Chagoi Grade A Koi Carp Cyprinus Carpio

Description

Chagoi Grade A Koi Carp Cyprinus Carpio

The Chagoi (CHAH-goy) koi, literally translating to ‘brown carp’ are an old variety of koi that look very similar to the wild carp. The word ‘Cha’ meaning brown comes from the word ‘Ocha’ which means tea and these koi were originally named Ochagoi due to their resemblance to the brown tea colour. Very quickly, however, the ‘O’ was dropped as the farmers put emphasis on the ‘chah’ sound, leaving us with the name we are all familiar with today. The Chagoi koi are typically referred to as the ’gentle giant’ as they tend to grow much bigger than other koi varieties and are very docile around people. They will typically come and greet you at the top of the pond, be willing to be touched, and will often encourage other koi in the pond to be more friendly. 

Many Chagoi koi, but not all, also have a reticulation pattern in their scales. Some koi keepers prefer the Chagoi to be a bit more interesting while others prefer to keep the variety natural and as similar to the wild version as possible. Therefore, both versions are still popular and therefore bred. This reticulation pattern is called fukurin (FOO-koo-REEN) and gives the fish a net-like appearance with each scale having a darker border. 

History of Chagoi

Chagoi koi were first bred in the Taisho Era (the period from 1912 to 1926 when Emperor Taisho controlled Japan). These koi were different from the many other varieties of ornamental carp as they were not bred specifically to create a variety of koi, or for a particular colour, pattern or even skin type. Instead, Chagoi were created accidentally from selectively breeding traits in the common carp that made them more valuable as food and easier to keep. That is, they bred the fish to be big as well as tame and friendly. With each new generation of Magoi (common carp), the farmers chose to grow on and breed only the biggest, friendliest fish and within only a few generations, the majority of fish born were lovely and tame. At this point, their colours had changed a little and they were significantly different from the wild Magoi in both size and temperament that they were often kept as pets and even sold as pets rather than as food. It was at this point that the variety was formally named the Chagoi.

As the years passed and more varieties were developed, it became clear that the breeding methods used to stabilise the varieties were having a negative effect on the size of the koi and the rate of growth. Koi that were significantly different from the wild koi, such as Doitsu koi, typically grew a lot slower and rarely reached the same size as Chagoi koi. Even today, almost all the prizes for the largest koi go to Chagoi koi and the variety has the largest percentage of Jumbo koi (koi from a good bloodline of larger fish).