Koi: Living Jewels of the Orient

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Company: Barron''s Educational Series

Description

In Japan, breeding koi—a colorful and beautiful member of the carp family—has occupied a position between hobby and art form for more than two centuries. This stunningly illustrated book, compiled by a team of koi experts, shows and tells aquarium enthusiasts virtually everything they need to know about this fascinating activity. Koi are hardy fish, relatively large in size, and the most practical way to keep them is in an outdoor pond. Combining text with illustrations, an important section of the book explains the requirements of a garden pond for koi, showing the filtration system and pointing out how it functions. Most of the book concentrates on koi themselves, focusing on a brief history of koi, advice on buying koi, the fish's physiology, health care, feeding, breeding koi, showing koi, and joining koi clubs. An 80-page section tells all about koi variations, and features color photos of more than 100 varieties. Illustrated two-page spreads review each variety's history, and show both their more desirable and less desirable color markings. Here is a beautifully designed and illustrated volume that emphasizes the special satisfactions of keeping and breeding koi. Approximately 450 color photos and illustrations.

Customer reviews for 'Koi: Living Jewels of the Orient'

Good reference

This is a good reference book for people new to the hobby. I especially like the section on the different varieties of koi.

[Wednesday, January 03, 2007]

Koi: the Living Jewels of the Orient

Very informative. The best Koi book we have yet to buy.

[Monday, November 06, 2006]

beautiful, not the last word

This book has received such glowing reviews I felt the need to add a sour note. It is full of beautiful pictures and has lots of useful information, but it is not as exhaustive a reference as it would seem from its size. The chapters are divided between four authors, with uneven results. The water quality chapter wastes entire pages on step-by-step instructions on how to use a particular brand of water test (they come with instructions,we don't need this in a book). The filtration chapter is devoted almost exclusively to a particular filtration system that chapter's author designs and sells. On the other hand, most of the other chapters are at least adequate, and the koi varieties section is outstanding, with the clearest delineation of the many koi types I have ever read--anyone can tell a showa from a sanke after looking at the side-by-side comparison. This section alone makes the book worth buying.

[Monday, September 13, 2004]

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