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A Glossary of Koi Terms

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aka

朱

red, crimson, scarlet

doitsu

独

German (Deutsch) -- in koi this refers to a fish that is smooth skinned except for a row of scales on either side of the dorsal ridge, and a row of scales on the lateral line on both sides of the fish. These type of koi were developed by cross breeding German carp with the Japenese koi.

gin

銀

silver

ginrin

銀鱗

silvery reflective scales

go

五

five

goshiki

五色

five-colors; a five colored koi

hi

火

fire; in koi this refers to the red markings

kin

金

gold

ogon

gold

orenji

orange

san

三

three

sanshoku

三色

three colors

showa

昭和

The Showa era (1926-1989)

showa sanshoku or showa

昭和三色

A black koi with white and red markings

shusui

秋૒

A german scaled asagi.

taisho

大正

The Taisho era (1912-1926)

taisho sanshoku or sanke

大正三色

A white koi with red and black markings

tancho

丹頂

A single red marking on the head, prefferably circular.


All Text and Images Copyright © 1999 David Wittler/Kristina Moeller
All Rights Reserved.