unknown fish

[lreilly]

About a year ago I started a new tank and when I was ready to purchase fish for it I let my daughter pick a special fish for her. Knowing that I would then adapt the tank for it. Well when we bought it I thought that it was a white goldfish. When I went back to the store the label said small koi. I can not find any thing on care for such a fish. Does it have another name. It does not look like a standard large koi it is all white. It was a cheap fish but during the course of our care it has grown to nearly six inches. I had to upgrade its home. I just want to know if there is any thing else I have to do for this fish, I mean more than keep it alive. We have gone from flakes to pellets, eats any thing and acts like a goldfish. Is it going to out grow an aquarium and need a pond? I feel dumb having it so long and not knowing what it is. Oh yes, and the store is of no help.

 

[Fruitbat]

lreilly...

Koi are ornamental members of the carp family. They are called 'nishikigoi' in Japan, where they have been selectively bred for hundreds of years. The scientific name is Cyprinus carpio.

Koi can grow in excess of 1 meter (39.37 inches) but the domesticated varieties are more often closer to 80cm (31.5 inches). Their wild-caught counterparts have been known to reach lengths of 6.5 feet! Obviously yours still has a LOT of growing to do! Most people who keep adult koi have them in outdoor pools or in VERY large aquaria. Under optimal conditions they can grow at a rate of over 2cm (about 1 inch) per month when they're young and actively growing! They are VERY long-lived, though an occasionally quoted life span of 200 years seems a bit far-fetched to me. Certainly they can make it to 50-60 years.

There are MANY Koi societies and groups with a presence out there on the Internet. Do a google search (www.google.com) on Koi and check out some of the groups for further information. Good luck!

 

[lreilly]

thanks

Thanks, I will look more in to it on the information super highway.

 

[Terry]

It is possibly a Ghost Koi, very popular in the hobby and they are on the lower price range when it comes to Koi.