Butterfly 'koi' are they koi????

[D@z]

Here in the Uk these mutants turn peoples stumachs, they are classed pretty much as deformed monstrosities by most people I speek too and yet in the US you people actually seem to like them.

Do you think they have the right to be called koi or if people insist on keeping them alive, should they have a name of there own and be kept a separate entity??

My opinion is probably obvious by now, I find them hideous and offensive and an insult to real koi, what do you think? and why do you think they are accepted in the US but hated in the UK??

[dick benbow]

sounds like a perefctly innocent thread with nothing inflamatory in it contents
<grin>

I can't speak for either side. I don't love em or hate em. I accept the fact that
some people like em. I've never owned one. Yet I can see the beauty and grace in them.

I quess that';s the beauty of our hobby, lots of opportunities to find your own
enjoyment. Some are attracted by shows. others by a water garden situation.


I have several good friends from the UK, all of which are pretty passionate into
show koi and bonsai. As a whole i think the hobby of koi in the UK is still a bit a head of us in the USA.

Will be interested in hearing from others

[mulberryjen]

Here's a link to an article about the origins of butterfly koi, if interested:

http://www.koistuff.net/butterflykoi.html

When I first got into the koi hobby about 4 years ago, I was attracted to the solid colored butterflies (black or platinum) b/c they reminded me of images of the mythical pheonix bird when they swam. After keeping koi for awhile, I began to feel that they distracted from my true koi and were not pleasing to me anymore. I kept a black butterfly that is currently about 16" for sentimental reasons. You don't really notice her in the pond until feeding time.

All strains of koi have been manipulated by humans to produce various qualities deemed desirable by individual breeders geared towards groups of hobbyists. I would be going out on a limb to say that many people early in their koi-keeping careers may be attracted to butterflies but change later on after learning more about the hobby. Of course, that would be strictly conjecture.....

It seems to be a matter of personal taste and where your focus is in the hobby. Personally prefer "normal" koi, but as Dick stated, can see an elegance to some of the varieties of "dragon koi."

[Nishi8]

......................

[Fishbreeder]

The reason so many longfins are owned by water gardeners is that they tend to be hardier and more forgiving than koi. They adapt well to a wide variety of habitats, not all of which koi would thrive in.

Fine fish they might be, beautiful, graceful, even imposing, but they cannot be "koi" as koi do not have long fins.

Koi, common river carp, and longfins are all the same species (Cyprinus carpio) but common river carp are not koi or longfins, koi are not common river carp or longfins, and longfins are not common river carp or koi.

Popular with many, and even beginning to get some definitions as to what a "show quality" longfin is, but no matter how refined they might become, they won;t be koi.

[Nishi8]

.................

[jnorth]

My wife really likes them for some reason. I keep them in a seperate pond.

[MikeM]

Brett has it right.

They are more appropriately called Butterfly Carp. But, we still make room for them at koi shows.

[keokoi]

I have seen them qt'ed.. They are hardier as heck.. Suprisingly the fins hold up real well too..

[Tom C]

If you got to a water garden shop in the US they will tell you they are the #1 sellers. I see more are coming out of Japan now. I wouldn't be shocked to see even more in the next few years. Longfin's are here to stay like it or not.

My wife has one in our pond. It will be the next inline to go. When we have people out, it seems to catch everyones eye. I just can get into them anymore.

When people ask if that's a koi I say it's a longfin. Most of the time I don't say it's a longfin koi, just longfin.

Tom