Black Koi

[NCDave]

This tiime last year, I noticed I had about 30 baby koi in my pond, and suspect the parents are a pair of black/orange koi about 10 inches in length, that I've had a couple years. Half the babies are very colorful, but the other half are solid dark greenish/black. A year has come and gone, they're now about 3" long, and the black are still black, with the exception that there seems to be a little greying now under their "chin". I keep hoping they'll change color. By this time next year, I anticipate I'll have to thin the herd, and the black, if they are still black, will be the first to go. You can hardly see them in the pond because of their color. Is it common for solid black Koi? Will they change color?

 

[Gemma]

This tiime last year, I noticed I had about 30 baby koi in my pond, and suspect the parents are a pair of black/orange koi about 10 inches in length, that I've had a couple years. Half the babies are very colorful, but the other half are solid dark greenish/black. A year has come and gone, they're now about 3" long, and the black are still black, with the exception that there seems to be a little greying now under their "chin". I keep hoping they'll change color. By this time next year, I anticipate I'll have to thin the herd, and the black, if they are still black, will be the first to go. You can hardly see them in the pond because of their color. Is it common for solid black Koi? Will they change color?

Hi and welcome!

I don't mean to question your knowledge, but I'm kinda puzzled on the size vs age of your koi! Are you sure they are koi and not some other kind of pond fish?
My koi grow over 10" in the first year.
To answer your question yes most koi do change color as they grow.

 

[Lisak1]

I was going to say the same thing - if they are koi, they should be larger after the first year. Do you have goldfish in your pond, too?

But don't discount the beauty of black koi. We had a lovely one that developed into a butterfly with long white fins. We were so sad when it died. I agree that you can barely see them, but it is kind of cool for them to appear like stealth fish out of nowhere! And traditional koi keepers believe every pond should have at least one black koi for good luck!

I do understand what you are saying though - if you have to take fish out of your pond, you do want to choose those that make you the happiest when you see them. Hopefully you can find new homes for them. Advertise them as lucky koi!

Welcome to the GPF by the way - go over to the new member area and introduce yourself and post some pictures of your pond. We love pictures!

 

[NCDave]

I've had both koi and shibunken, but pond only has one shibunken, and 3 koi (other than the tiny tots). Its possible I was sold a pair of something that isn't koi, the only pair in the pond are black/orange/white and about 10-12" long, purchased about 2 years ago at 6". If koi grow 10" first year, then apparently I've got something else. They're certainly colorful, sure look like koi .

not sure how to display photo, so here's link to photo of parent fish.... https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ao2Ixkf0saty_CVAMkpI1zFth2GS

 

[Gemma]

Cool fish!
It does look like it could be a butterfly koi, does it have barbels (whiskers on sides of mouth)?
One other thing I wanted to say is that I never had a 12" koi in my pond showing signs of sexual maturity, I'm not suggesting it can't happen, but I find it unusual

 

[Lisak1]

Ok - but did I just read in your other post that you have water that flows in and out of your pond from a natural source? Is it possible you brought fish in from your source water?

 

[Jhn]

Those babies could be koi, since fish in general grow at different rates. I have koi born in my ponds that are a little over a year old and only a few inches or so long.Then I have others that grew from an inch or so to a foot in a year.

 

[NCDave]

Here's a photo of my pond, unfortunately this time of year I spend a lot of time dipping out the leaves. I guess about 3000 gallons, using a waterfall pump buried in the rocks at the bottom of a stream nearby, then 1.5" pipe to the pond. It travels up through the handpump you see, then I cut a hold in the top of an old milk can to get the water into the pond like a waterfall. The excess goes out a spillway into a catch basin with a screne, and goes via 4" drain pipe back to the river.

 

[NCDave]

Here's one of my 14 or so colorful offspring. I'm pretty sure he's not a trout. I have ONE Shibunken in the pond, so really doubt that its a Shibunken. I really have trouble believing a koi can grow 12 inches its first year, that seems to me to be a stretch, but hey, I'm not a breeder. It could be 3000 gallons for 30 fish only 4" long may be too crowded?

 

[NCDave]

Here, I've figured out I can load up the photo of one of a pair that I suspect being the parents of all my little fishes. If it isn't a KOI, what might it be? Its about 10 inches, and I bought them as a pair about 2 years or so back, and they were about 4 inches when I bought them.

 

[Gemma]

An easy way would be to look at the mouth, do you see whiskers?
Koi have barbels!

 

[poconojoe]

I like what you did with the hand pump milk jar combo! Looks really nice!

 

[Lisak1]

You could very well have a shubunkin breeding with a koi, giving you mixed off spring. But yes, the best way to spot a koi is to look for the barbels next to the mouth.