Koi are very popular fish bred and taken care of by hobbyists the world over. Koi is a Japanese word which means "carp" and includes the dull gray wild carp found in rivers and also lakes for food, as well as the brightly colored varieties. It is the colorful koi fish which are bred for their beauty. Although the proper expression for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, many 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 basically 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. Seeing the wonderful color mutations, Japanese farmers in Niigata, a prefecture in Honshu, bred them for ornamental applications and produced several color patterns. The first variety to be popular is the kohaku, the red-and-white koi.

The Niigata koi was first seen by the community in 1914 during the annual exposition in Tokyo. The beautiful, colorful fish captivated all of Japan and some 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. Nowadays, Niigata remains to be the home of the best koi breeders although you can buy koi from almost all pet stores. Then again, you have to go to specialist dealers if you want the higher-quality fish. Prices of koi differ according to the very koi-like feature of the fish.

Koi Characteristics

You can find koi with various colors and patterns. The typical colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are usually plump while the males are more streamlined with torpedo shapes. A fully-grown koi can grow as long 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 basically shy and will run away when disturbed, they usually know the person routinely feeding your koi fish. It is common to see koi gathering around their keeper during feeding times with several eating directly from the hand.

Varieties of Koi

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

- Kohaku - white koi with big red markings on top

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

- Showa Sanshoku - black koi having red and white markings

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

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

- Utsurimono - black with very koi markings 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 also blue marks

- Shusui - does not have scales other than a single row of large mirror scales running down the dorsal area, from head to tail

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