Last October, my husband and I visited the Capistrano
mission in California, the grounds had beautiful lily ponds with lots of Koi.
Koi…hmmm so I pondered, what is Koi, that orangey looking fish
swimming around that pond, lake—or my local Chinese restaurant? Is it just a giant gold fish?
Actually the word koi comes from the Japanese word for carp.
And koi are simply common domesticated carp. Originally bred in Asia for their
color and hardiness, Koi are often found in decorative ponds. Well, you may
think, they look just like giant goldfish, but are they just big goldfish?
Goldfish and Koi are related, but different. When koi are
small, they may be hard to tell apart from goldfish and they can even
interbreed, but just like the horse and donkey, which produce a sterile
offspring (mule) so it goes that any offspring of carp and goldfish are also
sterile. So there you have
it…related but not the same.
If you would like more information about koi colors,
meanings, etc., the following website is a great source.
So we are getting close to the letter L, hmmm what could L be for...stay tuned.
4 comments:
That was an interesting website--I had no idea there were so many colors and qualification that make up the "perfect" koi!
interesting info on this post!
Very interesting! My brother and sister-in-law are very big into fish! Take Care Crystal ;o)
Oh dear! I have to admit that I honestly thought they were just big goldfish! (hope nobody who is into serious koi-keeping reads this!)I have seen them, taken photos of them and even painted them on a Pisces Birthday Card and never realised they were so much more special than the traditional goldfish-in-a-jar that people used to win at fairs!
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