There is a lot to know about buying Koi fish for your pond, home, or even for breeding. Two of the questions you have to ask yourself before you can start looking at Koi fish is what are you looking for, and how much are you willing to pay? There are many different breeds and the kind you are looking for will affect the Koi fish price. There are even more things you need to consider like the quality and type of the Koi fish you are looking for.

Types of Koi Fish

​One of the most important questions to ask yourself before buying a Koi fish is the type of fish you are buying. The type of fish is shown by the coloring and pattern of the Koi’s scales. While all Koi are beautiful some types are more popular than others. Kohaku, over fifty percent pure white with the top half having a constant hue of red, Chagoi, a deep chocolate colored Koi fish with a friendly temperament and the ability to grow to unusually large sizes, and Ogon, a bright metallic colored fish that is sure to catch attention with one solid color covering the entire body with orange, platinum or gold, are some of the more popular Koi fish. These types of Koi fish are in higher demand than the less popular Koi fish types causing the Koi fish price to rise.

Quality

​The quality of a Koi fish depends on coloring, the crispness of patterns, size and personality. Quality really determines Koi fish price, prize winning Koi can be sold for not hundreds, not thousands, but hundreds of thousands of dollars! While you can’t expect to get you hands on one of those treasures, you can look for the biggest bang for your buck.

Coloring

​The purity and depth of color is extremely important specifically the purity of the whites, the depth of blacks, the even boldness of reds, and the lustier of colors such as gold and platinum. When looking for the right Koi for you look at coloring especially if you’re interested in breeding or showing your Koi.

Patterns

​Certain patterns are extremely desirable in Koi fish and will make the Koi price rocket. Watch out for lightning or unique patterns with crisp edges and a lack of blemishes or “dirty” heads or nostrils, and you might be looking at a very promising show or breeding fish worth more than others of lower quality.

Size

​Much like with sumo wrestlers, bigger is better when it comes to Koi. Size will have the biggest affect on Koi fish prices and is mostly decided by the age of the Koi, so if you’re looking to cut down on your spending you might want to look at younger Koi, the youngest can cost as little as three dollars! This option isn’t without risks though, the trick is you can’t tell the quality of a young Koi until its grown into adulthood, so this option might not de ideal for breeders or anyone who wants to enter their fish in competitions.

​There are also many places to get your Koi fish that will affect the Koi fish prices, you can get them from a breeder, which will assure you better quality but greater cost, or at your local pet store, which will leave the quality more to chance but at a much more affordable price. What your decision really comes down to, though, is what you like best, who knows you might be going home with a hundred thousand dollar fish!