Koi Varieties

What makes koi varieties different from common koi?

Here at Swell UK, we sell two different types of koi fish – koi varieties and common koi. Our koi varieties include those that carry Japanese names, such as Kohaku, Showa, and Tancho, and have been specifically bred for their colours and patterns. Our common koi, on the other hand, include those that are more commonly found in aquatic stores across the UK, such as metallic, ghost, and butterfly koi. All of our koi fish come from trusted livestock distributors who specialise in raising healthy koi.

What’s the typical lifespan of koi carp?

Most koi fish live for 25-35 years, provided they’re properly cared for and kept in a suitably sized and well filtered environment. It’s not unheard of, however, for koi fish to live for more than 50 years, which makes them quite the commitment! To make sure your koi fish live long and happy lives, you should feed them quality pond fish foods, treat them with koi-specific medicines if they ever fall ill, and use nets and other deterrent devices to protect them from common pond predators, such as herons and domestic cats.

What should I feed my koi carp? And how often?

There’s lots of different pond fish foods that are suitable for koi fish, but the best are those that have been specifically formulated with koi in mind. These specialist koi fish foods are designed to boost your koi’s size, enhance its colours, and supports its immune system. We recommend that you feed a variety of koi fish foods to make sure your koi fish get all the vitamins, minerals, and trace elements they need. We also recommend you feed them little but often – e.g. 2-3 small pinches of food daily.

How large do koi carp get?

As adults, koi fish reach sizes of ~90cm. Some may grow larger, however, so it’s important that you take that fact into consideration before you buy your koi fish. At the end of the day, koi are large fish and therefore need to be kept in large garden ponds capable of holding thousands of litres of water, rather than hundreds. We recommend roughly 1,000L of water per koi fish – but more water volume is always better than less. You should also make sure your garden pond is equipped with a powerful pond filter as koi are very messy fish!