Was the new koi Kevin? Here they are next to each other, so yes. OK, they are about a 95% match, but the distinctive spots near the eye and the black scale mid-back (among others) confirm it. I'm not sure how the patterns change over time (or when the top photo was taken - Stu?). But I'm glad to see that nasty damage on his left side has healed well.
I first caught "Kevin" on the July 26, and 3 times more. Each time the damage was getting better.
ReplyDeleteStu
Had a quick look into koi, a couple of quotes I will post,
ReplyDeletehave a black & orange Koi about 18in long which has started to get white areas on its body. The white is on the fins, around & up the gills & above the eyes. I know that Koi can change colors but is this normal.
yes, the Hi (red) and Sumi (black) will fade over time. Sumi is the most unpredictable color and can fade and return several times in a koi's lifetime. Part of this is environment, food, water quality, etc but mostly it is genetics.
This might shine some light on the v'slight differences.
Stu
I believe this fish and the fish you caught earlier in the season with similar damage were released from the same pond, with the original owner believing they had "KHV"
ReplyDeleteStu
Cheers Stu.
ReplyDeleteI saw 3 other kois in the same spot, another smaller ornamental and two ghosts, one of which was bigger than Kevin - I wonder how many were released.
Glad they were wrongly diagnosed as KHV would have wiped out the entire koi population - the last thing the river needed as it's just recovering from pollution.
Does make you wonder why someone would throw suspected diseased fish into a wild river...
The Wandle is full of ornamentals along its entire length. All of which i presume have been released (as Stu says) because their owners believe they have some form of disease, or because they have outgrown their owners fishtanks or ponds. As for the damage I have seen similar on small carp before on lakes and ponds and wondered if this may have been cormorant damage? I often see one working its way upstream from PL area. Koi are not hard to miss and until they aclimatise to living in the wild are very easy for cormorants to target. Just a thought. Jamie
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