THE BUTTERFLY KOI STORY...

ididntdoit99

ididntdoit99
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I want one!

ps-56.jpg
 

fishin4cars

True friends just call me Larkin
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We have a yellow one that looks almost just like the top pic but yellow, It came from Blueridge Koi. have a white and black one but it doesn't have that scale pattern.
 

crsublette

coyotes call me Charles
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Very awesome. I've been wondering when the butterfly koi came about.

I've always preferred the butterfly instead of the standard-fin koi.

Thanks for sharing !!
 

ididntdoit99

ididntdoit99
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what would you call that thing if i was to search for one online? Well i guess in the spring i would have to find it, its a little cold now. i went to dealer locator on that site and it gave me one in cedar rapids, but after google searching, i found out that dealer has closed.
 
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Ididntdoit99, if you want to see lots of color variations and learn about them, go on Ebay and just search live koi or live butterfly koi. That's where I looked for fish for sale, then searched their color descriptions, and made my "cheat sheet" for the color names and descriptions. I still have a hard time determining most of the color names, as different people name fish the same color, when they look different!
I bought about 10 4-6" Gin Rins last December, and am thrilled with them! I have not lost a one, and am hoping someday to have some Gin Rin offspring. They do indeed look like "diamond" scales. Very shiny. In fact, when I look in my koi pond, I'm really happy with the color combinations I have acquired. The only fish that has been extremely hard to acquire is the Showa or Sanke, both of which are tri colored, and both of which are expensive when you locate a nice one!
Good luck finding a local breeder, but if you don't find one, remember this: With the gas prices, if you can find the colors you want, pay the $45 shipping and order several from the same breeder! I purchased from Next Day Koi and Fish Online R Us. I had very good luck with their delivery, and the fish. Good luck!
 

JohnHuff

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I bought a pair from Petco a few years ago. The first one died after a few weeks. The second one lived and thrived, becoming almost the biggest fish in the pond... until we went on a 5 day trip to Whistler, BC. When we came back, he was dead. I didn't see the body because my kids netted and buried him while I was taking a shower. They said that he had a scale missing and thought he was attacked by a bird. Our pond has netting on it, but it's possible that one got him in the cracks. I also wondered if they got hungry during the 5 days and started attacking each other. But our pond is heavily planted and I thought they could survive without the food.

Recently we bought a much prettier looking BK from a LFS. It was dark grey on top and white underneath with metallic looking scales. After a couple of weeks, he's almost turned completely black. One of my other koi, a metallic gold one turned black as well, and a very light colored creamy koi turned gold. Wonder why...
 
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When I was purchasing koi last fall, I had some help from a couple of the ponders on here, giving me pointers on ones I bought or was thinking of buying. The comments ranged from "that one will probably change quite a lot in the first couple of years" to "wonder if that one will stay that color". In other words, the ones I was choosing were colors that would likely move and change, although not completely different. So far, the only one I lost was one that had jumped out twice in the basement, and saved both times, but on the day that I was ready to move them, it was dead. All the others have thrived. I do see some of the colors changing, but for the most part, they have either remained as they were, or the one that I bought as a Platinum Ogon (solid white) Matsuba (that was the problem) has changed to the matsuba coloration being more prominent, and now looks more black than white. One that was all white with a yellow head they said the yellow would likely fade, which it has, but now it's a beautiful white butterfly, with a very pale yellow head, so that one takes the place of the white one purchased turned dark. A yellow Gin Rin is still beautiful, very yellow, and another yellow and white Gin Rin also has kept its coloring, which is a surprise, since yellow is usually not permanent, or changes to either darker or lighter.
Here is the yellow and white that has kept it's color nicely, Gin Rin.
Gin Rin yellow and white koi.JPG
On the top of the next photo, you will see the white with yellow head, yellow and white GR, and yellow GR. Also, my favorite (I know, not supposed to favorite any of my fish, they go missing ...) of that purchase was the tri colored one on the left - it was labeled Gin Rin Taisho Sanke. The beautiful red and white (with underlying black spots) was purchased last summer from RS Fish in Indianapolis, IN area. The gray looking fish in the foreground used to have red, but that coloring left already last year, keeping just a tiny spot or two, but has pretty scales.
Koi .JPG
In this next pic, the orange and black (top left) orange and white, solid orange with black scales on top (female) and Asagi (white/blue with red belly) were all purchased form RS Fish. The Taisho is in the pic, as is the white will yellow head "Angel". The one on the left just above Angel was purchased as a "Yamatonishiki Gin Rin". Not as shiny as the others, but loved the tri colors.
Koi 2.JPG
Lucy, the "red head" is pretty in this pic, as well as the Yamato is showing more shininess. There is also a Showa on the left side, looks mostly black, that has definitely changed colors from when it was purchased. It's also Gin Rin, regular fin. They yellow and white GR is easy to see it's GR scales, too. Taisho is at the bottom.
Koi 3.JPG
This last pic is really blurry, but got the orange and white butterfly GR in it. Can you tell I was focusing on butterfly and Gin Rin? LOL
Koi 4.JPG
 
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I don't have any koi myself, but IMHO I think butterfly koi are much more aesthetically pleasing fish to look at then regular koi, and yet they are snubbed as being second rate half-breeds among koi connoisseurs. If nothing else that tells me I could never make it as a "koi connoisseur". lol
 
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The white Koi has me drooling for one. The black koi in the upper left corner of the 4th picture, Just under the white with an orange spot. I loved the story and I buy my fish and pond supplies from one of the dealers on their list.
 
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ODL, that black koi you are referring to in Pic #4 above I purchased as a "Doitsu Ochiba". I got two that were similar. One thing I've noticed since purchase is that it no longer has the pure white pectoral fins like when first purchased. Here's what he looked like on-line when I bought it.
5 in Doitsu Ochiba NDK Dec 2011.jpg
I'll try to compare prev. pics that are on this page (easier to look back and see) with pics when I purchased the koi. This is the Taisho Sanke that I dearly love! Very long fins and Gin Rin at that! He/she has not changed at all. He's in the 2nd pic above on the left.
4 in Gin Rin Taisho Sanke.jpg
In the 4th pic above, top left corner, that is the Yamatonishiki Gin Rin. It's not as shiny as some of my other Gin Rins, but looked like this when I purchased. It has changed almost not at all.
4 in Yamatonishiki Gin  Rin FORU Dec 2011.jpg
This one was called a Lemon Hariwake. (My cheat sheet says "hariwake" means metallic white with orange, or in this case, yellow) It has remained pretty much the same, although the yellow on the head is very faint. It's the white one in the pics above, long flowing tails.
4.5 in Lemon Hariwake 2 NDK 120711.jpg
This one I'm very unhappy with how it has changed, but if I had paid closer attention to the description, I would have known. It is a Platinum Matsuba, and looked white, like this, when I purchased it. I so bad wanted a solid white, and got this one cheap. Well, now it's mostly very dark, although not black, with the Matsuba scales coming out. I don't think it's in any of my pics, usually stays low in the water.
5 in Platinum Matsuba FORU.jpg
And this is a Yamabukin Gin Rin, not positive but thinking the name has to do with yellow. Definitely a Gin Rin. It's in the 5th pic above. If anything it has gotten prettier.
5 in Yamabukin Gin Rin Ogon FORU.jpg
Sorry for the small size of the pics. I took them from the Ebay ads, so they are not going to get any larger when you click on them.
 
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I'm so hooked on this hobby! More than I could ever have imagined! I have always wanted/dreamed of living in a home with some land with ponds, near a lake/river, etc. Now I covet it, for a pond of koi and shubis. Off to check my lotto tickets.....
 

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