A Week in the Life of a Koi Farmer (WC 09_03_26) – Small Koi Mixes and a Look Ahead to Kohaku Week

Last week was a busy one here at Byer Koi Farm as we began moving the first batches of our small koi mixes into the sales room and preparing them for the new season.

These early spring releases always feel like a turning point in the year. After the quieter winter months — when our work focusses on production and quarantining new arrivals — the farm begins to come alive again as customers return to visit, browse the tanks, and start planning additions to their ponds for the season ahead.

The response over the past few days has been fantastic. Saturday in particular was extremely busy, with many customers visiting the farm to select koi from the new mix tanks.  Amanda and I always enjoy seeing returning customers and catching up their koi, and also welcoming new customers who are visiting Byer Koi Farm for the first time.

Because of the strong early-season demand, from this week onwards we’ll be opening the shop on Fridays as well as our usual Saturdays and Sundays, giving customers a wider choice of days to visit the farm.

Many of you have already been selecting koi in person, while others have been exploring the mix options online ahead of the website listings.

You can see the current small koi mix options available here:

https://www.byerkoifarm.co.uk/collections/small-koi

Looking Ahead: Kohaku Week at Byer Koi Farm

With the first of the small koi mixes now moving through the sales tanks, our attention this week begins to turn to one of the most iconic varieties in koi keeping — Kohaku.

Over the coming days we’ll be preparing a large group of individually selected Kohaku ready for one of our Friday night online releases at 8pm. These will span a wide range of sizes and price points, from accessible starter fish under £100 through to higher quality specimens comfortably over the £1000 mark.

Alongside the koi release, I’ll also be publishing a new Kohaku variety guide here on the blog, taking a closer look at what defines a good Kohaku and what to look for when selecting one for your pond.

Kohaku.

If you had to choose a single variety that defines Nishikigoi, it would almost certainly be Kohaku.

Kohaku remain one of the most studied and appreciated varieties in koi keeping, with subtle differences in skin quality, pattern balance and body structure often separating good fish from truly exceptional ones.

The simple combination of snow-white skin and deep red pattern has captivated koi keepers for generations, and the very best examples remain some of the most sought-after koi in the world. This is also why Kohaku became an early focus for us as I was developing as a koi breeder, and success with our Kohaku on the koi show circuit has certainly played an important part in the development of Byer Koi Farm over the years.

Over the course of this week we’ll be preparing a large group of individually selected Kohaku ready for release.

These koi span a wide range of price points — from sub-£100 starter fish through to high-quality specimens over £1000 — giving customers the opportunity to select a Kohaku suited to almost any pond or budget.

All of these koi will be individually photographed and catalogued on the website.

Friday Night Online Release – 8pm

As many of our regular customers now know, we release individually listed koi online in Friday night drops at 8pm.

This week’s release will focus on Kohaku, with a strong mix of sizes, bloodlines and price points.

The idea behind these releases is simple:

At 8pm the koi go live on the website, and customers can browse through the listings and select the fish they like.

For those planning to visit the farm, it’s also a useful preview of what is currently available.

From Japan to the UK – Selecting Kohaku

Some of the higher quality Kohaku in this week’s release were selected during my most recent trip to Japan.

One of the farms we visited was Marujyu, well known for producing excellent Kohaku with strong body and classic patterns.

Here is Tanaka Shigeyoshi, who now runs Marujyu Koi Farm, showing us some of the best koi at the farm when we visited last November — including this superb, full-bodied Kohaku. Marujyu is operated by three brothers. When they began working at the farm, each focused on developing particular varieties, with Shigeyoshi taking responsibility for the Kohaku breeding programme.Today he leads the farm, continuing the work started by his father.

Marujyu is always one of my favourite stops when I visit Niigata.  I have purchased koi for the shop, and also koi to use as breeding stock from Shigeyoshi over the last few years.

On this last trip it was time to focus on Kohaku, which you can imagine was a particularly exciting part of the visit.

During the selection process I picked out nine high-quality Kohaku, discussing each fish with Shigeyoshi as we went. While I was selecting based on the traits I prioritise — body first, followed by skin quality and colour, and finally the pattern — his deep knowledge of the farm’s bloodline was invaluable in helping to identify koi in the ponds that best matched those characteristics.

Standing over the mud ponds or selection bowls, you’re looking for the subtle details that hint at how a koi may develop in the future — the quality and lustre of the skin, the depth and consistency of the beni, the balance of the pattern, and the underlying body structure that will support the fish as it grows.

I mentioned the visit briefly in Day 1 of my Japan trip blog, which you can read here.

Marujyu’s Kohaku bloodline traces back to Sakai, and that heritage shows strongly in the body shape and skin quality the farm is known for. I also find the beni (red) colour at Marujyu particularly attractive — typically a mid-range tone but very bright and clean. Hopefully you can see some of those qualities coming through in these videos.
These koi are now available to view here at Byer Koi Farm.

While some of the Kohaku we’ll be releasing this week — including these larger koi from Marujyu — sit at the higher end of the quality spectrum, we’ve also prepared a wide range of Kohaku across more accessible price points, including high-quality Marujyu tosai.  Watching a well-selected young Kohaku develop over time is one of the most rewarding aspects of keeping this variety.

A New Kohaku Variety Guide

Alongside the koi release, we’ll also be publishing a new in-depth Kohaku variety guide on the website.

This guide will explore:

• What defines a high-quality Kohaku

• How Kohaku patterns are judged

• Key Kohaku bloodlines

• What to look for when selecting a young Kohaku

• How Kohaku develop as they grow

For newer koi keepers, Kohaku are often the perfect starting point when learning about koi appreciation.

For experienced hobbyists, they remain one of the most fascinating varieties to study.

Prepare yourself for a hugely in depth guide - 25-30 min read.

See all our koi variety guides on the website here.

Visit the Farm

The sales room is now open again with our full 'koi season' hours, and customers are very welcome to visit and select koi directly from the tanks.

As always, we’re happy to talk through the different varieties and help you choose koi suited to your pond.

Due to the strong early-season demand, we have extended our opening days to include Fridays, in addition to our usual Saturday and Sunday opening.

The sales room is now open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

This Week at Byer Koi Farm

So the plan for the week ahead looks something like this:

• Preparing a large group of individually listed Kohaku

• Publishing our Kohaku variety guide

• Friday night online Kohaku release at 8pm

• Koi shop open this week, Friday - Saturday , 10-5pm

If you enjoy following what’s happening here at the farm, keep an eye on the blog — we’ll be sharing more updates as the week unfolds.