The highest quality fish were selected from the initial spawning and grown to maturity. We would have to wait two years to find out. However, we were also worried that these hybrids may be sterile, as is often the case when crossbreeding two species. We were ecstatic at the commercial possibilities of this new type of koi. Kikokuryu is the newest variety that we are in the process of developing. Male and female Kikokuryu butterfly breeding pair. We realized that we had some diamonds in the rough, and a great name to market them under. While admiring them in a small show pool one day, Randy LeFever (now the co-owner and president of Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery) exclaimed, “They remind me of butterflies”. Some of them had the long fins, coupled with a luminous, metallic glow that could be described as “pearlescent”.

A small percentage of them turned into beautiful fish with bright, vibrant color and long, flowing fins. Ultimately, we decided to allow the hybrid fish to remain in the pond until the end of the growing season, another fateful decision.Īs they grew larger, some very interesting fish began to appear in the mix. Amid our disappointment, we discussed culling the entire pond and putting it to better use. However, at only a few inches in length, they looked mostly like wild carp with long fins. The offspring proved to be very strong and grew rapidly. We eagerly awaited the spawning and subsequent hatching of the hybrid fry. Two female long-finned carp were placed into a two-acre production pond with two of our best Gin Rin Ogon male koi. But what would happen if we crossbred them with our existing koi stock? Could we transfer their fin traits to produce colorful koi with long and flowing fins? We decided it was worth a try. We were still convinced that there was no commercial value in their current state. Each of them had grown tremendously, now weighing between six and eight pounds each. Two years later, we had only four of the original fish left. What a fateful decision that turned out to be. However, we decided to place them in a protected pond and grow them out to maturity.

Seemingly, no one knows the origin of these fish, their exact species, or how they acquired the long fins.Īlthough they were interesting, we did not see any commercial value in these fish. We have since learned that these fish came from a feral population of carp that inhabited the ditches and canals of Indonesia. The dozen fish in the box were not koi at all, but appeared to be wild carp with long, flowing fins and a simple gray or brown color. We placed an order and waited anxiously for our new koi to arrive. On right, premium select grade butterfly koi, selectively bred over the course of two decades. On left, fish that resemble the original Indonesian long-fin carp.

Butterfly tail goldfish standard