Everything You Need To Know About Koi Fish

Koi are very popular fish bred and cared for by hobbyists around the world. Koi is a Japanese word which means "carp" and covers the dull gray wild carp found in rivers and lakes for food, as well as the brightly colored varieties. It is the vibrant koi fish that are bred for their appearance. Although the proper expression for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, most people, especially those in the United States, refer to them simply as koi.

A Very Koi Story

The carp originated from Central Europe and also Asia where it was simply 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 brought koi as food to Japan in 200 AD. Looking at the beautiful color mutations, Japanese farmers in Niigata, a prefecture in Honshu, bred them for ornamental applications and produced several color patterns. The first kind to be popular is the kohaku, the red-and-white koi.

The Niigata koi was first exposed to the public in 1914 in the course of the annual exposition in Tokyo. The charming, colorful fish mesmerized 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. These days, Niigata remains to be the home of the finest koi breeders though you can buy koi from almost all pet stores. Then again, you have to go to specialist dealers if you prefer the higher-quality fish. Prices of koi vary according to the very koi-like quality of the fish.

Koi Characteristics

You can find koi with various colors and patterns. The usual colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are generally plump while the males are more streamlined with torpedo shapes. A matured koi can grow as much as 36 inches and weigh more than 17 pounds. The koi are hardy and tough, and can live for decades depending on their genetics and living conditions. The oldest koi ever reported was "Hanako" that supposedly lived up to 226 years.

The Koi are omnivores and 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 recognize the person routinely feeding your koi fish. It is ordinary to see koi gathering around their keeper during feeding times with some eating directly from the hand.

Varieties of Koi

There are several types of koi that are recognized by the color, pattern and scales. There are a few hybrids like the Ghost koi and Butterfly koi that have also acquired popularity but are not regarded as true Nishikigoi. One of the prominent types of the true Nishikigoi are the following:

- Kohaku - white koi with large red marks on top

- Taisho Sanshoku - resembles the Kohaku but has additional small black markings

- Showa Sanshoku - black koi with red and white markings

- Tancho - virtually any koi with a lone red patch on the 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 yellow with small black marks

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

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