Quick Answer Aka Matsuba Butterfly Koi combine two distinct traits: the Matsuba pattern (a solid metallic base with a black, pine-cone-like net pattern on the scales) in its red “Aka” color variant, with the long, flowing fins of a butterfly koi. Matsuba is essentially an Ogon koi with added reticulation, belonging to the Hikari Muji

Quick Answer Ghost Koi are a hybrid between Ogon koi and wild mirror carp, first created by a British farmer in England in the early 1980s — not a traditional Japanese variety. They’re hardier and faster-growing than purebred koi, can reach up to 3 feet (sometimes larger), and display a distinctive metallic sheen in silver,

Quick Answer Kikokuryu is a metallic, scaleless (Doitsu) koi variety — essentially a shiny, more stable-patterned cousin of Kumonryu. Only two sub-varieties are officially recognized: Kin Kikokuryu (yellow/gold accent, created by breeder Seiki Igarashi in the late 1990s) and Beni Kikokuryu (red/orange accent). Individual fish show real color-phase variation beyond these two names, but that