Sanke and Showa Koi: How can you determine the difference? [KOI GUIDE]

00:32 Base colour of Sanke and Showa
01:26 Sumi placement and head markings
02:53 Tejime and Motoguru
04:29 Difference in body posture
05:45 Difference in red colour
07:16 Every beginning is difficult
08:18 Practice: Showa or Sanke?

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to spot the difference between a Sanke and a Showa. In this video we will explain the characteristics of Sanke and Showa, and what the best characteristics are to distinguish between the two varieties.

First of all the base colour is different. Showa are black Koi, while Sanke are White Koi. With black Koi I mean that Showa have a black base. A young Koi that are only a few days old they are already selected based on their colour. Black ones are selected and all the white ones are discarded. On that black base, white and red patterns will appear.

As Sanke have a white base, black and red markings will appear on it. Often Sanke only have small amounts of black visible. And the black patterns are often smaller and look like small paint drops or dots. For Showa, the patches are large and start from the belly and can cover large areas of the Koi Fish.

So high over, how can you determine if it is a Sanke or Showa?
Normally the main characteristics are the black spots that you can use to determine if a Koi is a Sanke or a Showa.
Sanke have small sumi spots
On the head, Sanke normally do not have sumi. However Sanke can have black on the head as well.
Sanke Sumi can look like paint splashes or dots.
Sanke can have Tejime in the fins. Small black stripes visible in the pectoral fins
Sanke often have a slimmer body posture compared to Showa
Sanke have a lighter red colour

And what about Showa?
Showa can have Motoguru in the fins, large blobs of black visible in the pectoral fins
Showa have large patches of sumi
Showa often have a broader body posture compared to Sanke
Showa have a darker red colour
Showa can have black in the mouth and bottom of the head, eyes covered in black, black on the belly, black in all fins, actually they can have black everywhere

What you should know is that in the beginning it basically takes some practice to start to understand the differences. As soon as you start to know what to look for, it actually becomes easier and easier as Sanke and Showa clearly are different.

Take in mind that you always make use of multiple indicators. For example Showa can have indicators that hint towards Sanke, for example having black stripes in the fins instead of blobs of sumi. Always take multiple indicators into account!

Did you get a better understanding of the differences between Sanke and Showa? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for watching!
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