Concept

Koi

Summary
Koi, or more specifically nishikigoi, are colored varieties of the Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of C. rubrofuscus kept for ornamental purposes. There are many varieties of ornamental koi, originating from breeding that began in Niigata, Japan in the early 19th century. Several varieties are recognized by the Japanese, distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Some of the major colors are white, black, red, orange, yellow, blue, brown and cream, besides metallic shades like gold and silver-white ('platinum') scales. The most popular category of koi is the Gosanke, which is made up of the Kōhaku, Taishō Sanshoku and Shōwa Sanshoku varieties. Carp are a large group of fish originally found in Central Europe and Asia. Various carp species were originally domesticated in China, where they were used as food fish. Carp are coldwater fish, and their ability to survive and adapt to many climates and water conditions allowed the domesticated species to be propagated to many new locations, including Japan. Natural color mutations of these carp would have occurred across all populations. Chinese Jin Dynasty (fourth century AD) texts mentioned carp of various colors. The oldest mention of colored carp in Japan is found in the Japanese history book Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) completed in 720. According to the Nihon shoki, it is recorded that Emperor Keikō praised colored carp in a pond in the Mino region in 94 and that Emperor Suiko saw them in the garden of Soga no Umako's residence in 620. Carp were first bred for color mutations in China more than a thousand years ago, where selective breeding of colored varieties led to the development of the goldfish (Carassius auratus). The Amur carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus) is a member of the cyprinid family species complex native to East Asia. Amur carp were previously identified as a subspecies of the common carp (as C. c.
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