Are Koi A Goldfish Or Are Goldfish A Koi
Many people, especially koi beginners, find it a little difficult to differentiate koi and goldfish.
You probably have found yourself asking “koi vs goldfish: why are they so similar?”
The confusion is understandable, really, especially since these two fishes are distant relatives.
More specifically, they are both descendants of the common carp.
To help you in telling these two fishes apart, especially with their uncanny resemblance, here’s your rundown on koi vs goldfish: why are they so similar?
Trust me, after reading this article, you will no longer have to ask yourself “koi vs goldfish: why are they so similar?” in frustration.
Koi v Goldfish Origins
Before we hop on the differences between koi and goldfish in terms of appearance, let’s first look into their origins to better understand koi vs goldfish: why are they so similar?
Both the koi and the goldfish originated from East Asia and have been selectively bred for a long time.
The goldfish, however, is significantly older than the koi.
The goldfish has been developed in China over 1,000 years ago, but the koi wasn’t developed until the 1820s.
Koi Coloring And Those Of Goldfish
One of the main reasons why people tend to confuse koi and goldfish is because their coloring is quite similar.
Both the koi and the goldfish have varieties in different colors: orange, yellow, red, black, and white.
Both the koi and the goldfish are also available in varying combinations of these colors.
However, since the koi has been selectively bred for its coloring, it tends to have more color varieties as compared to the goldfish.
At present, koi fishes are available in colors mentioned above, as well as in blue and even metallic versions.
How Does The Body Shape of Koi Compare To Goldfish
While the koi has been developed to be ornamental and colorful, the focus of goldfish breeders has been achieving the perfect body shape.
True enough, body shape is the most distinguishing feature between these two carp descendants.
The goldfish has varying body shapes depending on breed, but it is generally wide and egg-shaped.
On the other hand, koi fishes have narrow bodies and shaped like torpedoes.
The size of the koi will vary across breeds, as well as the appearance of the fins, but the body shape is the same regardless of koi variant.
While the goldfish has split tail and dorsal fins, those of the koi’s are connected.
The goldfish also tend to have bulging eyes as well, a trait that you will not find in koi.
Koi fishes are also significantly bigger than goldfishes.
While the koi can grow up to 25 inches (some can even grow up to 4 feet given ideal conditions), the goldfish tend to be a lot smaller, often not growing more than 4 inches long.
And there you have it, koi vs goldfish: why are they so similar?
Both of these fishes are lovely and I’m sure you’d find a breed you like. You might even realize that you want both fishes!
Which fish do you like more? Check out 15 cool koi fun factsand Koi fish aquariums what you must know
What other breeds are out there? Check this article out then: Discovering The Different Varieties Of Koi Fish
Don’t have a Pond? How about Building your Own? Here are the most important things to remember when building a koi pond
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