biggest-fish-fan

[biggest-fish-fan]

koi fish, or nishikigoi in Japanese, are a type of carp originating from Japan (whereas up until recently, we believed they were brought from China to Japan!) named for their colorful patterns. they can be orange, white, black, gold, cream, and brown.

koi fish are kept as pets world wide, and because of how large they are, typically require about 1,000 gallons of water per fish. this means that they're kept in ponds or very large home aquariums.

the oldest known koi was a scarlet koi named Hanako and lived up to possibly 226 years based on expert opinions on her scales growth aging.

there are hundreds of koi varities! but these three are the usual ones to be owned or in ponds: kohaku - typically red and white

sanke - red, white, and black. the white and red are usually the "base color"

showa - similar to sanke, but in showa the bodies "base color" is black and holds red and white patterning

there are also unique koi, like the tancho trait which is seen in multiple types of koi. tancho koi have a single red spot on their head, which in some carp resemble the Japanese flag.

other fun facts include: -A group of koi fish is called a gasp

-they go into torpor, which is similar to hibernation in that they slow down their metabolism, eat less, and huddle together when in temperatures too cold for them. this can last hours, days, weeks, etc.

-they can get sunburnt, even underwater.