Help me pick some fish please!

[Jennie in MT]

I am getting new fish for my birthday and need to pick some out.  I am mostly going to go with Wakin, Watonai, and Shubunkin. 
I have been working with a seller I found on eBay.  She is very nice.  I will give feedback when it is all said and done.  She says her stock is from Blackwater Creek Koi Farm.  Anyone familiar with them?  I will attach some pics and maybe you all can tell me what you think?? 

Mixed fairly plain sarassa and one watonai.  Though he appears black his belly is pure golden orange.  He is about 7"

[Jennie in MT]

fancier sarassa and one watonai (the all white with 1 red spot).  Fish pictured afre 4.5-7"  I think I like the largest lemony one in this group

The watonai is right in the center of the 2nd pic with tail just over top of the lemoney one.

[Jennie in MT]

Here are some wakin.  The largest solid red and the white with the black/blue undertone are 6" .  The smallest red and white is just under 5"

[Jennie in MT]

More watonai.... The large calico is 8"

[Jennie in MT]

Watonai again.  She says that one of the whites is a brighter, purer white than the other. Largest, whitest is 7", red calico is 6" and the other 2 are 6.5"

[Jennie in MT]

Help.  Does anyone have any thoughts?  Poor quality, decent, good??

[Kat]

On the watonia you want to make sure the fish spreads out the tail well & that it doesn't look droopy.  There are maybe 3 in all of those you've shown that I personally would pick out for color & how their tail looks.  The big orange wakin, smaller orange & white wakin next to it, & the larger calico watonai.  The rest of the wakin/watonai have tails IMO don't have the right structure.  The others are ok as single tail/fantail.

Look at the pics of Steve's wakin & Watonai at Rain Gardens to see how their tails look.
http://www.raingarden.us/goldfish-watonai.htm

[Jennie in MT]

Thanks so much Kat!  This is exactly the information I am looking for.  It is hard to catch the wakin and watonai in good position so that the full glory of their tail shows, isn't it?  I will email her back and see if I can get some diff choices and looks.

[Kat]

It takes a lot of time & patience to photograph the fish.  One thing you want to look for is the tail shouldn't be fused (pinched) in the center.  There should be what looks like a split.  Most of those looked like the tail has the pinched look.

[tranquility]

I'd say they are good pond quality....I don't like the solid colors they are selling as Sarassa--to me a sarassa is that 50/50 coloring of tomato red/white....I like the colors on the wakin and watonia.....But,Watonia and Wakin take a great deal of culling if your going to do it right....so I guess it would all come down to price for me--I don't like the Sarassa but, if the wakin and watonia were a good price I'd buy those....
Lawanna

[Jennie in MT]

Thanks Lawanna.  Her watonai price was $25 and $35 for the 8.5" calico.  The wakin were $20. Shubs are $5.  I thought the prices were very reasonable.  I plan to hold the best looking of them in a seperate area when they spawn, if possible.  If nothing else, they will make pretty baby mutts, with the occasional really nice fish.
I lost every fish in my pond.  It is empty.  There is no way I can afford to go to Steve at Rain Garden to restock at $40-100 per fish.   However, I can place a 2nd smaller order with him for some select ones.

[ThornyGardener]

New fish! How exciting.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just pick what you like and don't worry about whether or not they are show quality if you don;t intend t show. I have some good quality koi but the one my family likes best is a huge funny looking crap-a-sanke with a face shaped like the hood of a DeSoto.

My personal preference:

Pic 9432 – love both the red/white and gold (really like that gold color!)

(Sarassa) Pic 9455 sarassa @ 11 oclock, shown again in pic 9458 @ 7oclock
I don't like more than 50% white per fish and when looking at a school in a pond I prefer 75% red to white. I think this is because I am spoiled by the pure whites of good koi, a white I don’t think exists in goldies.

(shubs or sarassas) make sure their tails are long and flowing. Sometimes there is a regression to the common-goldie-norm and the tails are shorter on some fish as has happened on occasion with my sarassa spawns. Tail length is hard to judge. Search out any fish with the longest tail and then compare the tail of the pattern you like with that. I've had the same 8 sarassa for a couple of years and thought I knew them well, so was shocked to discover last fall that one had a tail much much shorter than the others. (I guess you would have to take the word of the ebay seller, though.)

I prefer white bodied shubunkins with small black/blue and red spots. Google shubunkin images and you will see what I mean.

I do not like 'yellow' heads or fins on any type of fish. Sometimes ‘white’ heads on goldies ends up yellow.

I love my sarassas -- that is all I keep in the lily pond. You may want to keep one kind as well because they will breed together. In my experience all the best qualities of each variety rarely show in these mongrels. I end up with ugly dark orange comets with a lot of black when none of the parents looked like that.

Have fun with your fish selection!

[tracey_shafer]

Kat & Lawanda have it right & I think you could be happy with a few good quality watonia at those prices. If the tails are good on the white ones try those too, if they are wationia from calico breeding then they will dev. black sumi that will be stunning & you will have snagged a great deal. The wakin & shubs don't look that good at all.

[Jennie in MT]

Thanks Guys! 

TG - you are right on the nose with that.  Beauty is such a fickle thing to each person. I just like long fins...period!  LOL  I also despise those 'white' goldies that are neither white nor yellow.  They just look dirty.  And that yellow head on a mainly white fish...  blech!

Most of the sarassa pictured are ones I did not choose, though I did pick the one you are indicating.  I also picked the yellow one just beneath the watonai for the color and sheer size.
I was not really happy with any of the shubs she initially showed me, but she has since netted several nice ones.  I love the freckles, like the one that is my avatar.

Tracey - Can't wait to add some of your fish to the pond too!  I did like the red wakin with the nicely spread tail....