By Collin Hadsell, lead horticulturist. Photos by Kelly Levin.
I have learned a lot about koi fish over the last several years. When I first started working at Winterthur, I had no idea how to maintain a pond or keep decades-old fish alive—but through a little trial and error and a lot of reading and talking with enthusiasts, I am now an unofficial koi wrangler.
Here are a few fun koi facts that are often the topic of conversation with guests:
- Koi are a long-lived and hardy variety of carp that originated in Japan.
- They were originally bred in rice paddies and mainly used as a supplemental food source.
- They became widely popular ornamental pets in Japan in the 19th century.
- Our koi arrived at Winterthur in the early 1990s as a donation.
- Our mature koi range in age from five to about forty years old.
- They are cold-water fish and can survive the winters in our Glade Garden ponds (with a little assistance from bubblers).
- In the winter, koi go into a state of semi-hibernation called torpor.
- Their bright colors make them popular but also put them at a disadvantage with predators, as they are easy to spot. This is why there are so few small fry, which is the technical term for baby koi.
Their colors also symbolize luck, prosperity, and perseverance, and the koi at Winterthur—given their age, size, and strength to make it through every winter—lead me to believe these qualities are true.
Come visit the Glade Garden and check out our koi! And if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at chadse@winterthur.org.