4^th October 2021 Dr Beena

Hello everyone. Today I am writing about Koi fish.  My neighbour and good friend Mrs Elizabeth Tang painted this beautiful picture of koi fish. She used watercolour and negative painting techniques. To write this story, I did some research and came across some interesting facts about koi.

Koi is a short form of Nishikigoi. They were breeding them in the 19th Century in Niigata, Japan. They are coloured variants of the Amur carp. They were aquacultured in the 5th century BC in China for food.  In 1914, the world became aware of these vibrant fish at an annual exposition in Tokyo. They have become collector’s items with the most expensive carp sold at $2Million in 2018😊.

They are resilient fish and live up to 200 years. The famous scarlet koi, named Hanako, lived up to 226 years, with the last known owner in 1974.   The growth rings on the koi’s scales will determine the age. Unfortunately, many do not live that long as they are vulnerable to virus infection. Israel is the only country that vaccinates its Koi fish. The vaccines have a 90% success rate😊. Now we are familiar with vaccines and success rates:). It is interesting when we wish to preserve life, we humans leave no stones unturned😊.

I suppose koi brings us a sense of peace. Many find gazing at an aquarium very therapeutic. Hence in the spirit of creating peace and harmony, koi have been able to achieve that goal. Many indoor and outdoor ponds cultivate them. We are mesmerised by their moments of silence. It is meditative and, I can assure you the drawing the koi picture using the negative technique does bring a sense of serenity.

Until the next musing, I hope to hear your thoughts on serenity and about koi. I never knew vaccines were used on koi😊😊.