TAMMY FRAY
The South African Koi Keepers Society, in collaboration with Gonubie’s Cavalo Koi, returned to Spargs from July 15-17 to host the first physical Koi show post-Covid.
The lower end of Spargs’ parking lot was overrun with pools of Koi for show and for sale.
Breeders from across Buffalo City entered their Koi for show, which were judged by internationally accredited judges, among them Andre le Roux.
Le Roux’s Sanke fish was awarded supreme grand champion, followed by Peter Bez’s Kawarimoyo as reserve grand champion.
Le Roux is certified with Zen Nippon Arinikai, the founding society for koi breeding in Japan.
According to him, determining what score to award a koi is based on the type of koi as different breeds will have their own set of genetic markers.
“What we first judge for is that the fish are true to variety, so if it is a kohaku, it must look like one.
“Then we start on the technical judging, which involves looking at the body shape, which counts for 40% of the score, and then we look at the skin quality such as the colour, the shine and the distinct outlines of the colours of the fish,” he says.
“You can’t have the colours bleeding into each other and we look at the colour of the combination of the white, red and black.
“Then we look at how it presents itself, much like a model who is able to walk properly on a runway, for instance.”
Le Roux adds that the koi, depending on their type, are able to grow up to 1.2m-long.
He says Japanese koi are genetically superior to locally bred koi, and mostly won at shows.
Co-owners of Cavelo Koi, Peter Bezuidenhout and Nico Schultz, say breeding koi “is a lot of hard work that requires top-notch water quality because if your water quality is compromised you can lose lots of fish”.
Schultz adds: “For me it’s less about breeding but more about how relaxing the hobby can be. Life is so hurried and there’s nothing that can relax you more than the kaleidoscope of colours from the fish … it’s like a new painting every second.”
