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"Harry" "Harry" was discovered in our pond by Harald Deffke. Harald and his wife, Jutta Mroß, were visiting us from Germany. Harry had hatched in our pond and we didn't even know it. Koi will eat their own eggs and fry until the fry become large enough that the koi recognize them as fellow fish. We knew that we had had some females with eggs, and that there had been some breeding activity, but since we had not seen any tiny fry, we assumed that all had been eaten. But Harry had been clever enough to survive. When we first saw Harry he was almost all black, with a white dorsal stripe and white stripes along the lateral lines. He also seemed to have a white, triangular marking on the head, but he was so quick, and stayed hidden so well, that it was hard to tell exactly what he looked like. Over the next few weeks Harry changed. First the black became mottled with lighter, silvery-grey areas. Then he continued to lighten, with most of the body becoming a light, silky, silvery grey. He also developed symmetrical burgundy spots, one on each side of his body. He is also growing quickly and becoming less shy, so that now it is much easier to see him. This whole process has been very interesting, and Harry may turn out to be a quite interesting fish.
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Text and Images Copyright © 1999 David Wittler/Kristina Moeller
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