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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 that means "carp" and covers the dull gray wild carp found in rivers and also lakes for food, along with the brightly colored varieties. It is the vibrant koi fish that are bred for their magnificence. Although the proper term for these "living jewels" is nishikigoi, most people, especially those in the United States, call them simply as koi.
A Very Koi Story
The carp came from Central Europe and also Asia where it was simply a food fish. It was the Chinese who started to propagate selected species of carp until they developed the gold fish more than a thousand years ago. The Chinese first introduced 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 aesthetic applications and produced several color designs. The first kind to be established is the kohaku, the red-and-white koi.
The Niigata koi was first seen by the public in 1914 in the course of the annual exposition in Tokyo. The charming, colorful fish charmed all of Japan and some kept koi because they looked great for their water gardens. It did not take long before the rest of the world caught up on the hobby. Today, Niigata continues 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 specialized dealers if you prefer the higher-quality fish. Prices of koi vary according to the very koi-like quality of the fish.
Koi Attributes
You can find koi with different colors and designs. The typical colors are white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream. Female koi are usually plump while the males are a lot more sleek with torpedo shapes. A matured koi can grow as long as 36 inches and weigh more than 17 pounds. The koi are hardy and tough, and can live for decades based on their genetics and also living conditions. The oldest koi ever reported was "Hanako" that supposedly lived around 226 years.
The Koi are omnivores and eat almost anything including vegetables. It is very koi of the fish to forage at the bottom of the pond for food. Although koi fish are really shy and will dash away when disturbed, they often know the person routinely feeding your koi fish. It is ordinary to see koi gathering close to their keeper during feeding times with some eating directly from the hand.
Varieties of Koi
There are several varieties of koi that are recognized by the color, pattern and scales. There are a few hybrids like the Ghost koi or the Butterfly koi that have also acquired popularity but are not regarded as true Nishikigoi. One of the prominent varieties of the true Nishikigoi are the following:
- Kohaku - white koi with large red marks on top
- Taisho Sanshoku - looks like the Kohaku but has more small black marks
- Showa Sanshoku - black koi having red and white marks
- Tancho - virtually any koi with a lone red patch on the head
- Asagi - is colored light blue on top and red below
- Utsurimono - black with very koi marks of red, white or yellow
- Bekko - base color of red, white or even yellow with small black marks
- Goshiki - black koi accented with red, white, brown and also blue markings
- Shusui - doesn't have scales except for a single row of large mirror scales running along the dorsal area, from head to tail
Everything You Need To Know About Koi Fish
Koi are very popular fish bred and cared for by hobbyists the world over. Koi is a Japanese word that means "carp" and includes the dull gray wild carp caught in rivers and lakes for food, as well as the brightly colored varieties.
Koi Breeding: Everything You Need To Know About It
Koi breeding is not easy if what you aim for is to produce high-quality fish for competition purposes. Before you can obtain a prize-winning koi fish, you will have to cull and discard several thousand fry. The koi breeding process is long and difficult but it is all worth it.
Some Tips On Keeping Your Koi Healthy
Koi health is of paramount importance if you want to enjoy your fish for a long time. Koi fish are known to live for decades although the average life span is 20 to 30 years. Koi are hardy and durable; however, they can get sick.
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Understand More About How You Can Look After Fish Tanks From Tropical Fish Guides
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