Thursday, June 6, 2013

ABCDEFGHIJ…K is for koi




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:

Craftymoose Crafts said...

That was an interesting website--I had no idea there were so many colors and qualification that make up the "perfect" koi!

Christine said...

interesting info on this post!

Magic Love Crow said...

Very interesting! My brother and sister-in-law are very big into fish! Take Care Crystal ;o)

Judy Adamson said...

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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