White Koi History

Originally koi fish were only available in two colors when the Japanese first started to breed them. Over the years when they grew popular, a greater number of people bred them and they started to become available in more and more color variations and patterns. These days you can pick up a koi fish an plenty of different colors, such as red, green, yellow, black and white koi.

It can be confusing understanding all the varieties of koi fish, but this task becomes easier when you know the different groups in which koi are classified. The varieties have different standards although the patterns are usually what counts. There are a few immensely popular koi groups. Kahaku koi is one of the most popular varieties. These are white koi with red markings. Hirarimono is another popular variety, it can also be called Ogon.

The first part of the word stands for ‘metallic’. While the second part means ‘single color’. As you can guess, these koi are a single color. Ogon koi appear metallic. You will most likely see Ogon koi in yellow or silver/white, the yellow Ogon are called Yamabuki while the white/silver ones are called Platinum Ogon. With an Ogon Koi their color will remain the same from their head to their tails and right to the very tips of their fins. With an Ogon koi you want one with large fins because they make the fish look more attractive thanks to the plain body.

Within the realm of koi, Platinum Ogon and white koi are incredibly popular. Their hue makes them appear to shine as if they were expensive metal. These koi came onto the scene in 1963, they are most likely a cross between Kigoi and Nezu Ogon. They grow quickly and can survive in harsher conditions. They also look good in ponds that do not have effective filters, because of their coloration they stand out even inside the dirty water. There are other Ogon koi fish, such as the Nezu, Fuji and Orenji.

You will find that in a bid to make Platinum look even more shiny they will be cross bred with Ginrin scales. These Ginrin scales are far different than those you would see on metallic koi. Ginrin scales do not simply have reflective pigment that gives off a shine, they are instead covered in a reflective sheen that causes them to glimmer, they have been compared to diamonds. For the koi to be classed as a Ginrin, you must be unable to count the scales it has like this as it swims past you. As a rule of thumb, anything less than 20 scales is not good enough.

One of the biggest attractions to koi fish for people is how colorful they look in your pond, you can get koi in almost any color you could want. Koi fish look best when seen from above, which is handy because that is how you are most likely to see them. Most of their pigment is located on their top. There are koi fish events held in Asia, in such events the koi will also be looked at from above as the swim around a circular pond.

Incoming search terms:

  • white koi
  • white koi fish
  • white ogon koi
  • Koi Fish history
  • koi fish
  • koi koi people
  • platinum white koi fish
  • silver white koi
  • platinum ogon koi history
  • pigment koi fish