Miyabi Koi Farm

09/01/2026

I’d like to formally propose that Tom Tran rename the Periha pump line to the Periha Snake Spiraler™. 🐍🌀

One of my pumps wasn’t running this morning. Controller was on, GFI hadn’t tripped, and the pump has been in service for a couple of years, so I figured, fair enough, probably time to replace it.

Shut the valves from the RDF, pulled the pump off, and then got a good look inside the intake.

Mystery solved.

A snake had somehow worked its way through the system, reached the pump, and wrapped itself around the impeller so thoroughly that the poor thing looked like it had been run through a corkscrew. 😳

I’ve actually had this happen once before, but never with a snake anywhere near this size.

The impressive part? Once I cleared everything out, I checked the impeller and it moved perfectly. Reconnected the pump, opened the valves, fired it back up… and it’s running like nothing ever happened.

So, Tom, I think your marketing department is missing an opportunity:

Periha Pumps: Koi pond circulation, filtration, and occasional reptile processing. 😂

Seriously though, I’m impressed. A pump that can survive having a snake jammed solid into the impeller and go right back to work afterward has earned my respect. 👍

08/29/2026

Every spawning starts with thousands of possibilities. We have no idea what these tiny Showa will become, but that’s part of what makes breeding koi so fascinating.

You take the chance, do the work, and hope there’s something extraordinary waiting around the corner. 🖤🐟

Showa 2026 • Miyabi Koi Farm

08/27/2026

UPDATE: THEY’VE HATCHED! 🐟🐟🐟

The spawning I posted about a few days ago has now hatched, and fertilization was fantastic. I’d estimate we’re looking at somewhere around 120,000 fry.

Which brings me to a small problem…

Remember the egg that appeared to contain two embryos with four clearly visible eyes?

Well, somewhere in this swarm may now be the two fry that came out of that egg.

So I’m going to need everyone’s help. 😂

Can you guys please watch the video and tell me which two they are?

Shouldn’t be too difficult. There are only about 120,000 possibilities.

If both embryos successfully hatched, I’m incredibly curious whether we’ll ever be able to identify them again, especially once the fry begin developing their patterns.

For now, though, welcome to:

Where’s Waldo: Koi Farm Edition. 🔎🐟

08/25/2026

Have I just found TWIN KOI embryos inside a single egg?! 👀👀🥚🐟🐟

Okay, this is a first for me.

I’ve looked at more koi eggs than I could possibly count over the years, but I have never personally seen this before.

Take a close look at the egg near the bottom of the photo.

The surrounding fertilized eggs are developing normally and you can clearly see the usual two eyes forming inside each embryo.

But this egg appears to have FOUR distinct eyes, arranged as two separate pairs.

I went back and looked at it several times from different angles because I initially thought I had to be seeing things. But looking at it in person, there really do appear to be two sets of developing eyes inside one egg.

Something else caught my attention too: the individual eyes in this egg appear noticeably smaller than the eyes in the embryos surrounding it.

Which makes an intriguing amount of sense if there really are two embryos developing inside a space normally occupied by one.

So what happened?

One possibility is that this was:

one egg + one s***m → one fertilized embryo → the embryo divided very early → two genetically identical embryos

Essentially the fish equivalent of identical twins.

Another possibility is that we’re looking at some form of partial embryonic duplication rather than two completely separate embryos.

And there may be other explanations I haven’t considered.

I’m not declaring these twin koi yet. 😄 We should know much more as development continues and I can see whether there are two distinct bodies, two tails, independent movement, etc.

It is also entirely possible that this happens more often than we realize and I’ve simply never noticed it before. When you’re dealing with tens of thousands of eggs, nobody sits there examining every single one under magnification.

But after decades around koi, this is absolutely a first for me.

Now I want to hear from everyone else.

🔬 Fish breeders, aquaculturists, biologists, embryology people, koi keepers… what do YOU think we’re looking at?

Have you ever seen two embryos developing inside a single fish egg?

And if you know someone who studies fish development or embryology, please tag them or share this with them. I’d genuinely love to hear their explanation.

I’ll keep watching this particular egg very carefully and post an update as it develops.

This little egg just became the most closely watched egg on the farm. 😂

08/20/2026

This about sums koi buying justification up. 🤣

Rumbled😂

08/19/2026

If I selected breeders the same way people select show fish, I’d make some very expensive mistakes.

The prettiest parent is not always the most valuable breeder, and breeding value and show value are not always the same thing. This male has qualities most people would probably overlook at first glance, but that’s exactly what makes him interesting to me.

Breeding koi isn’t simply about putting two beautiful fish together and hoping the best traits magically combine. It’s about understanding what a fish may actually reproduce, what it can contribute to the next generation, and sometimes recognizing value that isn’t obvious in the bowl.

Some fish prove their worth in the show ring. Others prove it in their offspring.

Seven years old, 78 cm, and likely his final breeding season.

#鯉

08/17/2026

A little piece of Hawaii and Japan together. 🌺🇯🇵

This is an omamori (御守) from Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, the Hawaiian branch of the Izumo faith tradition.

The original Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture is one of Japan’s oldest and most important Shinto shrines. It is especially associated with 縁 (en), the bonds and connections that bring people together. Izumo is also famous in Japanese tradition as the place where the kami from throughout Japan gather during the tenth lunar month, making it a particularly important spiritual center for relationships, good fortune, and human connections.

So why is there an Izumo shrine in Hawaii?

Japanese immigration to Hawaii beginning in the late 19th century created a large Japanese community thousands of miles from home. Along with their language, food, customs, and festivals, immigrants brought their religious traditions. The Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii was established in Honolulu in 1906, and for more than a century it has been part of the remarkable cultural bridge between Hawaii and Japan.

The characters on this omamori, 出雲大社御守護, essentially identify it as a protective amulet of Izumo Taisha. Omamori are traditionally carried or kept nearby as a prayer for protection, good fortune, health, safe travels, or other blessings.

Given everything Hawaii has been dealing with following the hurricane, this little omamori feels especially appropriate to share today.

To all of our friends, customers, koi people, and everyone else across Hawaii, we are thinking of you. We hope everyone remains safe, that recovery continues quickly, and that power is fully restored everywhere very soon. 🌺

Hawaii and Japan have been connected by people, families, culture, and friendship for generations. Sometimes something this small is a nice reminder of just how deep those connections run. 🙏

08/12/2026

Trying something a little different today instead of another video of my own koi. 😂

🍀 Good luck to everyone playing for the $1 BILLION Powerball jackpot!

And if you happen to win and immediately plan the mother of all koi-buying trips to Japan, remember one important thing:

Dress inconspicuously. 🤣

There’s an old running joke in the koi world that a breeder takes one look at the customer’s shoes before deciding how much the koi costs.

So if you hit the billion tonight, maybe don’t arrive in Niigata looking like you just hit the billion. 😂

Keep the winning ticket tucked safely away, wear the old sneakers, and remember:

Every yen you save is another yen available for MORE KOI. 🐟🐟🐟

Good luck, everyone! 🍀

08/11/2026

We had a wonderful family stop by the farm Sunday afternoon to select a few new additions for their pond. 😊

After spending some time looking through the koi, they chose these three beauties: two from Omosako Koi Farm and one from Matsue Koi Farm. They chose very well, and we couldn’t be happier with their selections!

One of the most enjoyable parts of what we do is knowing these koi are heading to a home where they’ll be appreciated and enjoyed for years to come. We’re looking forward to seeing how these three develop in their new pond and, most importantly, the enjoyment they bring to their family.

Thank you for visiting Miyabi Koi Farm and trusting us to help add a few new members to the pond! 🇯🇵🐟

08/10/2026

A little Kohaku selection today. 🔴⚪️

This group is a little unique because they were part of an experiment I wanted to try this year. I raised about 2,000 Kohaku fry in a very large liner pond, while their siblings were raised the traditional way in a mud pond.

I still have to cull the mud-pond group, and with the numbers in there, that’s going to be pretty much an all-day process. 😅

Once that’s done, I’ll be comparing these fish with their mud-pond siblings and putting into perspective some of the differences I’ve observed from raising the two groups separately.

I think I’ve already learned what I needed to learn from this little experiment, and it’s given me a much better understanding of what a true mud pond contributes during these early stages of development.