KOI

Ornamental fish were a part of my childhood. I grew up taking care of gold fish, angel fish, and swordtails. At school, vendors lined up outside to sell fighting fish while our gazebos became battlefields of students who owned them. At home, plump gold fish taught me responsibility. Aside from feeding them, it was easier for me to clean the aquarium than to clean my own room!

Now that I’ve grown up, my love for ornamental fish has evolved. I still like the kinds of fish I had but now something has been added to my list. Few years ago, I started collecting Japanese koi. I started with a few fingerlings but now I have 100 breeder koi and another 1000 fry. I have five concrete fishponds that serve as holding tanks for the new harvests. One thing interesting about the koi is that it has a lot of varieties. The varieties I have include kuhako, tancho, tancho sanke, showa, bekko, matsuba, utsura, shusui, hi utsuri and chagoi. The tancho sanke is my favorite. I love the black patches on its body and the solitary red spot on its head makes it uniquely attractive.

The koi is commonly called Japanese carp and symbolizes love and friendship. The koi’s history dates back to 1820s when it was developed from the common carp. However, it was only in 1914 that people outside Japan knew about the color varieties of the koi.

Some koi enthusiasts point that koi are not natively Japanese but Chinese. According to written records, the koi were first described in a Chinese book written during the Western Chin Dynasty, around 265-316 A.D. At that time they were described as white, red, black and blue. It was in 200 A.D. that the koi was accounted in Japan with the emperor keeping these fish.

Japanese rice farmers in Niigata first propagated the koi. They started with the black colored koi but they found color mutations between 1804 to 1830. The first colors that appeared were red, white, and light yellow. In the late 1880s the color patterns we now have were fixed and that started the breeding and collection of koi.

The koi, called Nishikigoi in Japanese, is considered the “king of ornamental fish.” I think it deserves the title because the koi is not only beautiful but also resilient. Koi are known for its hardiness and can live for long years in varying weather conditions. In fact, the oldest koi lived 226 years! Its name was “Hanako” and her age was determined when her scales were removed and studied in 1966.

Taking care of koi can be expensive though. It requires responsibility and attention. Feeding them properly and giving them healthy tanks to thrive is important. They can be a pricey hobby but every time I see my koi grow and their colors become vibrant, I know it’s all worth it!