What are Koi?  Koi are ornamental carp, which originated in Japan. More than a century or two ago (at least…no one really knows), the Japanese raised a particular black carp in their rice patties called Magoi. These black/dark brown Magoi were originally raised for food, but somewhere along the line it is speculated that a farmer noticed some off-colored babies and put them aside to raise further. These babies were off-colored genetic mutations of some sort and by continual breeding with each other over time, the beautiful fish of today arose with all the colors of the rainbow.

Koi today come in two distinct fin variations. The original Standard fin Koi and, developed more recently, the Butterfly or Longfin Koi.

Standard fin Koi have pectoral fins which are proportional to their bodies and usually short and round to oval in shape. These were the original Koi developed by the Japanese. Within the hobby the Koi purists which have taken the hobby to its highest level usually tend to stay with the original Standard fin Koi. Many of these folks even show their fish just like the dog shows around the world. The All Japan Koi Show in Japan is by far the top show worldwide. This show only allows the original Standard fin variety, and it also limits the show to only fish born and raised in Japan. There are serious standards that each fish must possess to be a contender in this show. We will get into how to judge these standards elsewhere in the HKF website. Some of these top end show fish have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Butterfly Koi are a cross between a long-finned carp and a standard fin Koi, and are also referred to as “Longfins.”  These fish were developed in Japan originally in an attempt to make Koi have more robust bodies and more total body length. There is one American breeder that contends that he created Butterfly koi, but this is simply not the case. He may have been the first to develop them in the USA however. No matter, as compared to standard fin Koi, the fins of a Butterfly are much longer and can be as long as 3/4 of the fishes body length!  Most Butterfly Koi are domestically raised and bred in the U.S., although there are some imports still available in Japan.  Butterfly Koi are highly sought after by Americans for their beautifully long fins, and today they are available in many of the same varieties as are standard fin Koi. Hanover Koi Farms breeds some of the top Butterfly Koi in the world. Most are even far superior to those produced in Japan and other countries.

Scale Patterns- Koi also come in various scale patterns, which also are given particular names and used as adjectives when describing a certain fish or variety/breed of fish.

Wagoi

Wagoi is a term used to describe any fully scaled Koi one with normal scales like any other fish species that most folks are used to. The actual term itself is not used that often when speaking Koi. Probably the only time it is used is when discriminating between a Wagoi and a Doitsu Koi. See Doitsu below for details on that.

Doitsu ( pronounced “Doytz or Doytz-ew” by most) is a scaleless or partially scaled Koi that originated by crossing Japanese Koi to German Mirror Carp.  If you look closely at the photo to the right, you can see that the only scales on the German Mirror Carp run right down the back/dorsal line of the fish. Click on the photo to enlarge it. The rest of the fish is simply skin. The other fish in that photo is simply a common carp relative.

There is also a photo of a Doitsu Hariwake. Click on that photo and you will see the only scales on the Doitsu Hariwake are running down the back but only right under dorsal fin. A classic example of a Doitsu Koi. Hariwake can also come in a Wagoi (fully scaled) version and then are simply called Hariwake. So you can have a Hariwake (fully scaled) or a Doitsu Hariwake variation. See the photo to the right of a Hariwake  (the yellow & white fish) . This fish is fully scaled and it also happens to be Gin Rin. So technically that yellow and white fish is a Gin Rin Hariwake. Gin Rin is explained further below and is the sparkle scale look.

There are many variations of how and where the scales appear on any given Doitsu Koi, but the most common are the scales running down the back. Doitsu scales are much larger and somewhat reflective as compared to the scales of a normally scaled Koi. A fully scaled normal Koi is referred to as Wagoi Koi (fully scaled) as compared to the partially scaled Koi is called a Doitsu Koi as discussed above. Sometimes these Doitsu scales can be difficult to see (as in the photo to the right).  This is also the case depending on the color and pattern of any given Doitsu variety. Many times, however, in Doitsu Koi you can see a very distinct zipper-like pattern going right down the back of the fish. That “zipper” are the actual Doitsu scales all lined up and running down the back. It resembles a zipper. This is especially true when the scales are colored differently than the underlying skin color. So as far as scales types in Koi there are Doitsu (scaleless or partially scaled) and Wagoi (fully scaled), and in each there are varied scale patterns and types. With me so far? I hope so because I am about to make things even more confusing.

Also among these Doitsu scale types are “Dragon scaled” also called “Armor scaled Doitsu” Koi. These are usually the first generation of fish that were bred using one Wagoi parent and one Doitsu parent. In this breeding you will get a mixture of various types of scale patterns. Some may be full Doitsu in appearance, some may be full Wagoi in appearance, and some will be fully scaled but with the larger scales like that of the German Mirror Carp. When they are covered in these large scales it does give the appearance of armor plating. While this scale pattern can be quite striking in certain fish, the armor scaled Koi are considered to be a lower quality Koi.

Gin Rin is used to describe a sparkle-scaled fish. Some or most of the scales actually sparkle like diamonds, which makes these a popular type as well. This sparkle effect is actually due to an excess of a substance called guanine. Guanine is what makes all fish scales sparkle, but in Gin Rin Koi there is an excess of this crystalline nucleic acid which give the Gin Rin Koi this added sparkle as compared to normal fish scales. It is simply another mutation that occurs in Koi. Both Doitsu and Wagoi can come in Gin Rin. In this as well there are a few types of Gin Rin scales that give varied looks to each type, but we won’t go that deep. So basically, Gin Rin is an adjective that is put before the actual variety name of the fish. For example, you can get a Kohaku or a Gin Rin Kohaku. See the photo below for an example of a Gin Rin Kohaku.

Skin Quality and Luster–

Kin is used to describe a metallic Koi. Again it is an adjective used before the breed name. As an example, in the photos to the right there is a Showa and a Kin Showa. The metallic refers to the sheen of the fish, especially in the pectoral fins  and skin luster. Understand that this is not the same as the sparkle scale look of the Gin Rin. Metallic varieties of Koi can be Wagoi or Doitsu versions as well. A non-metallic fish would have clear or flat-colored fins, and a metallic or Kin fish would have a luster or gloss to these fins and body . For example, a Kigoi (yellow Koi) is a non-metallic, non-glossy Koi, with see through fins of sort, and a Yamabuki Ogon (bright, shiny yellow) is the Kin or metallic version of a Kigoi, and is a glossy yellow with lustrous yellow fins and body color. In this variety, however, as in a few others, the metallic or Kin version of a Kigoi is not called a Kin Kigoi. Instead it is called a Yamabuki Ogon. This is just one thing that makes learning all the breed names difficult for some.

I know all of this seems confusing, and it is. I hope I was able to make this clear enough for you to understand. Come to the farm and I can assure you that it can be better explained and shown in person!