The world according to carp

Pleasures of keeping koi carp

source: Sally Weale
Guardian G2 July 24 2002
starts p4, 2 pages long

Koi carp have become popular in the UK, though they can be expensive to buy and keep. Their food can cost from 60 pounds to 70 pounds sterling for a bag of 10 kilos, and the cost of heating their ponds in winter can be as much as 30 pounds a week. Koi have preferences for some types of music, and can eat food from their owners' fingers.

Koi generally live from between 40 and 50-years-old, with some reaching 100-years-old. Females grow larger than males. There are some 5,000 members of the British Koi Society, which had some 8,000 members at its peak. Koi can cost from 75 pounds sterling, and prices of between 1,000 and 10,000 pounds for one fish are not uncommon.
FI,FH