Koi Farms

There use to be over 600 Japanese koi breeders in Japan who worked hard to breed beautiful Nishikigoi. But as the industry grew and the demand for high quality koi rosed many Japanese breeders could not afford the expansion. Listed below are a handful of the most prominent Japanese koi breeders today.

Japanese Koi Farms:

Aokiya Koi Farm
Mr. Haruo Aoki is located in Ojiya-city, Niigata. Although he breeds other koi varieties he was most notable for his Kikokuryu.

Koi Variety -- Page 1 of 14

(1) Kohaku

Kohaku is a white koi with red (hi) or beni markings. This is the most common variety and most major koi show winners are picked from this group. The hi should be deep red with well defined edges (kiwa) where it meets the white which should be pure and bright.

Tancho Kohaku is a white koi with a red spot on its head. Make a note tancho marking is not limited to just kohaku. You can find it on sanke, showa and many other koi varieties too.

Inazuma Kohaku (lightning strike) has a continuous red marking from the head to the tail, but with many variations.

Nidan Kohaku is koi fish that has two red (hi/beni) markings.

Sandan Kohaku is a koi that has three red (hi/beni) markings.

Yondan Kohaku is a koi that has four red (hi/beni) markings.

Godan Kohaku is a koi fish that has five red (hi/beni) markings.

Kuchibeni kohaku (lipstick) is koi fish that has a red (hi/beni) on the mouth. Very attractive for many new koi hobbyist.

These photos are for general guide only. It does not include every koi type listed above.

What are the quality levels for koi?

Pond Quality

Pond quality Koi can be purchased at local pet shops and breeders. Mostly this type of Koi is bred locally with a mixed blood line and no previous record. Often it is not known who did the breeding and most are not suitable for competition. However, they are very inexpensive to buy and enjoyable in the pond.

Ornamental Quality

Ornamental Koi are not bad quality. They may have been bred from good quality parents, have good blood lines, good conformation, and beautiful color. The only difference between ornamental and show quality Koi is the pattern. In most show quality Koi, the very important in addition to the body conformation, skin, edge of pattern and evenness of color. Some ornamental Koi may even be used as breeding parents.

Show Quality

There are many requirements to be considered when selecting show quality Koi. They should have good body conformation. Good shiny skin. Sharp pattern edge. Evenness of color in the pattern. Overall well balanced patterns.

The experts consider bloodline to be an extremely important element and are sure that most show quality Koi are bred from parents with a good blood line. -Gratn Fujita - Associated Koi Clubs of America

Koi Bloodline

How important is bloodline?

Lineage can and does play an important role in the development of a koi-- it's color, body conformation and patterns. For example, you just bought a 30cm koi and you hope it will become a champion someday. There are no guarantees but what tilts the scale in your favor is it's lineage--bloodline.

That is why a koi from a good bloodline is more expensive then one from an unknown or unproven bloodline.

However you should be aware that famous breeders and bloodlines can be overused and abused, and they most certainly have been here in the United States. Therefore you should always investigate before you buy.