A Week In The Life Of A Koi Farmer (WC 15_12_25) - Christmas and New Year period
The Run-Up to Christmas at Byer Koi Farm
Life at Byer Koi Farm during the off-season is certainly less hectic, but it’s by no means quiet. As we approach our most heavily stocked period of the year, day-to-day husbandry takes priority. Regular weekly routines sit alongside those once-a-season jobs — major filter clean-downs, system checks, and getting on top of general site maintenance — all of which are essential as we head into winter.
Over the last two years, we’ve fundamentally redesigned the way we breed and rear our koi. This has involved rethinking our processes from the ground up and, in many cases, investing in new equipment and infrastructure. Like many businesses, we’ve had to adapt quickly to a changing landscape, particularly with electricity costs — our single largest overhead — having almost tripled in an incredibly short space of time.
The result of this work is a more efficient and productive setup. We now require additional polytunnel space for breeding and fry production and no longer rely on the natural ponds. Over the autumn, one of our largest site projects has been the removal of the outdoor ponds to make way for new polytunnels. Groundworks for both are now complete, and once erected, they will double our fish house capacity. Whether they go up for the coming season or the one after is still to be decided, but the foundations are firmly in place.
We’ve come through this period of change leaner, more efficient, and better equipped to offer an improved range of koi for our customers — a genuine win-win all round.
As we head into the festive period, the our shop is now closed until the New Year, allowing us time to focus on winter routines and preparation for the season ahead. You can still reach us during this period on the phone, or via email / WhatsApp.
You can always Check our opening hours and location - on Google Maps here: Adam Byer Koi Farm Location & Opening Hours
We do, however, have an online release scheduled for Boxing Day, which we’ll be sharing more details on shortly. Quarantine for the newly imported Japanese koi from my recent trip to Japan is progressing very well, and we’re looking forward to introducing this exciting new stock early in the New Year.
Tosai Selections
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been carrying out our latest round of tosai selections. This stage of the process closely follows the traditional Japanese approach to koi farming. The next selection will take place in around eight weeks’ time, and we’ll continue on this cycle through to spring. Each round allows us to prioritise tank space for the best-quality koi, ensuring that everything we offer meets our standards.
Our 2025 spawnings have once again produced an excellent batch of koi. There’s a strong range of doitsu metallics, including Beni Kikokuryu, Doitsu Kogane Ochiba, and Aragoke. We’ve also had a very successful Ki Utsuri spawning. In addition, our Yagenji Karashigoi female produced not only a wide range of Karashigoi colour types, but also some unexpectedly high-quality Chagoi — a very welcome bonus. As you’d expect, they’re all growing exceptionally well.
Tosai Range for Spring 2026
Alongside our own breeding programme, I’ve also secured a carefully selected range of Japanese tosai to strengthen our offering for spring 2026. Some of these were chosen during my trip to Niigata in November and are already in quarantine here at Byer Koi Farm.
These include both scaled and doitsu Lemon Hariwake — a variety customers frequently ask for — so when I spotted the right fish in Japan, I didn’t hesitate. Further selections from other trusted farms are due to arrive in January and will be fully quarantined before being released alongside our own tosai in the spring.
This combined approach will extend our range to include Gin Rin Go-Sanke, Doitsu Go-Sanke, high-quality Showa and Kohaku, Hi Utsuri, and even Kin Showa.
Butterfly Koi (Read On at Your Own Risk 😉)
For those who appreciate butterfly koi, we’ll once again have a strong offering next season. A larger selection of the popular varieties from Yamazaki — which proved very popular last year — will be arriving, giving anyone who missed out another chance.
In addition, we’ve acquired butterfly koi from Suda, the other longfin breeder in Niigata. These fish bring a different mix of varieties, meaning even more choice for butterfly koi enthusiasts. As before, these will be run as small tosai in the spring, with nisai releases planned for the autumn of 2026.
Coming Up on Boxing Day – Online Koi Release
We’re currently preparing an online release of nisai koi scheduled for Boxing Day, Friday 26th December. This includes a pond of higher-quality Japanese tosai imported early in the summer — many from Yagenji’s final tosai selections — which have since been grown on and are now ready.
The group includes a strong showing of Gin Rin Showa (perhaps more seasonal than expected!), alongside Koshiji Shiro Utsuri, Yagenji Goshiki, and several other varieties. One Byer Koi Farm–bred Doitsu Ochiba has also made its way into this pond, but aside from that, the fish are all Japanese imports.
I took a series of video clips during the harvest and have edited them into a one-minute overview showing the koi harvested and planned for the Boxing Day online release.
Prices start from £75, with a strong selection available at both £75 and £125. The larger nisai are priced between £195 and £295.
