# Koi colouring



## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

I'm usually on shelled, so bear with me please and hope someone can help.
I have some koi in my pond, but mainly goldfish. Last year I bought a white koi so that me grandaughter (with impaired vision) could see it. Within a few weeks it had reverted to bronze/black and she couldn't see it. I went back to the aquatics place and got another silver white one and a multicoloured one, sanke. The white one has stayed white this time but the multicoloured one has changed to a mucky grey colour with a black blob on one side of face. Does anyone know what is going on here? I regularly flood the pond to give a partial water change but recently it's rained so much I haven't bothered, could this be anything to do with the coloured one fading? I've never had this before, could it just be a poor supplier. The others are fine and the goldfish are breeding well. 
Thanks in advance


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

A full colour change in koi like that is a bit unusual!! 

I would definately be testing your water and getting a closer look at the fish to see if they look healthy...

I would also be very wary of using rainwater as the source for the pond, it will vary from area to area but in 100% pf the cases i have seen with customers suddenly having problems out of nowhere, its the customers who have just allowed the rain to top up their ponds. And when I test the water, the PH has come out at around 6 (worryingly low, it should be about 8.2 at least and certainly no medications or treatments work below a ph of 8!) and the KH has tested very low as well. This might be a location thing as our tapwater ph is 8.5 so the best thing these customers could do was a waterchange and top up with the hosepipe! In nearly very case, if the waterchange alone didnt sort problem, the rise in ph allowed the correct treatments to work!

I would also ring the shop you got the fish, dont sound accusing or angry... just ask to speak to someone who deals with the koi and ask them what it could be.They might have a better answer!

If you can get photos of said fish then we could have a look as well, net them out to get a photo or pop them in a white or blue bucket or something.


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## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

How big is the pond? What are its dimensions and how is it filteted? Water parameters are also needed as it sounds stress related.


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Mynki said:


> How big is the pond? What are its dimensions and how is it filteted? Water parameters are also needed as it sounds stress related.


 
It's around 12ft x 6ft and 4ft deep. It's on a biological filtration system that goes through a reed bed, with additional airation from the pump. It's been fine for 9 years and it's only the latest additions that seem affected for some reason. They are still feeding and swimming as normal.


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Moogloo said:


> A full colour change in koi like that is a bit unusual!!
> 
> I would definately be testing your water and getting a closer look at the fish to see if they look healthy...
> 
> ...


If you saw the big one that used to be white, you would swear it was just a normal ghost koi (the bronze variety) and the other one is just a grey colour, but behaving normally. I asked the people at the fish centre and one of the assistants said it was because they didn't buy exensive stock and several of the white ones change colour. Will have a go at photos, but it's not going to be easy on my own lol. 
Thanks for the replies


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## Jimmyjayz (Mar 20, 2011)

Sounds like ghost carp more than quality koi tbh


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Jimmyjayz said:


> Sounds like ghost carp more than quality koi tbh


 
Yes, I would say so looking at it and if I hadn't seen it change colour with my own eyes would think someone swapped my lovely white koi for a substandard one lol It might sound daft, but is there a way of making them appear white for sale? Nothing would surprise me nowadays, it would be a bit sad if so though.


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## Jimmyjayz (Mar 20, 2011)

Wizzasmum1 said:


> Yes, I would say so looking at it and if I hadn't seen it change colour with my own eyes would think someone swapped my lovely white koi for a substandard one lol It might sound daft, but is there a way of making them appear white for sale? Nothing would surprise me nowadays, it would be a bit sad if so though.


Well you can get silver ghost koi which can change dramatically more like goldfish wonder if that's what they sold you


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Jimmyjayz said:


> Well you can get silver ghost koi which can change dramatically more like goldfish wonder if that's what they sold you


LOL, knowing my luck that is what they did, they didn't charge ghost prices though. I bought it for my granddaughter who is sight impaired as I thought she would be able to see it better than the others. I bought her another small platinum one that has retained it's colour but not grown so quickly - do the ghost ones tend to grow quicker. I'm no expert on fish as you can see


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## Jimmyjayz (Mar 20, 2011)

No reason they should but tbh I think they do (thinking back to the vats at work)


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## Devi (Jan 9, 2011)

Pictures might help identify if you have any?


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Devi said:


> Pictures might help identify if you have any?


I know, I know, I'm doing my best!


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

Matsukawabake Koi species can change colour from white to black according to temperature/water quality etc.

Or you may have a hybrid carp specis that has reverted to wild colours..

Go and buy an Ogon. Stays nice and light and get really friendly.


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## Lucky Eddie (Oct 7, 2009)

Caz said:


> Matsukawabake Koi species can change colour from white to black according to temperature/water quality etc.
> .


And so do kumonryu (the doitsu version).

They tend to stay whiter in soft water. Hard water tends to cause the sumi (black bits) to develop, even in multicoloured varieties like sanke and showa.

Get yourself a nice white ogon, as the previous poster said. They wont change colour.


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Lucky Eddie said:


> And so do kumonryu (the doitsu version).
> 
> They tend to stay whiter in soft water. Hard water tends to cause the sumi (black bits) to develop, even in multicoloured varieties like sanke and showa.
> 
> Get yourself a nice white ogon, as the previous poster said. They wont change colour.


 
That's very interesting, thanks. I used to have an ogon, it was huge and then a friends horrible child threw a bucket of food in there in icy weather unbeknowns to me. I think it was the nearest I came to commiting murder - lost all of my koi  Child wrote an apology letter, but too little too late  Interesting, we have very hard water here, so will be changing that very very soon.


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Just bear in mind most of the fish prefer the water on the hardr side...

Not only that but if the water isnt hard enough, medications and blanketwed treatments wont work as they are designed to work within a set range.


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## Wizzasmum1 (Feb 8, 2012)

Moogloo said:


> Just bear in mind most of the fish prefer the water on the hardr side...
> 
> Not only that but if the water isnt hard enough, medications and blanketwed treatments wont work as they are designed to work within a set range.


 
Thanks, will bear that in mind


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

No problem Sue.


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## royalgecko (Jul 31, 2012)

Fish do odd things. stress can make them loose their colour and so can keeping them in the dark for a while as aquarium fish keepers may have seen when they first put the lights on in the morning. When fish have just been in transit or just imported they are stressed and some may seem colourless until they settle in and then show their true colours. Black in fish especially koi is dominante and most koi as they grow sometimes get black spots apear it seems out of nowhere. A white koi with light grey patches normally turn out to be bekos or utsurimonos (black and white) as the get older. There is a disease called black spot which fish can catch very similar to the dreaded white spot aquarium fish keepers are aware of, but is rare. Doitsu koi as someone mentioned are scaleless koi and in my oppinion have more vivid colours especially the metalics. Have a read up on chagoi koi they grow big quick and you can tame them easily if bribed with food. Other fish soon catch on and come to the surface aswell as their big fat chagoi friend keeps eating all the food and they want in on the action , ideal for your daughter  bring the fish to her.


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