5 Interesting Facts About Koi Fish in Japan 关于日本锦鲤的5个有趣事实

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

錦鲤养殖有着悠久而令人印象深刻的历史。

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.”

锦鲤就是我们所说的“快乐的意外”。17世纪时，日本的鲤鱼爱好者开始注意到一种不寻常的鱼。

Laura Hilstrom 是美国加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥动物园爬虫和鱼类学部门的主管，她说：“如今最受欢迎的锦鲤实际上是驯养的鲤鱼。”青鱼起源于中国，最初是由于红色鲤鱼变异（约公元720年）而来，后来发展成为几个品种的金鱼。后来，日本天皇和贵族注意到这些颜色各异的青鱼变种。

和其他种类的鲤鱼一样，锦鲤最初是用来出售的，但由于它们独特的外表，养殖者从19世纪开始将它们作为宠物饲养。20世纪初，美国、英国和欧洲一些国家的养殖者开始养殖锦鲤。到了20世纪60年代，锦鲤被全世界的人视为梦寐以求的宠物。

Hilstrom 解释道：“日本人把彩色鲤鱼称为‘nishikigoi，意思是‘锦缎鲤鱼。这些锦缎品种在西方国家被称为‘锦鲤。锦鲤在19世纪20年代风靡日本，20世纪初在日本东京参加展览后风靡全球。从那时起，锦鲤就成为受欢迎的养殖鱼。”

2. Koi are not fussy eaters.

锦鲤不挑食。

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.”

锦鲤成为受欢迎的宠物的原因有很多，其中一个原因是它们对食物不挑剔。錦鲤是杂食性鱼类，从蜗牛、昆虫到藻类和植物，它们都吃，它们甚至还会吃水果。

但如果你把锦鲤当宠物养，或者你在展览上看到过它们，你可能知道有一种食物能满足它们的营养需求。这种食物可以漂浮在水面上，这使得鱼儿从水里出来觅食，让观众享受观看的乐趣。

而且，这些“漂亮的游泳者”并不经常吃东西。“几个星期不喂它们，它们会吃墙上的海藻。” Kodama Koi农场的农场主Taro Kodama说，“所以，你在旅行时不必担心它们会饿肚子。”

3. Koi fish have many colors.

锦鲤有许多颜色。

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.

红色是锦鲤特有的颜色，但不是唯一的颜色。事实上，有许多不同类型的锦鲤，它们的颜色也各种各样，包括橙色、黄色、黑色、白色和蓝色。Kodama说：“锦鲤有一百多种，但它们都是鲤鱼，只是外表不同而已。”

4. Koi fish is quite big.

锦鲤的体型相当大。

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.

锦鲤是体型相当大的鱼，它们需要很大的空间。如果照顾得当，锦鲤能长到0.6米到0.9米长不等。有些品种，如茶鲤，体型可能更大，长达1.2米。

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

锦鲤可以存活很长时间。

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.

大多数锦鲤一般能活到20多到30岁，信不信由你，据报道，有些锦鲤已经活了200多年。

Word Study

domesticated /d?'mest?ke?t?d/ adj. 驯养的

fussy /'f?si/ adj. 挑剔的

gnaw /n??/ v. 咬;啃;啮

appearance /?'p??r?ns/ n. 外貌;外观;外表