Known for their vibrant colors, koi fishes have shot up in popularity in recent years.
Having descended from the common carp – a hardy fish known all over the world – the koi has evolved to be the goldfish equivalent for adults.
Indeed, more and more home and building owners are taking interest in these ornamental fishes.
I’m sure you’re quite familiar with the koi yourself.
Or if you’re not, we’ve got some fun facts about fishes below.
After all, koi are everywhere these days.
Even so, you might have missed some koi fish facts which will certainly let you see these colorful fishes in a new light.
Who knows?
These koi fish facts might even prompt you to build your own koi pond.
So without further ado…
Here are 15 cool koi fish facts
(which will certainly come handy on trivia night or maybe your next trip to the pet store)
- The koi and the goldfish share a common ancestor – the common carp. The goldfish, however, predates the koi.
- Having descended from the hardy common carp, the koi was originally brought to Japan as a food source.
- The koi was first regarded as ornamental in 1914, after one was given as a gift to the Japanese emperor. This koi graced the imperial palace’s mote.
- The koi is a pretty large fish and can grow up to 3 feet in length. The largest koi fish reached 4 feet in length and was named “Big Girl” by koi enthusiast Geoff Lawton.
- The oldest koi fish known to have lived was a koi named Hanako. She lived to be 226 years old – from 1751 to 1977. Hanako is actually older than the United States of America.
- Koi fish are omnivores and will eat anything from mealworms to watermelons.
- The koi can get sunburns, too – even when they’re underwater.
- Koi fishes are very social and enjoy having other koi fishes around. However, they are known to bully other types of fish.
- Koi fishes are very intelligent animals. They can recognize the person who regularly feeds them. They can actually be trained to eat from the hands of their owners or, even better, to ring a bell for treats.
- Koi fishes can meet with goldfishes owing to their similar ancestor, but they will produce sterile offsprings.
- The female koi can lay up to 50,000 eggs in one breeding season, but only 50% of fertilized eggs typically survive.
- The Japanese believe that the koi symbolize wealth, prosperity, good fortune, and love. Each koi variety is associated with one of these values.
- Once released into the wild, the koi reverts to their natural coloration (that of the common carp) within a few generations.
- The most expensive koi ever sold was a golden koi, purchased by a Japanese company in the 1980s for roughly $2.2 million in today’s money.
- There are more than 20 varieties of koi – and new ones are still being actively developed.
Did you enjoy these koi fish facts?
I sure hope you did.
I hope you get to use these facts about koi fish in the near future – be it in proving your surprising expertise on ornamental fishes or in building yourself a koi pond.
