[RealManny]

Okay guys,

So I recently bought a nice big tank for dirt cheap on craiglist. It came with fish and a bunch of other stuff, really a good deal. On the way out from the guy's house where I picked up the aquarium he mentions to me that there's a fish that will be worth a lot of money in the future. Well, I think its a Koi of some sort. However, I am fairly new to this and I really just want to know if I have something special or was this guy just talking.

Thanks!

 

[jaysee]

It's a koi alright, but I can't tell you if it's special or not.

 

[1077]

Look's like bait to me, Just kiddin.
Does appear to be Koi of some type.

 

[ZivaD]

How big is the "nice big tank"? It looks like there are at least five fish (just counting from the pics), so hopefully you haven't gotten yourself a situation where you are overstocked already.

 

[thekoimaiden]

It is a koi. The barbels are a dead giveaway. What makes koi so expensive are the markings, their size, and their bloodlines. The markings are nothing special. It will need a MUCH larger tank to approach a size where it will be expensive (2+ ft). And since no paperwork comes with the fish, there is no way to trace its bloodline. Unless you can provide it with a 1000+ gal pond you just have a regular koi on your hands.

Which brings me to my other point: it WILL need a larger tank. I overwintered 5 koi in a 55 gal tank, but I had a pond for them in the spring. Koi are not fish to be kept in normal fish tanks. They were bred for ponds and just get too large for a normal aquarium. I highly suggest finding a new home for that koi.

 

[RealManny]

Okay, thanks for the info. It's a 70 gal tank with a couple of Goldfish and two Koi. It came WAY overstocked. I felt so bad for them but the previous owner was convinced since they were alive, they were fine. I went yesterday to a local store who said they would give me some credit if I brought them in. I was just a bit hesitant because I began to doubt myself and wonder if perhaps this fish was actually worth something and I would get ripped off.

Unfortunately, I don't have any paperwork or the proper environment for the Koi to develop into anything significant. So I'll be taking it to Pet World later today. Thanks again for the help!