Brocaded carp
Their full Japanese name means brocaded carp, after richly patterned cloth.
The aquarium · A lot of time and space
Koi carp
Pond fish · from Japan
A large, torpedo-shaped carp, white with bold patches of red-orange and black, and whiskers at the corners of its mouth.
- Size
- 60 to 90cm long
- Lives for
- 25 to 35 years or more
- Suits
- Garden pond owners, as a serious hobby
Glides after you, slow and stately. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the koi
A farmer's surprise
They were first bred by rice farmers in Japan about two hundred years ago, from carp kept for food.
A very long life
Koi commonly live thirty years, and a famous one named Hanako was said to be over two hundred.
The priciest pet fish
A champion koi has sold for more than a million pounds.
They feed from your hand
Koi learn who feeds them and will take food from your fingers.
Whiskers
The barbels by its mouth help it find food in the mud. Goldfish have none.
The real thing
Photos of the koi
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
Koi need a large, deep, filtered pond: at least a thousand litres for each fish, and more than a metre deep. Net it against herons.
Before you get one
Koi are for a big pond, not a tank. The pond and its filter cost far more than the fish.
Keep going