Koi keeping is becoming more and more popular in the United States. The koi, or Nishikigoi in Japanese is a freshwater fish and is widely regarded as the most beautiful of all ornamental fish. Its origin is unique.
The Origin of Koi
The koi fish come from the same family as the common carp. In fact, koi were produced by farmers who bred their carp food fish, especially in China and Japan. After years of selective breeding, various color mutations started showing up. Today, there are literally thousnds of color variations, not to mention different patterns as well. The most popular colors are white, silver, red, orange, blue, yellow, black and green. Each color and pattern has their own name such as kohaku, showa, asagi and others. Koi are also categorized into metallic and non-metallic types. Understandably, the koi today is no longer bred as food fish.
The Habits of Koi
Koi are omnivorous fish, which means they will eat both meat and plants. Koi will eat pretty much anything that you put in the pond with them. Since Koi are such ravenous eater, as their owner you must control their diet. One potential problem is over feeding treats. Because of their big appetites, your koi may encounter weight issues due to overfeeding non-nutritious foods. The healthiest treats for Koi are what they would find naturally in their ponds, such as earthworms and tadpoles, but it will not hurt to feed Koi treats such as Lettuce, bread, fruit, and veggies. You should avoid feeding them certain foods such as corn, beans and grapes, as they contain an outer casing, which cannot be properly digested if swallowed by Koi. If you must feed this type of foods to your Koi, be sure to completely remove the outer casings before giving it to your Koi.
Koi are non-aggressive fish and will live quite happily with other fish such as goldfish as long as they are not small enough to be eaten. The only issue you may find is smaller, less able fish may suffer from lack of food, as Koi are quick eaters.
Koi are also very friendly and one of the most gratifying things for koi owners is to be able to hand-feed your koi. Koi do not have teeth, so you will not get bitten when you do so.
Koi have been known to live up to 50 years under the right conditions, so if you are thinking about buying Koi, you must consider this. The oldest Koi on record died when it was 226 years old!
The Symbolism of Koi and Koi Ponds
To the Orientals, the koi symbolizes courage, persistence, masculinity, individualism, strength and overcoming adversity, among other things. In Chinese culture, koi ponds are said to bring good luck to their owners. In other parts of the world, especially in the West, people consider koi ponds as a source of relaxation and serenity.
But koi keeping should not be taken lightly. Koi, like any other pet, require time and money to maintain. The majority of first time Koi owners fail because they get the idea that keeping Koi is easy in some way. In fact, keeping koi is quite different from keeping other freshwater fish. You can learn more basic facts about koi at Interesting Facts about Koi.
It is important to learn about koi keeping yourself rather than rely on other sources. People such as your pet shop owner and pond builder have some limited knowledge, but should not be trusted as a reliable source because they are selling products and may be bias. There is an abundance of information about koi if you take the time to research them. You might also like to join a koi club where you can meet other koi enthusiasts who are more experienced than yourself.