Japankoi Hirasawa color mix - Cyprinus Carpio - 13-15 cm

Brocade carp (Cyprinus carpio) are also called koi, after their Japanese name Nishikigoi. These Japan Koi come from one of the Koi strongholds in Japan, more precisely, from the breeding of the Koi Farm Hirasawa in the Japanese province of Niigata. Here you buy a colorful mix of different 13-15 cm long Koi color forms, all bred by the renowned Koi Farm Hirasawa.

Koi, which belong to the carp fish, live to an astonishing age. The colorful gentle giants can live up to 60 years. During this time they grow to a length of up to one meter and reach a weight of well over 25 kg. The colorful brocade carp are peaceful and sociable pond fish that should only be kept in the company of other koi - it doesn't matter what colors, patterns or fin shapes the conspecifics in the pond have. Therefore, nothing stands in the way of a colorful troop of the pretty carp.

A good group size for the beginning is 5 Koi. Make sure that all are about the same size, so that no one is oppressed. In sufficiently large ponds, other fish go very well with this koi group: rudd, roach, gudgeon, moderlieschen or gudgeon. Not optimal is the association with more lively by-fish. For example, sturgeons can disturb the koi sensitively during hibernation.

Koi grow really big over time and have an active metabolism, you should take this into account when planning your pond and choosing a pond filter . A koi pond without a powerful pond filter often does not run stably.

The garden p ond for koi must be sufficiently large and should ideally be built in a semi-shaded location and not in full sun. Because the koi should ideally spend the winter in the pond, a koi pond must be dug out to a depth of at least 130 cm. Only then will the pond water not freeze through to the bottom of the pond over the winter. Overwintering koi in a frost-free cold-water aquarium is very time-consuming as the pond fish grow larger, so a frost-protected pond is a much less stressful choice for both the fish and the pond owner. A koi pond should have at least 5000 liters of pond volume for a starting group of 5 koi. For each additional koi, you will need to plan for another cubic meter of pond volume. If you have enough space in your garden, you should plan your pond so that you still have a buffer for new additions.

Keeping koi in your garden pond becomes easier with the right accessories: an oxydator for garden ponds provides sufficient oxygen in the hot summer months and reduces germ density, while an ice freezer in winter ensures that the water surface does not freeze completely and that some gas exchange can still take place. A protective net keeps hungry herons away from your Koi pond.

If you are creating a new koi pond, make sure the pond banks are steep so that your koi have more swimming room. Koi like to eat away at aquatic plants, so be sure to add new plants to your pond from time to time. Water lilies, by the way, are not quite as readily eaten by the curious pond fish.

With a properly planted shallow water zone adjacent to the deep part, you elegantly avoid this problem, because larger koi cannot reach the plants here. A nicely planted shallow water zone promotes the decomposition of pollutants and supports the pond filter, as does a reed belt. This way you can easily prevent algae plagues in the pond.

The combination of high quality food, a powerful pond filter and good planting ensures that the water in your koi pond remains healthy and clear.

Koi can reproduce in the garden pond. Young koi like to stay in the plants of the shallow water zone to avoid being eaten. Koi females spawn on aquatic plants or on spawning brushes and mops, to which they attach their more than 500,000 eggs. If you want to raise as many young koi as possible, you should move some of the spawn to a large cold water aquarium. If you don't want to breed koi on a large scale, however, it is usually sufficient to rely on the shallow water zone. A few fry always come up here. To increase the yield, place the egg spawning brush in the shallow water zone so that the fry can hatch immediately in a protected environment.

Koi are omnivores. They eat worms, crustaceans and insect larvae that they dig out of the pond mud, as well as plants and algae. They will also readily accept a high-quality ko i food. When fed, koi can even become downright tame. Always give only as much pond food as the fish will eat in about 5 minutes. In winter, pond fish do not need extra food.

Here you buy a Japankoi Hirasawa. The color form is selected by us depending on the stock - so you buy here a beautiful, randomly selected color form. 

Possible are the following varieties: Tosai, Kohaku, Sanke, Showa, Hi Utsuri, Yamabuki, Kujaku, Chagoi, Mukashi Ogon