Koi

If you want to improve your knowledge about Koi, recognising and understanding the basic appreciation points is definitely the place to start:

1 Overall shape and proportion of the head, body and fins
This is top of the list! A broad, blunt-nosed head should lead smoothly to the widest part across the body, behind the gills but before the dorsal fin. The body should then taper gently and smoothly to a thick, well-muscled tail area. It is usually obvious if fins are too big or too small – they look out of proportion to body size. All fins must be whole, even textured and have smooth edges. Good shape and proportions are basic requirements for all Koi.

2 The basic quality and texture of the skin
Regardless of colour, the skin should look glowingly smooth, soft and silky. Good skin on a Koi makes you want to stroke it, to see if it feels as good as it looks. You should not be able to see the edges of scales easily. Koi with a metallic finish to the skin need to shine like burnished metal.

3 The qualities of colour and pattern
Remember, all colours need to look even, wherever they appear. Darker colours of a pattern, like red and black, should look deep and thick, so scales are almost invisible. The exception is a leading edge where white meets another colour and pattern edges need to look sharp. Patterns need to fit the Koi and appear balanced.

4 How well the Koi fulfils its specific variety characteristics
For example, a Tancho marking on the head of a Koi should be as large and round as possible without overlapping the eyes, nose or shoulders.

5 Deportment
Or how a Koi holds itself in the water.

6 The ‘wow factor’
The impact a Koi has on you – a sum of the other points, but critical. Some Koi just don’t have it.

There are 13 basic varieties of Koi to learn about, each classifying a group sharing particular characteristics. For example, the Kohaku variety contains Koi that have only red and white on both head and body. Return to the contents page to choose a particular variety.

Written by Kate McGill

Photo supplied by Kate McGill