A Bright Future for Taiwan’s Koi
This article, published by the Taipei Times reveals a bright future for Taiwan’s Koi industry and even said to be challenging the Japanese.
Koi are brightly colored fish that swim in fresh water ponds and park lakes. For further studies, you can view Koi closer by using battery powered microscopes. They adorn hotel gardens and ponds in shopping malls. These koi are not naturally occurring species. In Japan, where they are called nishikigoi, it is a national fish that had been specifically bred from common carp over a century ago.
The article explains that the common carp came from Asia Minor, a large neck of land that is located in between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. From there the carp arrived in China before it was exported to Japan during the Tang or Song dynasty. The Japanese that reside in the mountain regions of the Niigata Prefecture in Honshu were said to be the first to successfully breed koi in 1804 to 1829. Remember that they bred Koi using their own knowledge and without any help from specialized equipment such as battery powered microscopes.
Only in 1948, however, did the Kinginrin koi, a fish with bright golden or silver colored scales make its popular debut. After this, koi breeding became a serious industry. The fish was very well-liked due to its ability to reflect light in water. When combined to breed with other koi, it produces beautiful offspring.
Eventually, the Niigata region was the main international center for koi breeding in Japan. Sadly, the area was devastated with an earthquake that registered 7 on the Richter scale. After suffering a series of aftershocks, the Niigata area became a damaged region, greatly affecting the Koi industry. It is projected to take several years to recover.
A koi’s age can be as long as a human’s. In its first year, it can grow lengthwise to about 40cm. After that it grows about 10cm every year. It said to reach maturity in its 3rd year, where it can be as long as 80cm. They are omnivorous meaning that they eat any kind or many different kinds of food, including both plants and animals. In Taiwan, koi breed all through February to June every year. The female koi can carry and lay about 200,000 eggs, from which only around 10 eggs will be selected for future development as koi farm. View how these eggs look like magnified using battery powered microscopes.
Koi breeding can attract many beneficial financial returns for its breeder. The article states that a good quality, mature koi can earn more than NT$1 million in Taiwan. A mid-sized two year old with a length ranging from 40cm to 50cm may vary in price from several thousand and can fetch to about NT$20,000. However an average but quality bred koi can cost only about a few thousand NT dollars.
A retired business man and koi lover based in Taiwan, Chan Ming-te, raises 300 koi in his backyard and highly praises them. According to him, the koi are smart fish.
Taiwan’s koi industry, compared to Japan, is only in its baby steps. It was believed that only the rich and powerful kept koi and was a symbol of wealth and prosperity. But now that koi is so easy to breed, because of the favorable weather and advanced technologies, it is made available to everybody in Taiwan.
The article also includes the different classes of koi as they are known in Japan. Original article