All about Koi

Koi Characteristics

Koi make great pets. They are colorful, relaxing to watch, and hardy. It is not uncommon for a mature Koi with good genetics and a spacious pond to grow to 32 inches in length. These “Jumbo” koi can be a very impressive sight to see. It is widely disputed as to the life span of a koi. Because so many factors come into play here, such as genetics of the fish and the water quality being provided, it is difficult to predict. However, the oldest koi on record just recently died in Japan at the ripe old age of 225 yrs. Her age was determined by looking at one of her scales under a microscope. Similar to the way someone would tell a trees age by counting the rings. That however is certainly not the norm. Many opinions on longevity range from 20 to 90 years. Koi are non-aggressive fish both toward themselves and other species of pond fish. They are omnivorous and will eat a variety of foods but other fish are not on the menu. A large koi will eat very tiny fry out of confusion but once a fish is large enough to be recognized by the adult koi as a fish, it will no longer be a concern. Koi can be quite tame and are very motivated by food. Many owners have trained their pets to eat out of their hands at feeding time. One very good feature about Koi is that they have no teeth. They do have boney plates deep in their throats used to grind their food, but the lack of teeth make them perfect for hand feeding. As I said earlier, koi are also quite hardy and I have kept my koi outdoors during the winter for many years without incident. HOME

The word Koi is really short for the Japanese word Nishikigoi, which directly translates into English as, “living jewels”. Koi are ornamental pond fish belonging to the carp family. They are primarily bred today in Japan although the species is not indigenous to that area. They originate from Eastern Asia, in the Black and Caspian Sea areas and from China. It is said that King Shoko of Ro had presented a Koi to the first son of the great Chinese Philosopher Confucius at his birth somewhere between 551 and 479 BC. Confucius named his son after the fish because it was considered to be a symbol of strength and power. Legend has it that this Koi was the only fish able to swim up the Yellow River falls. Records dating back to this time suggest that these early koi were made up of basically a red and gray coloration. From here our story moves to Japan, where the Koi were introduced by the invading Chinese somewhere near 200 AD. They have been raised primarily for food in Japan until fish farmers started to notice color mutations somewhere in the beginning of the 18th century. The farmers of Niigata, a Northern prefecture of Japan, were fascinated by these fish and would catch and remove the fish from their food ponds and isolated them. Soon they were breeding the mutations for color and conformation and the koi industry had begun. To this day the Niigata region is the center of the worlds finest koi breeding. HOME

Standard, Doitsu and Butterfly Koi

Let’s explore the various differences in the types of Nishikigoi offered for sale today. There are over 100 color variations of koi offered today although almost all can be categorized somewhere within 14 varieties. I will list them with a brief description below.

In the late 19th, early 20th century a new mutation had been discovered in the river carp in Germany. This mutation affected the scales and some fish were being found without scales at all. These fish were fancied and bred for the table to minimize the scaling needed for food fish. In 1904 these fish were introduced to the Japanese and their breeding began. Today virtually all varieties of koi can be found in standard or “scale less” types. The “scale less” fish come in 2 forms, one is completely devoid of scales, (leather carp), and the other has large rows of neatly aligned scales, (mirror carp). Both these varieties are known in Japan as “Doitsugoi”. After their Germanic/Austrian heritage.