the grow and show's

pondy · 27-06-2011, 02:13 PM

Matt asked on the other thread how a grow and show worked.

this is the way that the current one is working

i chose a dealer who i respected (Yume Koi) and asked if it would be possible to get a batch of koi all from the same spawning( and of my choosing which i chose shiro utsuri from a very good Breeder Omasaka) i gave him a realistic price range to work from to try and get for me.
so this way they would all be the same age koi from the same parents so everyone would start on an even keel.

i then put a post up asking people if they were interested in taking part

once i had a list of initial people interested and i know it was going to go ahead. as i havent got a QT tank . i asked if i had voulonteer who would like to Qt and heat ramp the babies for us. ( some koi dealers will do this for you if you want but this would increase the intial price of the koi)
we were lucky that John P took up the offer.
whilst Mike was in Japan he managed to find what i wanted and got back to me that the landed price of each koi would be £85 and was i still interested.

i went back to the people interested and got a final figure of 27 people interested( in this case it ended up as 30 so a couple had extras but all were sold)
the money was paid up in front by everyone.
the koi came in very healthy and looking stunning
john p and with the assistance of davej made the QT procedure seem effortless and pass very smoothly
and we all collected ouor shiro's on the Saturday just gone 25/06/11

now what i require from all taking part is for them to photograph their koi roughly every three months and send them to me via e.mail or pm.

i will post the koi as they come in annonomously(god i cant spell

) just so people can see how the koi are changing (if they can give me a size i can keep track and make a kind of graph up of the growth for the end of the year)

after a year i will publish who has grown what koi to what size and we would of already been seeing what the koi looked like and how it has changed.

the winner of the largest koi will win a Glass trophy which has kindly been donated by "EXtreme Koi Forum"

as there seems to be a great deal of interest in these shiro's and how they will perform, there may even be a secondary prize awarded by the BKKS but this is still only in the verbal stage at the moment.

i hope this has answer your questions.

can i just add..

ALL FISH BOUGHT HAVE BEEN SOLD. AND WHEN PEOPLE SAW THESE KOI I COULD HAVE SOLD 60 PLUS SORRY FOR ANYONE THAT MAY HAVE MISSED OUT.

Mattsville · 27-06-2011, 03:05 PM

Thanks very much for the information Pondy!
This sounds like great fun! So I guess you then draw lots for who gets first pick of the fish?
Can I ask what the people that got to choose first tend to go for when selecting? I would guess that the biggest of the bunch would tend to carry on growing the fastest and therefore have the best chance of winning, but they may not necessarily have the best markings? Did people go for the biggest first or the best looking first?
Also - how much of a hinderance is having a small pond in getting koi to grow? I'm guessing a heated pond is a must to stand a chance, right?

So now that you've seen the fish - how would you say the price stacks up if you weren't doing the grow and show? Do you think you paid extra for the priviledge of getting 30 similar fish from the same spawning, or do you think you got a bargain for buying in bulk? Or is £85 about what you'd expect to pay for these at a dealer?
Sorry for all the questions - just trying to find out as much as I can about these things!
Matt

the stoneman · 27-06-2011, 03:24 PM

Hi Matt,
I'm one of the participants of this particular grow & show, and must start by saying what fantastic koi these are. If you have never had a go at a grow & show, then I would recommend it. This particular competition was a blank envelope, so you had know idea what koi you were getting, unlike the grow & show competition held this weekend at A4koi where you had tree minutes to select your koi.

pondy · 27-06-2011, 03:43 PM

Yeah as Stoneman said
we drew numbers out of a bag to decide in what oder people should go in, then
all the photos had been put in blank envelopes so nobody had a clue what koi was in what envelope.
then in order we chose our blank envelope.

wether big or small nice patterned or not you got what you were given.

having said this after seeing these shiro's they were amazing and i know that if mike at Yume koi was to have sold these through his web site, he would have gotten at least three times the amount we paid.

as far as a small pond goes. of course it will hinder the speed and growth of your koi. some people on here can get their koi to grow a cm per week.
it all depends on pond, filter set up, temperature all sorts. these are the same factors which could be deciding in how and what colour your koi develops

Mattsville · 27-06-2011, 03:43 PM

Ahh, ok. So you just get allocated a fish at random then.
They do look like fantastic fish - I'd be pretty nervous about having a fish in my pond that I hadn't chosen, but it would probably be worth it. Maybe I'll be ready for this next year!

pondy · 27-06-2011, 03:45 PM

its part of the gamble and the fun.

but you also get to join in a great koi activity and community

eds come down to Essex from Nottingham, Limey from Northampton etc.. just to be a part of this Grow and show comp.

and i thank them for making the effort

Limey · 27-06-2011, 05:42 PM

Hi Matt... not knowing which koi you will actually get gives this G & S an extra edge bit of fun for me.

When Pondy originally posted we were doing one this year if I remember correctly it was not known the variety and don't think we knew who would be getting the koi. An approx price was pretty much the info and details emerged... correct me if I am worng Pondy heh

.

Heres the thing... pretty much as soon as it was announced it was going to happen the places got snapped up - think within a couple of days... at that point it was 'intent'.

I think for most its a case of trusting who is organising it... and a belief you are going to get a decent fish for your money, but just as good the fun of being a part of it. £85 and we have a year ahead watching them develop... taking the mick and learning how some have their set ups so good they achieve what they do... like the 1cm a week growth... outstanding!

I am VERY happy with the shiro I got, would it have been my choice if it was run the traditional way like at A4 koi or Migoto-koi... prob not, BUT now I wouldn't swop it for ANY of the others... after all it is the best one of a very very good bunch of koi

.

The day was great, and can't recommend highly enough taking part... have my fingers crossed we will be doing it again next year.

Oh and my little guy was up feeding the next day... I am tucking it up in bed at night ... giving it breakfast in bed... ordered a colour tv for its room, bought it thermal underwear ready for the winter and tell it a good night story every night... so beat that you 1cm a week guys :P

Essex · 27-06-2011, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limey

Hi Matt... not knowing which koi you will actually get gives this G & S an extra edge bit of fun for me.

When Pondy originally posted we were doing one this year if I remember correctly it was not known the variety and don't think we knew who would be getting the koi. An approx price was pretty much the info and details emerged... correct me if I am worng Pondy heh

.

Heres the thing... pretty much as soon as it was announced it was going to happen the places got snapped up - think within a couple of days... at that point it was 'intent'.

I think for most its a case of trusting who is organising it... and a belief you are going to get a decent fish for your money, but just as good the fun of being a part of it. £85 and we have a year ahead watching them develop... taking the mick and learning how some have their set ups so good they achieve what they do... like the 1cm a week growth... outstanding!

I am VERY happy with the shiro I got, would it have been my choice if it was run the traditional way like at A4 koi or Migoto-koi... prob not, BUT now I wouldn't swop it for ANY of the others... after all it is the best one of a very very good bunch of koi

.

The day was great, and can't recommend highly enough taking part... have my fingers crossed we will be doing it again next year.

Oh and my little guy was up feeding the next day... I am tucking it up in bed at night ... giving it breakfast in bed... ordered a colour tv for its room, bought it thermal underwear ready for the winter and tell it a good night story every night... so beat that you 1cm a week guys :P

I have an 'idea' if that helps Dave..........tie a ruler to its back and tell it to look backwards ...

Essex · 27-06-2011, 09:41 PM

Just to add a note..I personally love the way ex KK (pondy &co) do their show n grow.
It is fair and a little luck is needed.

After all if mine was at A4 grow n show it would never have got chosen. Due to the split pec and wound in the joint.

But that is part of the challenge. If i can get it mended and a happy bunny..I am sure it wont be another 'fat belly' shiro

dorie · 27-06-2011, 10:01 PM

hey there is nothing wrong with my fat bellied Shiro

I have to admit the way Pondy's Grow and Show works takes the pressure off and you can sit back and enjoy the day as you'll get what ever Koi is in the envelope you have chosen.

The other way running a Grow and Show brings then tension the excitement and to a degree pressure on you to make a good choice when it comes to picking.

But personally for me it's all about the social event that happens not just on the day but for the whole year.

dorie.