Breeding Koi: Knowing Your Koi’s Past And Future
Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 by admin in Aquariums, Fishtanks
The Koi (or “Nishikigoi” in Japan) are rapidly becoming popular in the United States for breeding. But only few people really know where and how they came to be. The first Koi were produced by breeding the Asian carp and the German carp. After years of careful selective breeding, different color mutations started showing up. In the year 1805, the earliest patterns in color were recorded. Up to this day, thousands and thousands of color combinations and variations can be seen.
Popular colors include red, green, orange, blue, black, silver, white and yellow. There are endless possibilities when it comes to color combinations. Each come with their own names, based on their pattern and color. There may be a difference in the favorite types, depending on the location and country.
These fish are being raised for sale in many countries, such as Israel, Singapore, Japan and in warmer states in the U.S.. The Koi can be purchased at many of those local pet stores. If they don’t have the stock readily available, they can be ordered. By ordering, the advantage of this is that the buyer will have more options, since they don’t have to pick from the stock on hand. On the other hand, the disadvantage of this is that the buyer won’t be able to pick the specific Koi that they want to have.
Unlike most of the other fish out there, they will continue to grow up to the point that they will reach their maximum size (and it doesn’t matter where they’re being placed). 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, feeding on both meat and plants. And this results in the versatility 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 take everyday. 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. Outer casings of these food should be removed before feeding them to your pets.
The Koi are non-aggressive fish, and they are able to mingle with other fish like the comet and goldfish. Quick eaters as they are, the Koi will eat any fish that they will find smaller, which 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, Koi breeding is really a fun hobby for fish lovers out there!
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