can cause a great increase in demand, and higher prices. The daily patrol of mud ponds is no more, but the indoor ponds must be maintained and fed. The ponds are heated, particularly the ponds for tosai.

December: Many local koi shows are held across Japan, with breeders transporting customers' fish, and attending to see what the competition has done. The greenhouse ponds are maintained and fed daily. The draining of mud ponds is completed so that they can be maintained. Equipment, nets and tools are overhauled, repaired and serviced. As the snows of December begin, auctions and sales decline.

January: The Shinkokai All Japan Show is held in Tokyo, one of the major events of the year for any breeder. Winning a significant award at this show can make the sale season highly successful. Following the show, customers and dealers from across Japan brave the mountain snows to purchase koi from leading breeders. The care of the concrete ponds continues, as does the servicing of the farm equipment.

February: All of the winter routines continue, and the sorting of tosai is commenced. They are now four months older than when they were harvested in September. They will have grown typically to 6-10 inches and the breeder must decide which will be kept to grow another year, and which will be sold. If the breeder has kept 2,000 tosai, perhaps only 250 will be placed in a mud pond to become nisai (2 year olds). The best 500 will be sorted, and the remainder placed for immediate sale. The 500 will be carefully watched for the ultimate selection of the 250 that will be placed in the mud ponds. Sales activity picks up, and the breeder is particularly anxious to dispose of tosai by the end of March or mid-April.

March: The show season in Japan picks up again and the daily winter routine continues. This is also the month when mud pond maintenance reaches a high point. If not done in November or early December, the ponds will be limed, re-graded and thoroughly checked to be certain they will be in good condition when re-filled with the melting winter snows. By late March, the spreading of fresh soil/clay and manures begins so that there will be thriving food sources in the ponds come summer. At the end of the month is when koi begin to be collected from customers who want to have them boarded in the mud ponds, and sales are in full swing as dealers re-fill their inventory, having sold a large proportion of the fish acquired prior to the onset of winter.

April: Adult koi being kept an additional year are returned to the mud ponds. The ponds in which the new fry of the year will be placed continue to be prepared, with monofilament strung over them, fencing placed around the edges. As adult fish are returned to the mud ponds, the daily patrols re-commence, and at the same time there is the daily routine of maintaining and feeding the concrete greenhouse ponds. This is a month in which sales are eagerly made, since it is the end of the season.

And Then, It Is May. The cycle repeats . . .

HOME