Koi fish were originally bred, in the early 1800's, by the Japanese from the common grass carp. Officially called "Cyprinus Carpio" these large soft-finned freshwater fish have, through two centuries of cross-breeding and in-breeding of mutations, become "Koi".
The first Koi to be developed by the Japanese were the "Kohaku" (white body with red patterns). Today, there are various types of koi fish with thirteen official classifications of Koi. Each classification is based on color, pattern and/or scale type. The Koi in this photograph is classified as a Hikari Mono (one body color of white, yellow, orange or gray and, a metallic sheen).
