5 Types Of Koi Fish You’ll Love To See In Your Pond
These Are The More Popular Koi Fish Populating Ponds In Des Moines
You might not recognize the names of these koi fish but they are still the more popular types of koi fish out there. For one, their colorings are beautiful!
You can see the differences in these koi for yourself in the post below.
Aren’t Koi Just, Koi?
Justin raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “Koi fish are koi fish, it’s not like there’s enough difference between subspecies or whatever to be able to tell.”
Nicole shakes her head. They’re trying to get koi fish for their pond and that’s how this pointless “heated discussion” started. Nicole keeps telling Justin there are different types of koi fish but he either doesn’t believe or doesn’t think it matters.
It’s just one of the many fish questions/answers they need to settle.
“Ok, fine, I’ll show you then.” Nicole whips out her phone to show Justin the differences there can be between 5 popular koi fish.
5 Popular Types Of Koi Fish
- Kohaku
- Taisho Sanke
- Showa
- Tancho
- Utsuri
“Ok, there’s the top 5. Now if we scroll down we can see the differences and learn a bit about them.”
1. Kohaku
Photo by Maxikoi – creative commons license 3.0 Unported
Kohaku koi always have 2 colors: white with red spots. Most of them also have yellow noses. They have a simple yet majestic beauty that makes them a treat for any water feature.
The red markings can either be darker with a purplish tinge or a brighter orange-red color.
Fun Fact: Kohaku koi were the first koi fish to develop 2 colors.
“Well, if it’s the king of koi we definitely need a few for our pond,” Justin says. “Let’s look at a few others farther down the page first,” Nicole says, scrolling down.
2. Taisho Sanke
Photo by Maxikoi – creative commons license 3.0 Unported
3. Showa
Photo by Maxikoi – creative commons license 3.0 Unported
“See? At least these 2 are basically the same fish, just slightly different markings,” Justin crows. “It takes a fine and sophisticated eye to see the difference. Maybe one day you’ll get there,” Nicole fires back.
Justin laughs as Nicole scrolls down to the next type of koi fish.
4. Tancho
Photo by Maxikoi – creative commons license 3.0 Unported
Kohaku koi always have 2 colors: white with red spots. Most of them also have yellow noses. They have a simple yet majestic beauty that makes them a treat for any water feature.
The red markings can either be darker with a purplish tinge or a brighter orange-red color.
Fun Fact: koi farmers can bleach or remove scales to make them “perfect”. Some even tattoo their koi to perfection!
“If only we could afford one! They’re just too expensive though,’ Nicole sighs sadly.
The couple scrolls down to the last type of koi fish.
5. Utsuri
Photo by Maxikoi – creative commons license 3.0 Unported
Utsuri koi have black bodies with one other color laced in. They can have red, white, or yellow/gold mixed in with the black.
“If we really want to get into the differences we might as well become koi fish judges,” Nicole says with a shrug. “Yeah, I’d rather not. I will agree there are differences between types of koi fish, if only slightly,” Justin admits.
Now the couple needs to figure out how many fish will fit in their pond.