The Kohaku has a strong body and the head is exactly big enough. With 37cm it is not a Jumbo Tosai for Momotaro standards, but that says nothing about the other quality aspects. The Koi has the right proportions and a strong tail is equally important as a wide head with well positioned eyes. The large meheba (distance between eyes) is an indicator for growth potential.
In every article in this serie we describe a Koi, supported by a picture or video. Of course we think that you can judge a Koi best in real life, but via this method we are able to value most of the Koi. It is very informative and nice to see how the fish will develop in the future. This time we discuss a Momotaro Kohaku; a tosai of 37 cm
Also the fins are in proportions, nicely shaped and transparant. Because the photo is focused at the front of the Koi, it is difficult to judge the tailfin. The most important issue is the skin quality of the fish. Also this is difficult to see from a picture, however the skin seems soft and not very shiny. With a very good tosai, you directly notice the quality of the skin. The colours are still smooth; cream white and the red colour is nicely covered and has the same depth in front as at the back.
The pattern is attractive, however I should not choose a Koi like this. Technical she has a reasonable head pattern and, as many people wishes, the red pattern at the back ends beautiful and precisely just before the tail. Thereby the ozutsu (tail section) seems broader and more strong. Well, from a technical point of view, the overall pattern of this Koi is good.
“A Koi grows from underneath, whereby the patterns are more or less pushed upwards towards the backbone”
Why is this a less desirable Kohaku for me? That’s because the size of the pattern. Namely the pattern is too small to be even graceful at a Koi of around 70 cm. A Koi grows from underneath, whereby the patterns are more or less pushed towards the backbone. The fish grows wider, and looking from above, the pattern will be smaller; for a show this is less desireable. Of course there are exceptions, I have seen quite good Kohaku’s with not much red colour, however the shiroji has to be of extremely high quality then. I prefer larger patterns as tosai, that reach to the lateral line. When these kind of fish become larger they will show their beauty. But maybe….this fish will surprise us all!
The fish is onwed by Jose Bonet, hobbyist who wants to learn a lot of this fish. With his permission in the future we will judge again this Kohaku and see the developments. So, to conclude: what do you think of the pattern of this Kohaku?