How to Select Koi Fish? Detailed Methods and Precautions

Koi fish are a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Keeping them at home not only has ornamental value, with their colorful and gorgeous appearance, but also benefits physical and mental health and beautifies the environment. Selecting koi fish is not an easy task; it is mainly done through careful and attentive observation. F4Z& For koi swimming in the pond, as long as you observe carefully, you can spot some problems: first observe the color, second observe the body shape, third observe the swimming posture, fourth observe the completeness and luster of the scales and fins, fifth observe seven kinds of pathological conditions: there are seven common pathological conditions in koi:

① White spot disease: white spots on the tail and gill covers of juvenile fish.

② Fungal disease: white hyphae appear on the easily abraded areas on both sides of the fish belly.

③ White haze disease: white frost on both sides of the fish belly.

④ Fish louse disease: fish lice are just like human lice.

⑤ Dropsy: scales on the fish body stand upright.

⑥ Worm disease: fish suffering from this disease like to swim along the edges.

⑦ Floating head disease: characterized by leaving the group, head up, tail down, and it is difficult to survive when there is slight oxygen deficiency in the water, especially during the dog days of summer.~b~2[AM;i0X]i.m~In summary, when purchasing koi, pay attention to health and being disease-free, agile swimming, and bright colors, so as to achieve the ornamental purpose.

Before deciding which type of koi to keep, let us first understand the conditions regarding pond size. Small and shallow ponds are suitable for keeping male fish, while large and deep ponds are suitable for female fish. Koi are generally divided into two ways of appreciation,

1. Not considering future potential, it just looks beautiful right away. That kind cannot be called a good fish, only a beautiful fish.

2. Tategoi, unfinished fish. This kind of fish is the most fun; when young, we can discover that it has great potential, and with careful cultivation, it feels different every year. The bigger it grows, the more beautiful it becomes, and keeping this kind of fish brings a sense of satisfaction. If after growing up it can win an award at a judging competition, then not only “satisfaction”, but also “a sense of achievement” can be obtained. This is what a truly good fish is.

How do you select a koi with a better body shape?

Understand the bloodline and genes of the parent fish

The head should be long and wide, the body height should be high and long, the tail tube should be wide and high, the dorsal bridge should be neither flat nor too high, and the overall proportions should be very smooth.

Texture:

When young, it does not need to be very red, but the red plate should be very thick and very clean, with orange-red as high grade (strawberry red).

The front fork should not be too long, the edges should be very smooth, and the white ground should be snow-white with a blue tint, representing thick white quality as the standard. If choosing Taisho or Showa, the sumi quality should mainly be blue sumi, avoid choosing pot-black sumi, which lacks brightness. The luster of the fish is very important.

Pattern:

A good pattern depends on personal taste, so it is difficult for us to make comments. However, we should say this: we should carefully consider what the pattern will become when the koi's belly grows. The pattern on a small koi with a heavy body may change as it grows. The pattern on a small koi with a light body may become sparse as it grows.