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Friday, August 16, 2013

Butterfly Koi - A Unique Fish

The Butterfly Koi is a beautiful fish with long flowing fins that look a lot like the wings of a butterfly. Although this fish has only been around for about 30 years, the Koi fish has been in existence since the 19th century. The Butterfly Koi is a hybrid fish so many breeders do not consider it to be a Koi.

The Dragon carp, Longfin Koi and Butterfly Koi started to be sold in the 1980s when they were sold in pet shops as aquarium fish. The appearance of the new types of Koi differed from the traditional Koi by the types of scales, the color, and the patterns. Their biggest difference was the extremely long, flowing fins.

Originating in Japan, Koi is sometimes called a goldfish. This is because the Koi and the goldfish are both descendants of the wild carp. However the origin of the goldfish was China. In Japan, Koi means carp and Nishikigoi is the proper name for the Koi as we know it.

People have different stories of where the Butterfly Koi came from. The breeders say that it is a hybrid that came from mixing a typical Koi with a kind of Asian carp, such as the Indonesian long fin carp. There has also been the suggestion that Butterfly Koi came from breeding goldfish and Koi but this is untrue.

Butterfly Koi are patterned just like the regular Koi and come in many different colors. Breeders are constantly working on trying to come up with different color combinations for Butterfly Koi.

The smaller versions of the Butterfly Koi are great for keeping in aquariums however, they are far better suited for a pond. They can grow to about 3 feet long. These fish are easy to take care of and are not aggressive. If you put plants in your aquarium, make sure they are the type that will hold up to being nibbled on by the Koi. If you put larger gravel or stones around the bottom of the plants this should protect it from getting eaten by the Koi that reside in your pond.

As well as looking different to ordinary Koi fish, Butterfly Koi are tolerant to and more resistant to disease. This has made this beautiful fish a very popular choice in the US Market.

You can find out more about Butterfly Koi and where to buy them at Everything Koi

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