Raising Koi, A Pastime for a Few but a Serious Obsession For Many

Swathed in attractive hues of white, red, black, and orange hues, Koi's incredibly beautiful and can capture anybody’s imagination with ease.

06:56 05 August 2021

Ask any enthusiast what they love the most about Koi carp, and you’ll probably hear a few different answers.  

 

Some would tell you how enchanting it is to sit along the edge of the landscaped pond in their backyard in the evening and see these fantastically coloured fish glide through water.  

 

You might hear some responses on how they’ve got their own little personalities. For the uninitiated, koi fish are generally very friendly and can be trained to eat food off of our hands.

 

Some might get a bit emotional whilst talking about their koi obsession and even slip in a quote from the famous Queen star Freddie Mercury, who left behind a massive £10,000 worth of Koi. Speaking highly of his Japanese garden, the legendary singer said “….. I've finally found a niche I was looking for in my life. To have my wonderful Japanese garden with all this koi carp recently bought at such expense, I love it."

 

But you get the idea. One common thing that unites koi enthusiasts all over the world, whether it is an ordinary person or a once-in-a-generation celebrity singer, is their unreasonable fondness with koi. They all think there is something unique about a koi fish, no matter how beautiful or imperfect it is.  

 

Let’s briefly look at koi fish in general and how some crazy devoted koi enthusiasts take care of pets.

 

Not Your Oversized Goldfish

Commonly mistaken for big goldfish, Koi are larger than the common goldfish and can withstand cold temperatures well but they’re certainly not as hardy.  

 

Mainly bred for their beautiful and exotic appearance, koi fish with distinctive colors, a good symmetry of patterns, and body shape are just special and valuable. And their worth will be a lot more if they have good skin quality in addition to the above factors.

 

In their early years, the average koi fish can be barely a few centimetres long but they can grow up to anywhere between two and three feet when fully mature.  The small fish can be bought cheap, but the mature ones attract a lot of interest from enthusiasts based on several factors including a few discussed before.

 

Life span is another talking point about koi fish. On an average, a koi fish lives for anywhere between 15 and 25 years but every now and then some turn out to be really lucky to live up to be 100 years old or more. No kidding, the oldest koi on record went on to live for 226 years. Now that’s one lucky fish, isn’t it?

 

Raising Koi, More Than a Hobby

With over hundreds of varieties in attractive colors and unusual patterns, Koi are nothing like any other ordinary fish. Swathed in attractive hues of white, red, black, and orange hues, they’re incredibly beautiful and can capture anybody’s imagination with ease. 

 

Koi raising was merely an amateur hobby a decade or two ago, but things have changed and how. There’s a strong uptick in interest latterly, according to koi associations and clubs. But what makes koi carp a treasure for fish fans and enthusiasts?

 

The satisfaction some people get out of raising these colorful beauties in their backyard is unbelievable.  Watching a school of koi swim around nonchalantly in their natural habitat is serene and therapeutic for them.

 

The idea of rearing koi is pretty appealing in itself for many fanciers. It opens up a whole new world, giving them an opportunity to go to a sale or an auction and meet with like minded enthusiasts, talk about raising different species, and survey the fish there.  To drive across town or country in search of the prime breeding stock, survey the best koi, and handpick a few ones and transport them back to the backyard pond in large plastic tubs and containers. It’s more of a lifestyle choice for these people who are in it for the long haul and find joy in the process of sourcing new fish and bringing them to their backyard. They’re always thinking about which fish to add next to their growing collection.

 

And for a few, it’s purely a status thing. Not many can afford the money required to raise koi and keep adding to the collection. Well-bred, high quality koi fish sold in auctions can easily fetch over thousands of pounds depending on species, size, shape, color, patterns and blood line among other factors.

 

Being able to afford indulging in such a costly trade, raising top quality show-worthy koi species,  and building out their ponds from time to time, and everything in between is a matter of status to them.  

 

Giving their Koi Just the Best

Just like the people raising show dogs and thoroughbred racehorses, Koi keepers up and down the country have developed a bit of a reputation for going out of their way to take care of their fish and keep them in the best of conditions.

 

It’s not unusual to hear stories of keepers coughing out on sorting out their fish friends with a purpose-built pond. Some take things a little further by getting the pond kitted out with sophisticated water purification units, latest filtration units, and special heating systems to keep out the cold when winter gets unbearable. 

 

Some of them go as far as building more fancy stuff into their pond to please their finny friends, from lighting to paraphernalia of random things like a World Trade Centre like watchtower.  

 

Anything to keep these swimming wonders pleased.  That’s how far their koi obsession has taken them.

 

So you’re besotted with the raising koi and are looking for koi for sale but not sure where to begin? Your search starts and ends with Absolute Koi. They’ve been in this business for more than two decades and have a great track record for being the one-stop-destination for all things koi related. Their customers look to them for high quality koi carp, koi supplies, pond systems, and a long list of accessories including purification jets, filtration systems among other fancy paraphernalia. Having played a definitive role in seeing the koi community in the UK develop from its nascent stages to a massive one now, they have set high standards for customer service and only believe in providing their customers with a fine selection of first quality koi products.