Hi there! New to the site and was wondering if anyone could tell me what type or coloring variation my 4 koi are. They are all fairly young. The bigger white one being my oldest. I have had it for 1.5 yrs and got it at about 2-3 inches long. He is now about 6 inches long. The rest I have had less than a year and haven't grown much. They live in a 55 gal right now. Of course I plan to upgrade as needed or find them a pond if necessary. I have also noticed that the larger white one has lost scales on his lower sides and am not sure if this is normal or abnormal and if I need to make any corrections to resolve this if it is abnormal. I use tap water for my changes but use stress coat conditioner even though my tap water had never tested for any chlorine. Any advice in either typing the koi and the scale loss is welcome! I am a novice and eager to learn. Please let me know if my photos are viewable to you. Not sure I did it right.
Typing my Koi
- Thread starter CarpLover
- Start date
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Koi are such beautiful fish.
The white and silver one has a pattern which might be Doitsu and the 1st yellow picture as well - the line of scales at the dorsal fin and the lateral line. They might be mixed with another type as well.
https://hanoverkoifarms.com/mistaken-identity/
Where did you get them from?
The white and silver one has a pattern which might be Doitsu and the 1st yellow picture as well - the line of scales at the dorsal fin and the lateral line. They might be mixed with another type as well.
https://hanoverkoifarms.com/mistaken-identity/
Where did you get them from?
Thank you! I got all of them just from petsmart. Is it normal for them to not have scales on their sides? I have read that their patterns aren't truly fully developed until they are about 14 years old so they have a while until then. Maybe this has something to do with it but it doesn't appear that any are growing back but the skin underneath appears healthy. There is just a lot I don't know.
I just went to the site you sent me and I had no idea that some koi aren't supposed to have scales. Fascinating! Makes me feel better about my fish. I thought maybe I was hurting them somehow. As I look closer, I notice that my other fish are missing scales as well and now I know there are mixes of the doitsu kind of koi and maybe their sales and patterns will develop further as they age. This has been extremely helpful!
Im not a carp expert by any means, but from my angling days mirror carp have irregular patterns of scales just like those. I presume that kind of scale patterning is normal for whatever kind of carp you bought.
Edit: As a bit of additional information on carp in the UK. Common carp would be covered with scales. Mirror carp partially scaleless. Leather carp very few to no scales.
Edit: As a bit of additional information on carp in the UK. Common carp would be covered with scales. Mirror carp partially scaleless. Leather carp very few to no scales.
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Probably 8 years ago I got a few little Koi (also from Petsmart) and 2 had a similar pattern white and silver And kinda yellow and white. My white and silver black looked like a skeleton pattern (you know reminded me of a skeleton and similar look) named Skeletor.
They went to live at a bigger pond after they got bigger because I ended up, was going to be moving and didn't have a bigger pond /place for them.
So my suggestion is to check out some handbooks on Koi. I have some from local resale book stores, great choice as they are able to be previewed.
I have one old book which lists the older varieties and not really the last 20 years of developments.
But you can check online reselling book stores too (of course there's new, but some books are out of print) and can find some good buys. If you plan to keep Koi for a long time, I would get books you can see in your hand. Call me a dinosaur, lol, but I like to look at them in a book. That said, online has everything. But sometimes the book can get you pointed in the direction to check out.
They went to live at a bigger pond after they got bigger because I ended up, was going to be moving and didn't have a bigger pond /place for them.
So my suggestion is to check out some handbooks on Koi. I have some from local resale book stores, great choice as they are able to be previewed.
I have one old book which lists the older varieties and not really the last 20 years of developments.
But you can check online reselling book stores too (of course there's new, but some books are out of print) and can find some good buys. If you plan to keep Koi for a long time, I would get books you can see in your hand. Call me a dinosaur, lol, but I like to look at them in a book. That said, online has everything. But sometimes the book can get you pointed in the direction to check out.
Thank you! I like real books too! Looking online just got overwhelming! The white one is my favorite and original koi. He is about 7 inches now and I have only had him about 1.5 years. Although I did read that even the domestic smaller type of koi which is probably what petsmart sells, should be around 9 inches after their first year so I looked into what could be affecting his growth and have made some adjustments. My plan is to also donate them to someone's pond once they are too big for me to keep in the home but I will upgrade my tank for as long as possible to enjoy him.
My mom did the same, get a small one or 2 from a Koi breeder, she was lucky enough to have one in her town, and grow it up and then get a new one.
Water changing seems to be one of the biggest advantages to grow big healthy fish. If there is a way to set up a auto water system,, dripping in and overflow out. That would be a big hope for my sometime in the future project and especially for, if in the future I do a fancy GF tank inside. Or a pond outside.
Water changing seems to be one of the biggest advantages to grow big healthy fish. If there is a way to set up a auto water system,, dripping in and overflow out. That would be a big hope for my sometime in the future project and especially for, if in the future I do a fancy GF tank inside. Or a pond outside.
enrgizerbunny
Aquarium Advice Addict
Definitely get a system down to perform water changes. You're going to need them weekly sooner than you think!
Personally, I believe koi belong in ponds when they're adults. Big ponds, not the 250 gallon plastic garden ponds you get at Lowe's. 500+gallons.
Personally, I believe koi belong in ponds when they're adults. Big ponds, not the 250 gallon plastic garden ponds you get at Lowe's. 500+gallons.
That is good advice. One idea is a block pond with liner, set down with a deck around it so you can sit at the edge and see the fish.
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