HIGHRANCHU TIMELINE - ONE FISH'S JOURNEY - PART III

Presenting my next OYA fish - a female from the same spawn of April 15, 2014. She has always been a strong fish. Body shape is a bit shorter than in previously discussed RANCHU, but still proportionate.

Little over 2 months old. Photographed on June 5, 2014

Little under 3 months old. Photographed on July 8, 2014

Little over 3 months old. Photographed on July 28, 2014

Little over 5 months old. Photographed on September 27, 2014

Little under 1 years and 7 months old. Photographed on November 2, 2015

Little under 3 years and 3 months old. Photographed on July 5, 2017

COMMENTS

Today it is a strong and active female OYA fish of 6.5 in (16.5 cm) long. The body remains a bit short for my liking, but the overall shape is good. O-TSUKE (tail peduncle scale bracelet) and O-ZARA (under-tail plate) were and remain very good. The tail's O-GATA (tail shoulders) used to be quite stiff, but became somewhat more elastic with age - an improvement.

As seen in photos, this fish has started to loose her red markings pretty early, as she was still developing. Now there is only one red eye with no more red left.

For body parts terminology please click here.

HIGHRANCHU TIMELINE - ONE FISH'S JOURNEY - PART II

Presenting my next ranchu - male fish study from TOSAY to current OYA, hatched on April 14, 2014. I really like this fish. Since it was CBR it displayed very neat scales - small, consistent and well placed.

Little over 3 months old. Photographed on July 28, 2014

Little over 5 months old. Photographed on September 27, 2014

Little under 1 year and 7 months old. Photographed on November 2, 2015

Little under 3 years and 3 months old. Photographed on July 5, 2017

COMMENTS

Currently a beautiful OYA fish of 6 in (15.25 cm) long. The body isn't changing much throughout the years. Elongated shape and overall outline is what I was trying to feature in this ranchu. The tail has no visible change as well, and maintained is coloration. The head, on the other hand, is changing. Its definitely widened but still slightly underdeveloped. The body color pattern somewhat changed. Body has lost a few "Azuki Bean" scales on either side. The head color pattern changed as well, from Ichimonji-aka or Red Straight Line to Kuchibeni or Lipstick, red outlined mouth.

Please feel free to post your own comments.

HIGHRANCHU TIMELINE - ONE FISH'S JOURNEY - PART I

It was hard for me to find photos of ranchu development timeline to see how a particular ranchu changes over time. So, I have decided to periodically photograph four of my fish, which hatched on April 14, 2014.

It is a great way to study and see the grooming faults and successes through the years. It is also a way to observe aging tendencies in a particular bloodline if you are concerned with how your ranchu will look in late OYA age.

So here is the female fish study from CBR to current OYA, since 2014.

Little under 3 months old. Photographed on July 8, 2014

Little over 3 months old. Photographed on July 28, 2014

Little over 5 months old. Photographed on September 27, 2014

Little under 10 months old. Photographed on February 6, 2015

Little under 1 years and 7 months old. Photographed on November 2, 2015

Little under 3 years and 3 months old. Photographed on July 5, 2017

COMMENTS

For me, this is a remarkable OYA fish of 6 in (15.25 cm) long. The body didn't change much and retained its elongated shape and good outline. The tail has no visible changes and maintains a good outline and placement. The head, on the other hand, is changing. Its become wider, but kept its overall shape without an overgrown wen. Also, the coloration and pattern are stable, with very minimal changes.

Please feel free to post your own comments.

VISIT TO TG RANCHU IN BANGKOK, THAILAND - PART II

PART II

Aor is a top view ranchu line-breeder. He uses the same method for creating and maintaining ranchu bloodline, as it is done in Japan. Line-breeding is when animals are selectively bread for desired features by mating closely related individuals. Over time this creates a bloodline with breeder's desired characteristics. This method requires great dedication and skill. Bloodlines can be line-bred for decades to continually improve and develop characteristics that sets them apart. On occasion, line-breeders will introduce ranchu from a different, but often related bloodline to boost vigor and to minimize the negative effects of inbreeding. 

Over six years that Aor has been involved with ranchu, he has achieved a tremendous success and respect among ranchu keepers and breeders in Thailand, as well as Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and here in the USA. 

We were visiting Aor after his big sale, when most of his 2 month old CBR were already sold and waited to be picked up or shipped. 

BBR are growing fast. All are almost perfect at this stage!

Some of the Aor's CBR for sale

A couple of tubs were housing Aor's potential seed ranchu, selected from this year's spawn. They are CBR of 2.5 month of age. Please observe beautiful proportions of these promising, but still very young ranchu.

One of the future seed CBR. Great swimmer too!

Aor's future seed CBR

Given Bangkok's hot tropical climate, with an average year round day temperatures lingering over 91 F (33 C) and night temperatures often above 74 F (23 C), ranchu develop very fast. They reach their sexual maturity quick, with their life span extending three to four years. 

Based on Aor's answers below, he goes on average through 45,000 fish each year to continue working on his bloodline. This requires very hard work, thus Aor's family is involved in this venture as much as he is. Being able to process and cull through such quantity of ranchu is only a part of success. The masterful grooming complets the cycle. Even a perfect BBR can be ruined by improper  techniques. Swim too much and the tail is gone, eat not enough and the ranchu goes undeveloped, etc. And the most challenging part of all is that you must improvise based on what you have. It is never set in stone, all techniques serve only as guidelines.

Aor employs breeding and grooming techniques suitable for his location. Here are some Q&A with Aor regarding his breeding methods and ranchu quality:

Q: How many spawns do you collect per year?
A: Three times a year, each time 4-5 batches.

Q: How often do you cull?
A: Every time I do water change.

Q: What is an outcome from one of your average spawns? How many final keepers do you end up with on average?
A: Approximately 10 fishes from one batch of 2000-3000 fishes.

Q: Do you hand spawn?
A: Yes, only hand spawn. Usually one female with one male.

Q: How often do you introduce seed ranchu from other breeders to continue working on your line?
A: Not often, only to prevent inbreed, because I use line breeding system.

Q: What is the main characteristic(s) of your line of ranchu that sets them apart?

A: When I cull, I focus on the balance of my fishes.

Q: What are the main qualities that you try to preserve or develop in your future ranchu?
A: I intend to develop tail structure to be stronger, because temperature in Thailand makes them more active and swim a lot.

Q: How many times have you won ranchu competitions and in what categories?
A: I won many times various categories from every club in Thailand. Two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013, best in show at the Siam Ranchu Club, and #1 ranking in Thailand for 2012 - are my remarkable prizes that I am proudly presented with.

Q: What suggestion(s) will you give to a beginner ranchu keeper?
A: You need to understand basic needs of ranchu such as container, water, food and air.

Q: Do you have the ability to sell/ship your ranchu internationally?
A: Yes, I can ship my ranchu almost everywhere. Although, please check custom procedures for your country.

Here are some of Aor's older ranchu. At the time of our visit he had no oya left. I was happy to hear that his 8 inch (19-20 cm) oya! were sold to a ranchu connoisseur.

I will always remember this visit to Aor. What a guy, what a fish, what a visit!

THOUGHTS ON NOT SO PERFECT PARENTS AND JOURNEY WITH NO DEAD END

Now I can look back and reflect on my first breeding experience with TVR. After my nisai, Matsuyama x (Matsuyama x Oishi) bloodline, have neared their sexual maturity, I realized that I had four females and only one male. I also realized that I didn't have good enough quality fish to breed. Each of the five individuals had one or a combination of major faults manifested in asymmetrical tail position, small head frame, poor back and tail peduncle curve, weak tail shoulders among other defects ...

After receiving two additional nisai males, Suzuki x Kageyama bloodline, with some flaws as well (asymmetrical anal fins and tail position), I was left with not so perfect parents. The desire of having that "perfect" ranchu had prompted me to develop my own line, by adding and improving characteristics that I find attractive in Japanese top view ranchu. However, I had to start working with what I had and through selection to achieve my goals.

Selection started with the parents. I had my eye on the best female to be "paired" with my two best males. But even that wasn't completely under my control. The female that possessed the best qualities wasn't breeding. Instead, the two Suzuki x Kageaya males chased and bred with the Matsuyama x (Matsuyama x Oishi) female with the poorest qualities.

Breeding female with poor back and tail peduncle curve, thin tail peduncle,
weak tail and narrow head with late head-growth development

Breeding male #1 with asymmetrical anal fins

Breeding male #2 with asymmetrical anal fins and asymmetrical placed tail

The resulting offspring are hybrids, F1 generation, and as a hybrid they display a vigor and physical superiority compared to their parents. Not all, of course, from the nearly 700 hatched. Only 20-30 BBR had acceptable features, which is more or less to be expected. Limited by space, I kept only six of these ranchu for myself. Collectively, these six had features that I was looking for - wide and more rectangular heads, broader backs and thicker tail peduncles, longer bodies, stronger tail shoulders, symmetrical fins and tail placement. Next spring I intend to breed between the best out of the six siblings and see if I get any further improvements.

I learned so much more about the selection process, which is of utmost importance in creating a bloodline. I also learned that even not so perfect parents will give enough offspring variety to be able to select a good quality fry to work with and improve upon. It is a long process and it takes years to see the results. It can be rewarding and equally disappointing. The chance of achieving that perfect ranchu is slim, but the road leading there is full of wonderful experiences and can be traveled as long as one desires. One thing I am certain of is that there is no dead end in this journey.

SUZUKI x KAGEYAMA BLOODLINE

I just acquired two new ranchu Suzuki X Kageyama cross, spawned and raised by Jeff Thompson (Ranchu Notes). Jeff, produces quality ranchu and I definitely think that one of his assets as a ranchu master is being an artist. Decisions made during the culling process are crucial in producing a high quality ranchu. The ability to recognize future potentials in very young fish, requires years of experience and an artistic eye. I believe this is what makes one ranchu master more successfully than another.

Here is a short story about how this ranchu strain came to the USA. The parent fish from bloodlines developed separately by two notable Japanese ranchu masters Mr. Kazuo Suzuki and Mr. Shigeru Kageyama were imported to Thailand by Mr. Boss (Boss Ranchu Nursery) in 2009. They were cross-bred by Mr. Boss resulting in Suzuki X Kageyama cross, also known as SxK. The offsprings were imported to the USA in 2010 by Paul (Ranchumaniax) and spawned later the same year. Since then, these ranchu were bought, sold and distributed among US ranchu breeders and keepers.

The ranchu I received, were spawned by Jeff in the Summer of 2013 and I hope with the right grooming they will turn into even more beautiful fish. Here they are, so please see for yourself:

male

male

With the purchase of these ranchu I got a surprise present from Jeff - two glass medallions with Japanese ranchu design.

Jeff makes these glass medallions in his glassblowing studio and individually colors them to give each a unique look. I quickly found a good place for them - on the bottom of my ranchu pond.

MATSUYAMA BLOODLINE

It has been five month since I had my ranchus and I feel now a bit more confident in keeping them. This year's winter in Washington DC has been quite cold and the water temperature in my indoor pond is staying in upper 50th - lower 60th F (13-17C). On the coldest days the fish is less active and I feed them less accordingly. Despite slower time of the year my ranchus have grown and their head growth got fuller.

I acquired five ranchus - Matsuyama bloodline outcrossed by Robert Crosby with Oishi x Matsuyama cross (earlier produced by Gary Hater). So technically the fish I have are ¾ Matsuyama and ¼ Oishi. Both Matsuyama bloodline created under Mr. Ishikawa and Mr. Yasusaru Oishi's ranchu bloodlines were introduced to USA from Japan by Steven Carney of Neo Ranchu USA, around 2004-2006.

Each ranchu bloodline corresponds to breeder's personal selection, preferences and new trends. Head growth and body shape, color pattern, etc. all vary between different bloodlines, giving them a set of specific characteristics. Matsuyama bloodline inherits classic TVR body shape, where back outline is long and reminiscent of a Japanese comb. Their scales tend to be small and neatly placed, creating seamless and beautiful body cover.

Classic Long Japanese Boxwood Comb

Matsuyama ranchu do not develop large head growth during their tosai age. However it appears to be a good thing, as developing slowly the head growth has a higher chance to be more proportionate and balanced with the rest of the body as the fish matures. A little mix of Oishi bloodline could add a stronger head growth and peduncle. The balance in ranchu appearance is one of the most important characteristics of this goldfish.

My ranches are close to 10 month old now and I have been observing their head growth development for over five month. It slowly takes shape, but still needs more time to develop. I have been using foods that help to boost the head growth - bloodworms and chicken eggs. (One thing with eggs - they can be messy and can easily spoil the water. So, I feed it once a week in a separate container where my fish waits during the water change.)

All I need now are warmer days, the time when ranchu will start developing faster, reaching their sexual maturity.