The ABC's Of Japanese Koi Fish

Japanese Koi Fish are hardy, beautiful fish that belong to the carp family. They were bred thousands of years ago in Central Asia, yet it's not really known how the multi-colored, elegant jewels that koi are today came from that rather dull, dark-gray carp - except that these color "mutations" first appeared sometime in the 1800's in Japan. Since then, breeding and keeping Koi has increased tremendously, and it is a hobby that people enjoy all over the world.

Japanese Koi Fun Facts

One of the reasons koi fish ponds are so popular around the world is that they live in freshwater in relatively cool temperatures. Therefore, they don't need a heater like tropical fish. They also can live with goldfish and other freshwater fish, as long as they are pretty close to the same size. Teeny tiny fish can look like SnakPaks to a hungry koi.

Koi can live in ponds of all shapes and sizes. They can live in ornamental ponds, huge bottomless ponds, man-made preformed pond shells, or even huge man made ponds with light colors so that you can admire the koi better. Koi are usually raised in fish tanks just like goldfish and then are transferred to progressively larger tanks as they get older (and bigger). When they are mature enough, they are released into outdoor koi fish ponds. The largest koi can reach five feet in length, but the average size is three feet.

Koi are all the same species, although they are sold under different varieties. Basically this means that they are not different breeds but simply different colors. They can range from the common, all gold classic (benegoi) to a striking all black fish with a red dot on the head (tancho).

Koi can live an average of 30 years, although there have been proven cases of koi living to over 200. So if you are thinking of setting up a koi fish pond, it is possible that you could be caring for the same fish for the rest of your life. And yep, it's true that koi can recognize people and know when it's dinnertime. They can learn to take food from your hand and leave your hand behind. They even can tolerate being picked up. The only time they tend to be aggressive is at breeding time.

The highest known price ever paid for a Japanese koi fish was $850,000. The good news is that you don't have to spend near that much to enjoy koi in your own fish pond. You can find koi for about $10, depending on their size and rarity of color. Baby koi are often available in pet or aquarium specialty shops. You can tell the difference between koi and their goldfish cousins because koi have whiskers while goldfish are "clean shaven."