Breeding Koi: Buying The Koi For Your Pond

Today, the Koi have become popular in breeding them as pets. The first of their kind were produced by breeding Carp, such as the German and the Asian type. For years, they have been selectively bred, which resulted to many kinds of color mutations to show up. 1805 was the year when the first colors were recorded. To date, there are thousands and thousands of variations in color that are available.

Among the popular ones are red, black, orange, yellow, silver, white, green and blue. The patterns can be combined, resulting to an endless possibility in the pattern of the fish. Each of the patterns and color of this species have been given their own names, typically as unique as the color being referred to.

Countries like Singapore, Japan, Israel, and the United States (typically in warmer places like California and Nevada) raise the fish for purchase. The fish can be bought at most of the local pet stores available. They can be ordered if ever there's no stock on hand. The advantage of this is that you are presented with more options when ordering since you don't have to pick right away from the available stock, but on the other hand, its disadvantage is that you won't be able to pick the specific Koi that you like to have.

Always remember that your pond should be complete first before you purchase your fish. The size and number of fish that you're going to purchase should be based highly on the size of your pond. Make it a point that you don't overcrowd your fish, which can cause problems instantly in your pond (which can kill many of the fish that you have bought, causing you to lose significant amount of time and money). You can always talk to your local dealer about the proper setup that you can have, and they will be the ones to give you advice on the amount of fish that you should place in your own pond.

The majority of the fish owners know that most fish will only grow with respect to the size of the enclosure that they're in. Koi, on the other hand, will grow until they have reached their full growth potential (based on their specific kind). But you must be able to accommodate the number of fish that you're going to buy in the future.

Their Traits And Personality:

These fish fall under the class of fish that are not aggressive. They don't have teeth, so you don't have to worry of getting bitten when you attempt to feed them using your hand. This trait allows you to get smaller children involved in the process, as they get attracted to the fish's beautiful and vibrant colors, coupled with their gentle nature. Like any other wild animal, their natural instinct is that it will be afraid of you in the start (this kind of instinct is what keeps them alive in the wild). Building trust with your fish really takes time and patience.

It is an omnivorous species, so it eats both meat and plants, giving them an adaptable kind of diet. They will eat whatever you put in the pond for them to feast on, regardless if its good for them or not... which means that you, as the owner, should be the one who controls their everyday diet.

The fact of the matter is that these fish have personalities, similar to the other species of animals. They are social animals, which gives them the ability to be trained to eat directly from the hands of their owners. You'll get to notice more of their individual traits and characteristics as you spend more time with them.

The Koi is known for its long life span; in general, the average lifespan of a healthy one would reach around 30 years (although it has been known to live up to 200 years at a time). This makes them good choices if you're someone who's looking for a long-time pet companion for breeding.