Koi are extremely popular fish bred and taken care of by hobbyists the world over. Koi is a Japanese word that means "carp" and includes the dull gray wild carp found in rivers and lakes for food, along with the brightly colored varieties. It is the colorful koi fish that are bred for their appearance. Although the proper expression for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, many people, especially those in the United States, refer to them simply as koi.

A Very Koi Story

The carp came from Central Europe and Asia where it was merely a food fish. It was the Chinese that began propagating selected species of carp until they developed the gold fish over a thousand years ago. The Chinese first brought 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 applications and produced a number of color designs. The first variety to be established is the kohaku, the red-and-white koi.

The Niigata koi was first exposed to the community in 1914 during the annual exposition in Tokyo. The charming, colorful fish mesmerized all of Japan and many kept koi because they looked perfect for their water gardens. It did not take long before the entire world caught up on the hobby. Nowadays, Niigata remains to be the home of the finest koi breeders although you can buy koi from almost all pet stores. However, you have to go to specialized dealers if you want the higher-quality fish. Prices of koi vary based on the very koi-like feature of the fish.

Koi Characteristics

You can find koi with different colors and patterns. The typical colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are generally plump while the males are a lot more streamlined 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 decades depending on their genetics and also living conditions. The oldest koi ever documented was "Hanako" that supposedly lived up to 226 years.

The Koi are omnivores and eat almost almost everything including vegetables. It is very koi of the fish to look for food at the bottom of the pond. Although koi fish are basically shy and will dash away when disturbed, they usually know the person routinely feeding your koi fish. It is ordinary to see koi gathering around their keeper during feeding times with some eating straight from the hand.

Varieties of Koi

There are several kinds 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 gained popularity but are not regarded as true Nishikigoi. Among the prominent types of the true Nishikigoi include the following:

- Kohaku - white koi with big red markings on top

- Taisho Sanshoku - looks like the Kohaku but has additional small black marks

- Showa Sanshoku - black koi with red and white marks

- Tancho - 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 markings of red, white or yellow

- Bekko - base color of red, white or yellow with small black marks

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

- Shusui - does not have scales except for a single row of big mirror scales running down the dorsal area, from head to tail

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