Koi keeping began in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan in the 1800's. Hobbyists all over the world keep the Koi fish in ponds. Koi fish are friendly and will even eat food from your hand.
The rice farmers noticed that some of their food carp had patches of color. The separated these colored carp, the precursors to Koi, and started selectively breeding them to bring out their colors. Fast forward a couple of centuries and you've got all of today's varieties like Gosanke, Bekko, Utsurimono, Asagi, Tancho, Hikarimono, Goromo, Hikarimoyo, Matsuba, and Kawarimono. Find out more in the Koi Types Section.
April 18th, 2011 - Added Showa to the Koi type section
April 7th, 2011 - Added article on How to Quarantine a Koi
March 18th, 2011