5 Interesting Facts About Koi Fish in Japan 關于日本錦鯉的5個有趣事實

1. Koi fish farming has a long and impressive history.

錦鯉養殖有著悠久而令人印象深刻的歷史。

Koi fish is what we would call a “happy accident”. In the 1600s， Japanese carp hobbyists began noticing an unusual fish.

Laura Hilstrom is Head of the Department of Herpetology & Ichthyology at San Diego Zoo in California， USA. She said， “The most popular koi fish today are actually domesticated carp.” Black carp originated in China and was first bred because of the red mutation （recorded around AD 720）， which was? developed into several varieties of goldfish. Then the colorful variations of the black carp were noticed by the Japanese emperor and nobility.

While koi fish were originally raised for sale， like all other carp species， farmers began keeping them as pets in the 1800s， thanks to their unique looks. In the 1900s， farmers bred koi fish in the US， UK and other European countries. By the 1960s， koi fish were considered to be coveted pets all over the world.

Hilstrom explains， “The Japanese call colorful carp nishikigoi， which means ‘brocaded carp. These nishikigoi varieties are known in the West as koi. Koi fish became popular in Japan in the 1820s and then popularized all over the world in the early 1900s after taking part in an exhibition in Tokyo， Japan. Since then， it has become popular farmed fish.”

錦鯉就是我們所說的“快樂的意外”。17世紀時，日本的鯉魚愛好者開始注意到一種不尋常的魚。

Laura Hilstrom 是美國加利福尼亞州圣地亞哥動物園爬蟲和魚類學部門的主管，她說：“如今最受歡迎的錦鯉實際上是馴養的鯉魚。”青魚起源于中國，最初是由于紅色鯉魚變異（約公元720年）而來，后來發展成為幾個品種的金魚。后來，日本天皇和貴族注意到這些顏色各異的青魚變種。

和其他種類的鯉魚一樣，錦鯉最初是用來出售的，但由于它們獨特的外表，養殖者從19世紀開始將它們作為寵物飼養。20世紀初，美國、英國和歐洲一些國家的養殖者開始養殖錦鯉。到了20世紀60年代，錦鯉被全世界的人視為夢寐以求的寵物。

Hilstrom 解釋道：“日本人把彩色鯉魚稱為‘nishikigoi，意思是‘錦緞鯉魚。這些錦緞品種在西方國家被稱為‘錦鯉。錦鯉在19世紀20年代風靡日本，20世紀初在日本東京參加展覽后風靡全球。從那時起，錦鯉就成為受歡迎的養殖魚。”

2. Koi are not fussy eaters.

錦鯉不挑食。

There are many reasons for koi fish to be great pets. Heres one of them： They are not fussy about food. Koi fish are omnivorous， from snails and insects to algae and plants—they even gnaw on fruit.

But if you are keeping koi as a pet or youve seen them on display， you probably know that there is a kind of food to meet their nutritional needs. The food is designed to be floating for fish to emerge from the water to feed， making viewers enjoy watching.

Also， these “beautiful swimmers” dont eat often. “No need to feed them for weeks; they will eat algae on the wall，” Taro Kodama， president of Kodama Koi Farm， said. “So you dont have to worry about them while traveling.”

錦鯉成為受歡迎的寵物的原因有很多，其中一個原因是它們對食物不挑剔。錦鯉是雜食性魚類，從蝸牛、昆蟲到藻類和植物，它們都吃，它們甚至還會吃水果。

但如果你把錦鯉當寵物養，或者你在展覽上看到過它們，你可能知道有一種食物能滿足它們的營養需求。這種食物可以漂浮在水面上，這使得魚兒從水里出來覓食，讓觀眾享受觀看的樂趣。

而且，這些“漂亮的游泳者”并不經常吃東西。“幾個星期不喂它們，它們會吃墻上的海藻。” Kodama Koi農場的農場主Taro Kodama說，“所以，你在旅行時不必擔心它們會餓肚子。”

3. Koi fish have many colors.

錦鯉有許多顏色。

Red is the characteristic color of koi fish， but it is not the only color. There are actually many different types of koi fish in all colors， including orange， yellow， black， white and blue. “There are over a hundred varieties of koi， but they are all carp， just different in appearance，” Kodama said.

紅色是錦鯉特有的顏色，但不是唯一的顏色。事實上，有許多不同類型的錦鯉，它們的顏色也各種各樣，包括橙色、黃色、黑色、白色和藍色。Kodama說：“錦鯉有一百多種，但它們都是鯉魚，只是外表不同而已。”

4. Koi fish is quite big.

錦鯉的體型相當大。

Koi are quite large fish and need a lot of space. With proper care， koi fish can grow in length from 0.6 to 0.9 meters. Some varieties， like Chagoi， can be larger， up to 1.2 meters long.

錦鯉是體型相當大的魚，它們需要很大的空間。如果照顧得當，錦鯉能長到0.6米到0.9米長不等。有些品種，如茶鯉，體型可能更大，長達1.2米。

5. Koi fish can stick around for a long time.

錦鯉可以存活很長時間。

Most koi fish can live to be about 20 to 30 years old， and believe it or not， it has been reported that some have lived for more than 200 years.

大多數錦鯉一般能活到20多到30歲，信不信由你，據報道，有些錦鯉已經活了200多年。

Word Study

domesticated /d?'mest?ke?t?d/ adj. 馴養的

fussy /'f?si/ adj. 挑剔的

gnaw /n??/ v. 咬;啃;嚙

appearance /?'p??r?ns/ n. 外貌;外觀;外表