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Being Enslaved To Koi Fish Ponds
Koi are hardy, elegant fish in the carp family bred thousands of years ago in Central Asia. No one really knows just how the multicolored swimming jewels of the modern koi came from the dull coppery gray carp. Perhaps some dragon magic was involved. And along with koi came koi fish ponds. One of the oldest fish keeping books in the world was written in China about 500 BCE by Toshuko and talked about carp.
Koi Fun Facts
One of the reasons koi fish ponds are so popular around the world is that they live in freshwater in relatively cool temperatures. They dont need a heater like tropical fish. They also can live with goldfish and other freshwater fish, as long as they are all about the same size. Teeny tiny fish can look like SnakPaks to a hungry koi.
Koi fish ponds do not come in standard models. They can live in ornamental ponds, huge bottomless ponds, man-made preformed pond shells, or even huge man made ponds with light colors so that you can admire the koi better. Koi are usually raised in fish tanks just like goldfish and then are transferred to progressively larger tanks as they get older. When they are mature enough, they are released into outdoor koi fish ponds. The largest koi get to five feet in length, but the most average three feet.
Koi are all the same species, but are sold under different varieties. They are not different breeds, but different colors. They can range from the expected all gold classic (benegoi) to a striking all black with a red dot on the head (tancho).
Koi can live on average of 30 years, although there have been proven cases of koi living to over 200. So if you are thinking of getting koi fish ponds, you might be caring for the same fish for the rest of your life. And yes, koi can recognize people and know when its dinnertime. They can learn to take food from your hand and leave your hand behind. They even can tolerate being picked up. They are only aggressive at breeding time.
The most ever paid for a koi was 0,000. However, most koi are about , depending on their size and rarity of color. You can find baby koi in pet shops. You can tell them from regular goldfish because they have whiskers white their goldfish cousins are eternally clean shaven. |