The Koi (or “Nishikigoi” in Japan) are becoming quite popular in the United States for breeding. But only few know how and where they came to be. The first Koi were produced by breeding the German carp and the Asian carp. After years of careful selective breeding, different color mutations started showing up. The earliest patterns in color were recorded in 1805. To this day, thousands of color variations and combinations can be seen.
Popular colors include yellow, white, silver, black, blue, orange, green and red. There are countless possiblities of pattern combinations. Each come with their own names, based on their pattern and color. The favorite types may differ, which depends on the location that they’re in.
These fish are being raised for sale in various countries, such as Singapore, Japan, Israel, and in warmer states in the U.S.. The Koi can be purchased at many local pet stores. If there’s no stock available, the buyer can choose to order the fish. When you choose to order, the advantage of this is that the buyer will have more options, since they don’t have to pick from the stock on hand. The down side of this is that the purchaser won’t be able to pick the specific Koi that they want to have.
Not like most of the other fish, they will continually grow until they’ll reach the maximum size of their breed (no matter where they’re being placed in). The infant ones are in lengths of 3 inches, while the biggest ones can reach around 3 feet or more! Their most common size reach up to two feet long. The Koi have been known to live up to 30 years old (and the oldest of which have lived up to 233 years)!
The Koi are classified as omnivorous fish, as they feed on meat and plants alike. And this results in the adaptability of their diet. They will eat almost anything that you feed them, and it doesn’t matter if its good for them or not. The owner should be the ones to control what and how much they eat, as they have no ability to judge what’s good or not for their diet, and the amounts that they should be taking on a daily basis as well. The healthiest treats for them are the natural food, such as tadpoles and earthworms, and treats like fruit, veggies, lettuce and bread.
Owners should take necessary precautions when feeding them with beans, corns and grapes, as these food contain an outer casing, which can be improperly digested by your Koi if eaten. The outer casings should be removed completely before feeding those to them.
The Koi are non-aggressive types of fish, which means that they’re capable of mingling with other fish like the comet and goldfish. As they are fast eaters, the Koi will eat any fish that they will find smaller, and this could be a problem! They don’t have teeth, which is why it’s quite okay for them to be feed through the hand (which can be a great past time for their owners too)!). For this, breeding is truly a fun hobby for fish lovers out there!
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