Colors and Patterns of Koi

Colors of Koi Fish:

        When you look a Koi fish carefully, you also notice  how intense the colors of the Koi fish are. You’ll also want to inspect the pattern. Obviously, the Koi's color should be bright. 

       According to koi experts, the koi's pattern should "tell a story." I've never discovered exactly what story these patterns should reveal, but I've always looked for patterns that align themselves with the standard descriptions as closely as possible.

       

 

        
        You’re probably wondering how judges decide this category. Oh, they have their ways! Let’s take the color red. If your fish has red and is in the show, the judges will take a good long look at it. It should be bright, for one thing like blood or a juicy ripe tomato.'

        And so it is with the color black. The fish should be as deep a black as possible. No mistaking any black spots with gray. Whites need to be a snowy clean white, not a dirty, drab gray. And the metallic sheen to you

koi must be clean and shining brightly.

Patterns of Koi Fish:

        When deciding on the patterns of Koi, this is where several meanings evolve depending on what variety of fish you’ve chosen. An azuma  lightning pattern was all the rage nearly 20 years ago. This made the Kohaku and the Sanke (which actually has three colors red, white and black) very popular.

        The number and shapes of those islands of color and pattern are important and are quite evident when it comes to buying koi. Meaning, you’ll feel it in pocket book! Along those same lines, you want the color of Koi to be distinct, no “bleeding” as koi keepers say. Red is definitely red and black is noticeably black. The colors’ “margins” as they are called, need to be distinct and obvious. You don’t want someone looking at your koi trying to decide if it has a red mark or an orange one.

Definite Markings of Koi:

        You also want a very clear line where one color ends and another begins. The last thing a judge wants to see is fading or bleeding from one color to the next. Small,indefinite markings or tiny dark specks are not viewed favorably.

        The balance or distribution of that color and the pattern is also important. While you’re looking at a koi, draw an imaginary line down the mid-line of it from above. Draw another imaginary line intersecting the first line roughly in its middle.

        These are the four distinct quadrants of your koi. Using this exercise, you will be able to visualize what I’m about to talk about a little easier. When assessing the distribution of color and of pattern of the Koi, there really are no strict mathematical formulas.