What Colors Are Considered the Best for Koi?

Japanese culture appreciates koi to the point of holding beauty pageants where judges evaluate contestants for their scales, weight, shape, graceful swimming, and overall looks. Breeders are the most likely to enter their koi into these aquatic beauty contests, which serve to facilitate the trading and selling of beautiful koi valued at thousands of dollars. It goes without saying that judges of these pageants pay close attention to the colors of the koi they evaluate. They look for interesting patterns and combinations, but what they really focus on is healthy scales that promote vivid coloring.

The Colorful Anatomy of Koi

The coloration of koi scales is the result of centuries of crossbreeding Asian carp species and varieties. The natural pigmentation of carp is formed by the same biological processes as other freshwater fish, and the evolutionary reasons range from camouflage and distinction to mating and visual communications. Koi breeders in the early 19th century didn’t have clear expectations about what kind of colors would result from their controlled mating experiments, but when you look at Asagi koi, which have reticulated blue scales and bright red spots, you can understand why breeders thought they were being blessed by ancestral Shinto deities.

Most Colorful Koi Species

The most traditional koi species, which happens to be very popular around the world, is the red and orange Gosanke. Japanese illustrations from the Edo period that feature Gosanke koi show a two-color fish, but subsequent breeding has turned it into a three-color variant of red, orange, and black. The Bekko and Kawarimono koi are also multicolored, but many pond keepers prefer the elegant Hikarimuji, which features an incredibly shiny gold on white pattern. The Utsurimono koi is the one that looks camouflaged or like a dairy cow.

What Makes Koi Scales Shine

Whether they’re multicolored or solid, koi seem to have this amazing ability to reflect light in a way that makes them look like swimming jewels. The reason for this brightness, which can also be observed in quite a few other fish, wasn’t known until 2011. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel used advanced electronic microscopes to take a very close look at fish scales, and they noticed the presence of nucleotides known as guanine, which have the ability to generate tiny crystals that reflect light.

Best Koi Nutrition and Care for Bright Colors

To a great extent, guanine production is tied to proper nutrition and the overall wellbeing of koi. If your koi swim in a pond that you’ve set up with all the necessary koi pond supplies and has proper aeration, clean water, and aquatic plant life, they’ll be healthy, happy, and shiny. Koi food that contains Spirulina bacteria is known to enhance yellow, red, and orange coloring. Wheat germ and pieces of carrots that have been shaved off by a potato peeler are also recommended for the purpose of stimulating guanine growth. Many seasoned koi enthusiasts also feed their koi dehydrated krill for deep color saturation, but no more than 3 times a week and only in the growing season of warmth. Not adhering to this regimen could negatively affect the digestive system and harm your koi.

When you have such beautiful koi in your pond, you want to make sure they stay happy and healthy for many years to come, and the best way to do that is to ensure you’ve got all the necessary supplies for the pond. Whether you need submersible pond pumps, nutritious koi food, beneficial bacteria, filtration, or any other pond supply, Aquatic Warehouse has got you covered. Stop by our store in Kearny Mesa, order what you need from our website, or give us a call at 858-467-9297 if you have any questions.