Koi are extremely popular fish bred and taken care of by hobbyists the world over. Koi is a Japanese word which means "carp" and covers the dull gray wild carp caught in rivers and lakes for food, as well as the brightly colored varieties. It is the vibrant koi fish that are bred for their magnificence. Although the proper expression for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, many people, particularly those in the United States, call them simply as koi.

A Very Koi Story

The carp originated from Central Europe and Asia where it was basically a food fish. It was the Chinese who started to propagate 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 gorgeous color mutations, Japanese farmers in Niigata, a prefecture in Honshu, bred them for aesthetic purposes and produced a number of color patterns. The first kind 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 beautiful, colorful fish mesmerized the whole of Japan and many kept koi because they seemed great 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 best koi breeders though you can buy koi from most pet stores. However, you have to go to specialist dealers if you prefer 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 various colors and designs. The usual colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are generally plump while the males are 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 based on their genetics and living conditions. The oldest koi ever documented was "Hanako" that reportedly lived around 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 run away when disturbed, they often recognize the person routinely feeding your koi fish. It is common to see koi gathering close to 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 also scales. There are a few hybrids like the Ghost koi and Butterfly koi that have also gained popularity but are not considered as true Nishikigoi. One of the prominent varieties of the true Nishikigoi include the following:

- Kohaku - white koi with big red markings on top

- Taisho Sanshoku - resembles 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 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 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 down the dorsal area, from head to tail

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