Assorted Japanese Koi Carp Cyprinus Carpio

Assorted Japanese Koi Carp Cyprinus Carpio Koi fish are a very popular species of carp that have been bred and kept as ornamental fish for hundreds of years. The koi keeping hobby dates back as far as 200BC when the Magoi carp (meaning ‘common carp’) was brought to Japan from China. The Magoi carp was originally bred as a food source, but people quickly started keeping them as pets once skin colour mutations began appearing naturally. It wasn’t until the late 19th century and early 20th century, however, that koi keeping became a popular hobby. Until then, only the richest aristocrats and royalty kept the Magoi carp as ornamental pets rather than eating them.  The koi keeping hobby as we know it started with the Asagi koi which was first recognised as an ornamental carp around 160 years ago. This koi was often kept by the carp farmers due to its interesting patterns and prompted the popularity of the hobby which led to all sorts of people keeping carp fish, not just the upper class. Shortly after the Asagi had become popular, other mutations in the carp began popping up and farmers began to keep more and more different carp fish.  Of course, at this point, the farmers decided to give these fish a different name to differentiate the pet Magoi carp from the Magoi carp for eating. Thus, the ornamental carp were named ‘Nishikigoi’ which literally translates as ‘swimming jewel’ and basically means beautiful fish. Over time, with more and more people joining the hobby, the word was shortened to ‘koi’ which is the commonly used word nowadays.