fish koi japan

7/21/2019 fish koi japan

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KOI

Commonly called Koi in the western world, and originating from the common

carp, Cyprinus carpio, the name Koicomes from Japanese and simply means carp.

In reality the name Koi thus includes both the dull grey food sh as well as the brightly

colored ornamental varieties.

he correct name for the beautiful ornamental carp is Nishikigoi! a name that literally

and very descriptively means brocaded carp. If you wish to become an a"cionado of

this sh, it would be wise to learn and use the correct term, as #ishi$igoi were

developed in Japan and the language of the $oi world, or more correctly the #ishi$igoi

world, is and will remain Japanese. Japanese is used not only to name the varieties, but

also for many of the terms used to describe the colours and traits of these beautiful sh.

%s an aside, in Japanese koiis a homophone for another word that means a&ection or

love' $oi are, therefore, symbols of love and friendship in Japan. he $oi is also an

often recurring symbol in Ire(umi, the Japanese art of traditional tattooing.

Nishikigoi (or Koi)varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation.

)ome of the ma*or colors are white, blac$, red, yellow, blue, and cream. he most

popular category of $oi is the Gosanke, which is made up of the Koha$u, aisho

)ansho$u, and )howa )ansho$u varieties.

he earliest types of Koi produced were bred from the sh $ept as food by rice farmers,

to supplement their winter diet. +rom time to time coloured mutations would appear

amongst these carp and some were $ept as pets. It seems most li$ely that the rst

types to appear were the red and white varieties now referred to as Koha$u. +rom these

early beginnings breeders were able to breed other colour varieties. he net types to

appear were )an$e and )howa, both with three colour patterns of red, white and blac$,

but with di&erent proportions of the three colours.

In -/0,during the Japanese12usso war, the 3unich 2esearch institute for +isheries in

4ermany gave 0/ western carp to the breeders in Japan. )adly only - 3irror Carp and 5

6eather Carp survived the trip. #evertheless, these 4erman Carp were immediately

introduced into the Japanese breeding programs and cross1bred with their indigenous

carp. hese seven 7oitsu carp turned out to be the genetic bac$bone of 7oitsu carp and

later the 7oitsu $oi as we $now them today.

Initially the 7oitsu carp were only used to enhance the production of edible sh and not

to create ornamental $oi. he newly introduced 4erman carp did not have scales and

was easy to clean and prepared for food. 8ut unli$e what many people believe, the

main reason for the introduction of the 4erman carp into the food mar$et was the

bul$ier body shape and thus more meat to eat. he hybrid vigor caused by the cross

breeding of 7oitsu and Japanese carp was a ma*or contributing factor in producing more

sh meat. In addition, the 7oitsu carp grew remar$ably well and outperformed the local

carp.


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It was only at a later stage that the 4erman carp was actively used to enhance the

ornamental $oi carp ! and what a large contribution they made to the selective breeding

of #ishi$igoi. In -/5, a new strain called 7oitsu1%sagi came into being. Kagami 9ro$o,

or mirror scales is a characteristic feature of 4erman carp. Kagami 9ro$o not only

dominated the scales of #ishi$igoi, the 4erman carp were also much easier to ta$e care

of than their Japanese counterparts. It is thus that ease of care became a trait carried

forward to today:s modern ornamental carp.

he most obvious di&erence was the scalation on the newly produced $oi. 6ess obvious

but as important were the body shape changes that too$ place. he long and much

thinner body conformation of the Japanese $oi changed to the beautiful bodies of

modern $oi. %lmost all $oi varieties today do have 7oitsugoi blood in their geneticma$eup. In fact, the superb body shapes o& modern show winners would not be

possible without the genetics inherited from the 7oitsu carp.

Japanese recogni(e thirteen basic classes of Nishikigoi, or Koi and these classes are

now accepted throughout the world. ;ithin each of these classes there are a number of

sub categories. ;e cover these in the images below.

IN THE AQUARIUM

Koi are not suited to aou can read about the

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+inally, we have this advice for novice $oi hobbyistsE 7o not get daunted by the urry of

Japanese terms corresponding to the various breeds of this sh. 4et accustomed to the

terms slowly, and en*oy the learning process. he best starting point of this learning

process is more often than not with the three most established and most popular breeds

of $oi, namely the FKoha$u:, the F)an$e:, and the F)howa:. :4osan$e: is the term used to

refer to these three breeds ta$en together. al$ often to other Koi enthusiasts ! and if

you can, as$ breeders to point you in the right direction. hey recognise the potential of

baby Koi very early on? he more you hear these terms, and the more you watch what

other hobbyists do, the sooner those bewildering $oi terms will become part of your

everyday vocabulary?


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fish koi japan

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