Originally koi fish were only available in two colors when the Japanese first started to breed them. Over the years when they grew popular, a greater number of people bred them and they started to become available in more and more color variations and patterns. Today koi fish can be seen in many different colors including red, black, green, yellow and white. Click to learn more about koi fish information.

Being able to recognize the different varieties of koi fish is easier when you have an understanding of the various classifications that koi are grouped into. Each variety has certain standards but pattern diversity is acceptable in most varieties. There are a few immensely popular koi groups. Kahaku koi is one of the most popular varieties. These are white koi with red markings. Another popular koi variety is the Hirarimono or Ogon variety.

The first part of the word “Hikari” means metallic. The second part of the word “Mono” means single color. These koi fish are all one color. Ogon koi are also very metallic in appearance. They are most commonly available and seen in yellow known as Yamabuki Ogon and in the color white or silver which are known as Platinum Ogon. With an Ogon Koi their color will remain the same from their head to their tails and right to the very tips of their fins. With an Ogon koi you want one with large fins because they make the fish look more attractive thanks to the plain body.

White koi or Platinum Ogon are very unique and popular fish in the world of koi. Their bodies appear to shine with the same luster as precious metal. These unique and gorgeous koi fish first appeared back in 1963, probably from crossing Kigoi with the grayish-silver Nezu (short for the Japanese word for rat, nezumi) Ogon. They grow quickly and can survive in harsher conditions. They also look good in ponds that do not have effective filters, because of their coloration they stand out even inside the dirty water. There are other Ogon koi fish, such as the Nezu, Fuji and Orenji.

Most Platinum Ogon koi are bred with the Ginrin scales to make them appear even shinier. Ginrin scales are very different from those that are seen on metallic koi. Ginrin scales do not simply have reflective pigment that gives off a shine, they are instead covered in a reflective sheen that causes them to glimmer, they have been compared to diamonds. To qualify as Ginrin, the koi fish should have more of these scales than it is possible to count as it swims past the observer. As a rule of thumb, anything less than 20 scales is not good enough. Check out this koi fish website.

One of the biggest attractions to koi fish for people is how colorful they look in your pond, you can get koi in almost any color you could want. When viewed from the top, koi fish are able to show their best color. The majority of the fish’s pigment in on the top side of the fish. When koi fish are shown in events in Asia, they are always shown in round pools and are always viewed from the top.