Beni Kikokuryu – Aokiya Koi Farm
Beni Kikokuryu adds red ('beni') to the Kikokuryu's black and platinum, for a striking three-color metallic.
Origin and history
It belongs to the Hikarimoyo, metallic koi with two or more colors in a pattern. This group was created from the 1960s onward by crossing Ogon (metallic) koi with patterned varieties. It is judged separately from the metallic Utsuri and Showa. Kikokuryu was developed in the 1990s by Seiki Igarashi.
Color and pattern
Doitsu platinum skin with bold, flowing sumi and an added red pattern, and a clean row of dorsal scales. The colors can shift with temperature and age. The red can be unpredictable as the fish grows and the water temperature changes.
In your collection
Patterned metallic koi combine the visibility of an Ogon with the interest of a pattern. They look striking from above and from the side, and they hold their own in deeper water where non-metallic colors can fade from view. Judges look first at luster, then at how clearly the pattern reads through the sheen.
What collectors look for
- Deep, even red
- Dark sumi
- Bright luster
- Straight dorsal scales
