Butterfly Koi Fish: The Ornamental Elongated-Finned Koi Fish!
Having Koi fish among garden ponds and aquariums is among todays popular options when it comes to fish pets. Many breeds and varieties of Koi fish are now widely available in most continents especially in the United States and Japan. Koi fish, which originally came from China, is a type of fish that is being considered as the carp fishs domesticated and ornamental variations.
Among the most popular varieties of Koi fish is the butterfly Koi fish. This is a variety of Koi that was developed from the Indonesian carp and distinctive of their long tails and fins; hence, they are called Longfin Koi or Long Fin Koi. This type of Koi is also known as dragon carp.
History of Butterfly Koi Fish
The butterfly Koi fish, which is notable for its elongated fins, was first introduced in the mid-20th century. It was the result of Koi fish breeders effort to create a variety of Koi with increased hardiness. A notable Koi fish breeder named Wyatt LeFever have interbred a traditional metallic-colored Koi with a Longfin river carp from Indonesia. The result was a Koi fish with longer fins, pompom nostrils, with long barbells and hardier than the traditional Koi.
LeFever called them butterfly Koi fish because they have a trait that looks like butterflies. It was then known in Japan as onagaoi or sometimes as hire naga Koi which means Long-Tailed Koi in English. Thats why Buttefly Kois are also popular as Longfin.
Butterfly Koi as Ornamental Fish
Nowadays, the Butterfly Koi fish is among the most famous and top choice when it comes to ornamental fish. Thats largely because of their beautiful traits. They have pretty, long and flowing fins that have feather-like appearance. Aside from that, this Koi fish have appealing pectoral, dorsal, caudal, and ventral fins.
Just like traditional-finned Koi fish, butterfly Kois also came in gorgeous scale patterns, colors and metallics. Hence, they were named by the Chinese as the swimming flowers and by the Japanese as the living jewels. But, the most notable characteristics of butterfly Koi are its hardiness and its ability to endure cold temperatures as compared to traditional Koi fish.
Butterfly Koi and Koi Fish Breeders
Despite the appealing beauty of the Butterfly Koi fish, however, they are not very popular among the many Koi fish breeders around the world; this is especially true among traditional Koi breeders. As for these breeders, the Butterfly Koi fish is an inferior breed of Koi and they dislike them. For this very reason, some retailers of Koi fish dont have Butterfly in their inventories. Also, many popular and trusted Japan breeders seldom breed Butterfly Koi fish.
Butterfly Koi Fish and Japans Competitive Judging
The attitude of many traditional Koi breeders may also be the reason why Japanese Koi competitions have disallowed the Butterfly Koi to be included in competitive judging. According to them, Butterfly Koi cant be classified the way a traditional Koi fishes are. This is because they have set criteria that are specifically designed for judging Koi and that butterfly is not a likely candidate. The following is among the criteria.
vThe Fins Relationship to the Kois Body For most Koi competition, the fin-to-body ratio is very important and a butterfly exceeds that ratio by at least 500%-1000%.
vThe Conformation of the Koi Fish Most Koi experts believe that for a Koi fish to qualify in a competition, it should be oval in shape and the butterfly are slender in nature.
vThe Differences of the Body Patterns Butterfly Koi fish have different patterns from traditional Koi and these patterns are also rather important in a competition judging.
But no matter what, some Koi lovers are still appraising Butterfly Koi as among the most beautiful breed of Koi. Thus, if you want your ponds or aquariums to have great-looking ornamental fish, the Butterfly Koi fish is a great option.