The Kinds Of Koi Fish


Koi are extremely popular fish bred and taken care of by hobbyists around the world. Koi is a Japanese word which means "carp" and covers the dull gray wild carp found in rivers and also lakes for food, as well as the brightly colored varieties. It is the vibrant koi fish which are bred for their beauty. Although the proper term for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, most people, particularly those in the United States, refer to them simply as koi.

A Very Koi Story

The carp came from Central Europe and also Asia where it was merely a food fish. It was the Chinese that began propagating specific species of carp until they developed the gold fish more than a thousand years ago. The Chinese first introduced koi as food to Japan in 200 AD. Seeing the beautiful color mutations, Japanese farmers in Niigata, a prefecture in Honshu, bred them for ornamental purposes and produced a number of color designs. The first kind to be popular is the kohaku, the red-and-white koi.

The Niigata koi was first seen by the public in 1914 in the course of the annual exposition in Tokyo. The charming, colorful fish charmed all of Japan and many kept koi because they seemed perfect for their water gardens. It didn't take long before the rest of the world caught up on the hobby. Today, Niigata remains to be the home of the best koi breeders though you can buy koi from almost all pet stores. Then again, you have to go to specialized dealers if you want the higher-quality fish. Prices of koi differ based on the very koi-like quality of the fish.

Koi Attributes

You can find koi with various colors and patterns. The usual colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are usually plump while the males are a lot more sleek with torpedo shapes. A matured koi can grow as much as 36 inches and weigh over 17 pounds. The koi are hardy and durable, and can live for many years depending on their genetics and also living conditions. The oldest koi ever reported was "Hanako" that reportedly lived up to 226 years.

The Koi are omnivores which means they eat almost anything including vegetables. It is very koi of the fish to look for food at the bottom of the pond. Although koi fish are really shy and will dash away when disturbed, they often know the person frequently feeding your koi fish. It is common to see koi gathering close to their keeper during feeding times with some eating directly from the hand.

Varieties of Koi

There are several types of koi that are distinguished by the color, pattern and scales. There are some hybrids like the Ghost koi or the Butterfly koi that have also acquired popularity but are not regarded as true Nishikigoi. Among the prominent varieties of the true Nishikigoi include the following:

- Kohaku - white koi with large red marks on top

- Taisho Sanshoku - looks like the Kohaku but has more small black markings

- Showa Sanshoku - black koi with red and white markings

- Tancho - virtually any koi with a lone red patch on top of its head

- Asagi - is coloured light blue on top and red beneath

- Utsurimono - black with very koi marks of red, white or yellow

- Bekko - base colour of red, white or even yellow with small black markings

- Goshiki - black koi accented with red, white, brown and blue marks

- Shusui - doesn't have scales except for a single row of big mirror scales running along the dorsal area, from head to tail