Koi History & Breeding & Buying
THE BASICS:
Koi are a popular pet all around the world. KOI is short for “NISHIKIGOI” which means (living jewel) a perfect name for an animal bred and grown to show brilliant color, shape, size, and character. The history and development of koi started a long time ago. How long ago exactly is argued by folks in the industry. Lets just say many many years ago, grass carp grown in the rice fields of China started showing mutations in the form of colored patterns on their scales. The farmers raising these fish originally for a food source where struck by the beauty of these color patterns developing on their fish and so began to keep the most beautiful carp that had the mutated coloration as prized possessions rather than for food. Grass carp are still farmed today and continue to be a major food source for other parts of the world. Japan is the most well known for their select breeding practices, ability to grow these fish very healthy and at impressive speed. There are koi shows that take place every year all around the world where breeders and hobbyists alike bring their most cherished koi fish to show off in competition in front of judges. The purpose of these koi shows is to inspire breeders and hobbyist, bring new interest to the hobby, and push the boundaries of beauty and possibility within the koi breeds.
KOI SIZES:
Koi can reach 30” + and can do so quickly in a well maintained pond with high feeding rates. Koi can reach their full size potential within 7-8 years and can grow impressively quick within the first 2 years of their life.
PRICES:
There is something for everyone in this hobby. The cost of each koi varies dramatically depending on many factors. Some serious koi keepers will spend $4,500.00-$10,000.00 on a single koi while some of the most expensive koi in the world have been sold for $50,000.00-$80,000.00+ to the most serious of koi keepers! You can also purchase a mature, healthy, and beautiful koi for $800.00-$2,000.00…and purchase even younger koi from lesser known breeders for $150-$300. Size, age, health, breed, body shape, color definition, who the breeder is, and what conditions the koi has been exposed too are all factors in the price. You can even find koi for free! If you’re not taken back by particular breeds or condition of a koi there are many options for finding cheap koi that can be just as friendly and enjoyable to own as some of the more expensive koi.
KOI BREEDING & BUYING:
Amazing Koi fish are bred all around the world but the most famous and well known breeders of koi are located in the mountains of Japan. Brokers and buyers from all around the world travel to japan each year in the fall in order to have first pick at these incredible fish. Koi then are shipped and typically sold again by retailers all around the world to luxury residence, hobbyists, koi collectors, and other breeders looking to improve their stocks genetics. The world of raising koi and having a koi pond as a permanent landscape feature has grown in popularity in places like the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and of course many parts of Asia.. Koi are praised for their symbol of luck, wealth, and prosperity, as well as their playful manner of interacting with those who admire and care for them the most.