Koi fish are expensive.
But Why? What makes them special? These questions always bothered me.
Then one day I watch a documentary on Youtube about breeding and rearing Koi fish that made everything clear. After that, I have never questioned the high price of Koi fish.
Today I will discuss what I have learned about Koi fish that makes them so expensive.
Table of Contents
Why Koi Fish Are So Expensive
Breeding Quality Koi Requires Knowledge and Expertise
Breeding normal Koi is easy. But when you want to breed quality Koi, the task is not easy.
Breeding show quality Koi knowledge and years of expertise and only a handful of breeders have that. Therefore, the supply of good Koi is not abundant like other fish and that makes them expensive.
Koi Fish Are Selectively Breed
Good Koi fish isn’t a result of random breeding. Because if you breed them randomly, you will not get the desired color and pattern in the offsprings.
Parents Koi are selected after close observation. The expert breeder uses their knowledge to select only a small number of Koi as parents.
Not All Koi Fry Are Raised To Adult
For each 1 kg of body weight, a female Koi can lay up to 100,000 eggs. Although the hatching rate is high, not all the Koi fry are selected.
When Koi fry is about 1 inch in size, they are sorted by the breeder. A fry is only selected when the breeder notices some good indication of color and pattern. In this process, only 2% to 5% fry is selected for special care.
Koi Need Quality Food To Grow Big
From the barth of a Koi fry to its adult age, it needs quality food to grow big. Quality food is also necessary for good color.
The breeders use quality food ingredients in the proper amount for the Koi diet which helps them gain weight.
But the growth of Koi fish greatly dependent on natural food. As Koi fish are omnivorous, they feed on both plant and animal organisms. Therefore, the pond should have enough supply of both of these for the Koi.
Koi Fish Need A Lot Of Space To Grow Full Size
Koi fish aren’t densely populated like other commercial fish ponds. Selected youth Koi fish are transferred to the large natural pond and the population is kept very low.
This ensures a peaceful growth environment and enough natural food for all the Koi. Supplementary food is also given.
Koi Farm Maintains Strict Bio-Security
A Koi breeder may compromise for the price of his Koi, but never for the biosecurity of his farm.
The hatchery maintains a very strong bio-security protocol and this costs money. The same goes for the ponds. Most of the cases, these ponds are in remote places where there is a very low chance of getting contaminated with pathogens.
Koi Fish Are Imported
Almost every quality Koi fish is from japan. Buying a Koi fish from japan and air shipping it to your country to increase the price.
In addition, the importer has to pay a good amount of import tax. As a result, Koi can be twice expensive in your country than in Japan.
The Middleman Of The Industry
The price of a Koi fish goes up due to the middleman in this industry as they always want their profit margins to be high. I’m not being offensive to them. But it is true that they are the one who brings these awesome Koi fish to our doorsteps.
If you directly want to buy Koi from a Japanese breeder, you will still need a middleman for a good negotiation with the breeder.
Special Koi Fish Can Be Expensive
Apart from all of these, some Koi fish can expensive unexpectedly. Show quality Koi are expensive due to their special color, marking and pattern.
The Most Expensive Koi Ever
A female Koi fish name S Legend is the most expensive Koi till now. It was sold for £1.4 million.
S Legend is a Kohaku verity Koi that means she is white and orange-red in color and measures 3 feet 3 inches.
