About Butterfly Koi
The butterfly koi, or dragon carp as it is sometimes called, is much like the traditional koi fish with one exception: their long, delicate, and flowing fins look similar to feathers. Traditional koi were first bred in Asia in the mid 1800's, but butterfly koi were not bred until the 1980's. Does this Spark an idea?
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Appearance
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The butterfly koi's first breeder, Wyatt Lefever, dubbed these fish "butterflies" because of their long, flowing fins that also have a metallic look to them. Like traditional koi fish, butterfly koi come in all different colors including white, yellow, orange, or a combination of these.
Expert Insight
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The butterfly koi is a hybrid of a traditional domesticated koi fish and an Indonesian long-fin carp. As such, there are some traditinal Koi keepers who reject it. Koi club USA claims that those breeders view the butterfly koi's decorative fins as "an eyesore" and "do not encourage the keeping or breeding of butterfly koi."
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History
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According to infokoi.com, Lefever's original goal was the create a tougher Koi. He had several rare long-finned Indonesian carps, and thought the interbreeding with traditional metallic-colored koi would produce the hardier fish. He achieved that goal, and the longer fins and colors were an extra.
Diet
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Like traditional domesticated koi, the butterfly koi most often eats underwater plants and roots. In captivity, butterfly koi are often fed dry fish pellets which contain many nutrients essential to the koi's diet.
Hardiness
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The butterfly koi are able to live in a variety of water temperatures, and as a result, they are popular in many different regions. It permits people in colder areas to have some kind of koi. The butterfly are also less prone to stress than traditional koi fish.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit koi 2 image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
