Koi Types

THE Directory of Koi Varieties

Koi are a big part of Asian culture, but in the last few decades, the hobby of Koi keeping has spread across the world. Listed below are every original kind of Koi. Each variety usually has a Doitsu (scaless) version and a Gin Rin (sparkly) scaled version. These variations will be added as soon as we get a good photo. Click on each photo for a description of each variety.

Gosanke

These three are the most popular in Japan, the Kohaku, the Showa, and the Sanke.

Kohaku

Sanke

Showa

Bekko

The colored Koi with a black pattern..

Shiro Bekko

Ki Bekko

Aka Bekko

Utsurimono

The black Koi with a colored pattern.

Shiro Utsuri

Ki Utsuri

Hi Utsuri

Asagi

The blue/grey Koi with a red pattern.

Asagi

Shusui

Tancho

The Koi with a pattern only on their Maruten spots.

Tancho Goromo	Tancho Goshiki	Tancho Kohaku
Tancho Kujaku	Tancho Sanke

Hikarimono

The metallic Koi with only one color for a pattern.

Nezu Ogon	Orenji Ogon	Platinum Ogon
Yamabuki Ogon

Goromo

The Koi that have black shading over their patterns.

Ai Goromo	Budo Goromo	Sumi Goromo
Goshiki

Hikarimoyo

Koi that have metallic patterns.

Kin Showa	Kujaku	Yamato Nishiki
Doitsu Hariwake	Kikusui

Matsuba

These Koi have a grey shading pattern on their scales.

Shiro Matsuba

Aka Matsuba

Kawarimono

These Koi don't fit into any other classification.

Ochiba Shigure	Kumonryu	Beni Kumonryu
Benigoi	Karasugoi	Haijiro
Aka Haijiro	Chagoi	Kigoi
Midorigoi	Soragoi

Where did all the Koi on this page come from?

Believe it or not, Koi are actually color-mutated food carp! Many years ago, the rice farmers needed
a source of protein during the long and harsh winters in Niigata. They would keep the carp in ponds
and grow them until they reached about 6 inches in size. Then the rice farmers would catch the food
carp and would salt them so they wouldn't go bad during the cold winter months. The farmers noticed
that some of the carp had different colors, so they kept these out and bred them together. Fast forward
a couple hundred years and now there is a vast array of colors! (Please Note: A common misconception
is that the rice farmers would put the carp in their rice paddies. This is untrue, for the carp would
have destroyed their crops! Consider the way Koi like to tear apart potted water gardening plants!)