Page 359 - Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish, 3rd Edition

KOI 357

KOI AND JAPAN
Most koi of Japanese origin command famous Matsunosuke line, a breeding line
premium prices in the international that has come to prominence since the 1960s.
marketplace, reflecting not only the individual There are often subtle but recognizable
quality of each koi but also the rigorous differences between koi of the same variety
selection procedures that breeding stock but from different breeding lines, not just
must meet in their homeland. Koi-breeding in in the appearance of the adult fish but also
Japan is still largely carried out by a number in the development of their markings. Kichinai
of well-known families who have koi- Sanke, for example, have a reputation for
breeding lines extending back over centuries; having very stable black (“sumi”) markings,
a chosen family name is now often included while the “sumi” patterning on a Sanke
in the name of an individual koi to indicate with Matsunosuke ancestry is a pale bluish-
that it has this ancestry. A Matsunosuke gray shade at first but subsequently
Sanke, for example, is developed from the darkens as the koi matures.

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