Description
Ochiba Japanese Koi Carp Cyprinus Carpio
Ochibashigure (OOH-chee-BAH-shee-GORE-ay), often shortened to Ochiba (OOH-chee-BAH), is a brown or grey koi fish with an orange pattern reminiscent of a Kohaku pattern. The name translates directly as ‘leaves of Autumn in the water’ which compares the pattern colour to the reds and oranges of Autumn and the brown base colour to a typical Japanese mud pond, where koi carp are most commonly found.
The Ochiba koi was first bred in the mid-90s from a pairing of a Chagoi koi (a light brown koi that is very similar to a wild carp) and a Soragoi koi (a grey-blue single-coloured koi). The result was a koi with the grey-blue colour of the Soragoi, overlaid with a pattern in the colour of the brown of the Chagoi. Over the following years, the variety has been developed to develop the brown markings into a more bronze or orange colour, with both colours being very popular in the variety today.
One of the biggest draws of an Ochiba koi is in its personality. The Chagoi, in particular, is a very friendly koi, often greeting you at the pond and being easy to encourage hand feeding. By using the Chagoi as a parent koi for the Ochiba, the breeders have ensured that this new variety has the same fantastic personality as the Chagoi.
