Koi Business As Usual

In the 1980s the ONLY way to get a real koi was from California or mail order from one of the many Japanese carpet baggers that run fish, by picture, to the east coast after taking pictures in the mountains or down south and then sending them out from Chiba in express mail.

Ater a while we used to try and guess what each picture was hiding rather than what the fish itself looked like! In those days I had :

1) a killer showa with a bent mouth. Thank you Tani farms!
2) TWO shiro utsuri will anal fins broken right off! Not in the bag- before shipping. ( later that dealer said he had a lot of fish piercing the bags with their anal fins so he was cutting them of before shipping! ( right right). Thank you Far East!
3) a kohaku with a dead eye ( crystalized). Thank you Umeda!
4) a sanke with ‘two’ dorsal fins. the fin had been split and healed in two pieces. Thank you Igarashi!

These fish are not sellable in person or in-country so they tend to be shipped out of the country as picture sales. Let the buyer beware!
Don’t feel bad Michael, we all have paid our dues. JR
http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/outside/8077-hc-vs-sh-shiro-showdown-11.html

~ by koinewsnetwork on February 10, 2008.