Koi have been reported to achieve ages of 100–200 years. One famous scarlet koi named "Hanako" was owned by several individuals, the last of whom was Komei Koshihara. In July 1974, a study of the growth rings of one of the koi's scales reported that Hanako was 226 years old.
There has been reports of koi living to 100–200 years—the oldest koi ever documented lived to be 226 years old. Water quality, nutrition, and preventative health care can help improve koi fish lifespan.
Koi are beautiful and long-lived fish, living up to and past 100 years in optimal conditions. In domestic ponds, they typically live around 15 to 30 years. Japanese koi often live 40 years or longer. The oldest koi fish on record was around 200 years old!
Mature Adult Stage (3–10 Years): Adult koi reach their maximum size and develop full color patterns, typically measuring between 20–36 inches depending on genetics and care. A high-quality diet with varied nutrients supports health and color vibrancy.
Sansai (SAHN-sigh) - A koi between 2 and 3 years old. Sanshoku (san-SHO-koo) - A three coloured koi such as Showa Sanshoku. Shimi (SHIM-ee) - Small black dots or speckles up to the size of a single scale.
You won't be able to tell an exact age unless you look at nitty-gritty details like the size of the koi's ear bone or number of tiny rings on some of its scales. When you buy koi from Splash, we can tell you that our smallest koi are probably around a year old, and koi labeled as medium are about 2-3 years old.
It is believed that the oldest-known koi lived to be nearly 230 years old; the age was determined by testing the fish's scales, which produce growth rings much like a tree.
A cross between a single-coloured metallic koi (Ogon) and a standard domestic Common carp, Ghost koi get their name from the coloured highlights on an otherwise dark body.
Despite their differences, koi and goldfish can usually live together in peace, with a few precautions. Koi will not actively hunt goldfish, but they will swallow anything that fits in their mouths – including baby or tiny fish that swim within reach.
The happiest Koi live in a pond with an excellent filtration system that provides clean and oxygenated water. Healthy water matters. Koi fish are social creatures, but mostly they just want to be in clean water and eat good food.
Quick Answer: Koi carp prices vary greatly, from under £10 for small, common fish to over £50,000 for exceptional show-quality specimens with top bloodlines.
Koi fish eat anything, from small bugs and insects, to plants and algae at pond bottom. Of course, they also eat fish food bought from the store, and fish supplements as well. If you forget to feed them, they can generally get by on existing plant and animal matter in the pond for a while.
Did you know that Koi can recognize their owners, respond to their presence, and even enjoy being touched or petted? Some koi fish even learn to eat from their owner's hand!
A later study estimated Granddad to have been 109 years old at the time of his death. Genetic testing was performed on Methuselah in 2023 to estimate her age by measuring DNA methylation from a sample of her fins.
The price range for koi fish is, well, pretty broad: It starts at around $10 for a juvenile fish and scales to over $20,000 for an adult, show-quality, Japanese koi fish.
Strikingly like us, koi are equipped with a long-term memory and they also have the same senses that humans do. Not only are Koi great at remembering faces but they can even recognize their own names – try it at home!
Jumping or rubbing against pond edges: These behaviors can indicate that your koi are trying to escape a stressful environment or relieve irritation. Changes in physical appearance: Look for bloodshot or ragged fins as indicators of stress.
It is said that you can calculate their age by analyzing their scales. You probably know that you can estimate the age of tree by counting its cambium layers, and you can also use the same method for Koi. Koi's scale has certain lines, and you can find out their age by analyzing those lines.
Around late spring to early summer, koi and goldfish start spawning. As the fish spawn, they reproduce thousands of eggs. Only a few of them survive and become baby fish. Koi are known for scattering their eggs and depositing them on the pond floor or in plants.
The rarest type of koi fish is the Kōhaku Tancho, prized for its pure white body and a single red spot on its head, symbolizing the Japanese flag and rarity. Discover the beauty and rarity of the Kōhaku Tancho, the rarest type of koi fish with its pure white body and iconic red spot.
As a rule of thumb if you work on the basis of keeping 55cm of Koi per 1000 litres of pond water, and your filtration is of adequate size then this will be a good starting point.
Pond fish like koi and goldfish are hardy and can survive winters as cold as 32°Fahrenheit. For them to stay in the pond during winter it needs to be at least 2 feet deep with proper aeration.
