Bekko Koi Care Guide

Bekko is a koi variety with a solid white, red or yellow body marked by black sumi, bred from the common carp Cyprinus carpio.

Overview

Bekko is a named variety of koi, the ornamental coloured form of the common carp. According to Wikipedia, Bekko means "tortoise shell" in Japanese and refers to a white-, red- or yellow-skinned koi marked with black sumi. The three recognised variants are Shiro Bekko (white), Aka Bekko (red) and Ki Bekko (yellow). Modern koi breeding began in Niigata, Japan, in the early 19th century.

Taxonomy

Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Cyprinus
Scientific name: Cyprinus carpio var. Bekko
Note: ornamental variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio

Habitat

Koi are kept in outdoor ponds and water gardens rather than the wild. Their ancestor, Cyprinus carpio, is native to the Black, Caspian and Aral Sea basins of Europe and Asia and favours warm, deep, slow-flowing or still waters with soft sediments, according to FishBase. As a pond fish, Bekko needs substantial volume and depth.

Tank requirements

Minimum pond volume: 4000 L
Temperature: 4-26 °C (39-79 °F)
pH: 7.0-8.5
GH: 8-20 °dGH
Lifespan: 25-50 years
Depth: at least about 1 m, more in cold-winter climates

Diet

Koi are omnivores. The ancestral carp feeds on a variety of benthic organisms and plant material (FishBase). Wikipedia notes that koi eat a wide range of foods including vegetables such as peas and lettuce, and that feeding should stop once water temperature drops below about 10 °C.

Compatibility

Bekko are peaceful, social pond fish best kept with other koi and pond species. Because of their eventual size and need for large, deep ponds, they are unsuitable for ordinary indoor aquaria.

Breeding

As a carp, the species is an egg-scatterer. FishBase records that spawning occurs in shallow, weed-rich margins at water temperatures of about 15-20 °C, that females can produce more than a million eggs in a season, and that eggs hatch in roughly four days. Bekko coloration is fixed through selective breeding.