Just like many other activities enjoyed and practiced by people around the world, the fish keeping hobby isn’t immune to misconceptions, myths, and urban legends. One such falsehood tends to be centered on goldfish and koi—two ornamental freshwater species that have been subject to crossbreeding for centuries. There’s a good chance you’ve heard about koi and goldfish, which both happen to be related to Asian carp species, somehow being able to control their growth and adapt to the size of their enclosed ecosystems. In other words, this incorrect assumption suggests any goldfish can be kept in a small fishbowl. As for koi, this inaccuracy posits that koi won’t get any …

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Crystal-clear water is a goal all koi pond keepers share, and it isn’t necessarily the most ideal. The natural habitats of Asian grass carp, the cold water species koi derive from, don’t generally feature clear water. Their primary ecosystems are rice paddies where the water tends to be muddy. The color of pond water doesn’t always reflect the health of the aquatic ecosystem. For example, murky green water that resembles split-pea soup is sometimes an indication that a natural pond is teeming with a nice balance of plants, fish, and other species. When the water in your garden pond turns brown, there are a few reasons that could explain this …

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Of all the water sources available to freshwater fish keepers, the best will always be H2O that comes from a municipal treatment facility. Biochemically speaking, the most adequate water for a koi pond would come from natural Asian carp habitats. In the Niigata prefecture of Japan, rice paddies are irrigated by melted snow that seeps into the ground and becomes mineralized. This happens to be a region where koi breeding is a popular activity, and breeders are able to establish ponds that are semi-artificial. As you can imagine, hauling hundreds and even thousands of gallons of natural pond water to your garden isn’t reasonable, thus leaving conditioned water from the …

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Ornamental koi descend from Asian grass carp traditionally used for aquaculture purposes, particularly by rice farmers in China and Japan. In rice paddies, Asian carp continuously feed from decaying stalk and other plant residue. In a garden pond, koi will rarely exhibit this constant eating behavior, and this is the result of more than a century of selective breeding. Nutritious food is one of the most essential koi pond supplies, and you should know that koi only need to be fed once a day. There are situations in which you might increase this frequency, but you also need to be careful and avoid overfeeding. If you breed and raise koi, …

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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 …

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