koi fish
koi fish farm & Supplier in South Africa
We breed and sell a wide range of koi fish varieties in South Africa. We breed koi fish from imported Japanese bloodlines and have three quality classes available.
Our Koi Fish
We breed and offer Top Quality Koi fish for sale
At Fish First, we understand that it can be challenging to find high-quality, healthy, and affordable koi fish for sale in South Africa since most fish come from overseas. But, importing koi fish can be risky and very expensive.
Risky in terms of the long distances they need to travel can create the risk of receiving a box of dead fish. And the lack of information about their history carries the risk of receiving unhealthy, poorly-bred fish or fish that will contaminate your pond with unwanted parasites and diseases.
Therefore, we focus on breeding healthy koi fish from imported Japanese bloodlines using a lot of natural foods, conditions, biological filtration, and a clear element-rich water source. As a result, we provide high-quality koi fish that are more affordable, accessible, and risk-free.
Why us
We Are Serious About The Health, Standard, And Affordability Of Our koi fish.
At Fish First, we pride ourselves in the quality of the koi fish’s body and their health. To say this, we are very strict and precise about how we breed koi fish and raise them.
We offer high quality and unique koi fish
We are very strict about the quality of koi fish we have for sale. Since hatching, our koi fish are hand selected every month for the first five months and divided into three quality classes. During each sorting, we look for koi fish with good genes, well-formed bodies, unique patterns, and apparent characteristics of the koi variety.
Selling healthy koi fish is our approach
Our approach is: koi are live animals, and the health of the fish is not negotiable. Therefore, we try to use natural processes as much as possible. From the first day since hatching, we take stocking density, water quality, and proper feeding seriously. We feed our fish: fish pellets together with natural foods like plankton and use clean crystal clear borehole water with frequent water changes. Secondly, all the mud ponds and the concrete conditioning system are covered with netting, thus preventing predators from hurting the fish or introducing any form of parasite or disease.
We offer koi fish more affordable and risk-free
Imported koi fish are expensive and often risky. Therefore, we use koi fish from imported Japanese bloodlines to breed quality koi fish locally. The strong genetics of our breeders will benefit the health, growth, patterns, and color of the fish we produce. Besides the breeders we use, we are very strict about the environment in which we breed and grow new fish. As a result, we offer koi fish that are more affordable, already quarantined, and conditioned to our South African climate.
Our process
How we breed our koi fish
Before we breed our koi fish, we take them out of the mud ponds and divide the male and female koi fish we want to reproduce with into two separate concrete conditioning ponds.
Once the temperature is around 18 degrees Celsius, we put the males and females together in a concrete pond with pieces of shaded netting. The netting will help to collect the eggs and move them.
The male koi fish will start to chase the females around the pond and try to bump into them. When they bump into them, they will bump the eggs off the female’s body onto the pieces of shaded netting. Then the males will spread their sperm over the eggs to fertilize them.
We then move on the shaded netting from the concrete pond to a mud pond where they will hatch. After three weeks since hatching, we do the first sorting and put the best quality fish back into the mud pond for further growth.
After the initial sorting, we sort the koi fish every two to three weeks and keep only the best quality fish of the remaining fish until the average size of the group is around 10-15cm. We then separate the koi fish into our three quality classes: commercial, A grade, and Tategoi grade koi fish.
Our varieties
We breed 8 koi fish varieties
Here are all the koi fish varieties we worked with over the past two years.
Shiro Utsuri
A Shiro Utsuri koi fish is known for its striking white-on-black coloration. The fish has a black body with a white pattern over the head, dorsal fin, and tail. “Shiro Utsuri” translates to “white and black” in English. You also get a Ginrin Shiro Utsuri with sliver reflective scales over the body.
Ki Utsuri
The Ki Utsuri koi fish is known for its striking yellow-on-black coloration. It has a black body with a yellow pattern on the body that spreads over the head, dorsal fin, and tail. “Ki Utsuri” translates to “yellow and black” in English.
Hi Utsuri
The Hi Utsuri koi fish is known for their red on black coloration. It has a black base color with a red pattern on the body that spreads over the head, dorsal fin, and tail. “Hi Utsuri” translates to “red and black” in English.
Kohaku
Kohaku koi fish is a highly sought-after variety of ornamental fish. They feature a bright white base color with bold red markings that can cover the head, body, dorsal fin, and tail. You also get a Ginrin Kohaku that has silver reflective scales over its body.
Showa Sansoku
Showa Sansoku koi fish are known for their deep, rich black color and striking red, orange, and white markings. The fish feature a black base color, with red, white, and blue markings that cover the head, body, dorsal fish, and tail.
Doitsu Kujaku
Showa Sansoku koi fish are known for their deep, rich black color and striking red, orange, and white markings. The fish feature a black base color, with red, white, and blue markings that cover the head, body, dorsal fish, and tail.
Ochiba
Ochiba koi fish has a steel blue base color with a brown or dark grey pattern resembling autumn leaves scattered over its body, giving the fish a leaf-like appearance. You also get a Ginrin Ochiba with a reflective metallic sheen on its scales.
Yamabuki
Yamabuki koi fish are known for their solid yellow coloration that covers the entire body. Apart from the yellow coloration, they also have a metallic sheen (gin rin) covering their body, giving them a shimmering appearance.
Ginrin Soragoi
The Ginrin Soragoi koi fish is known for its velvety blue coloration. “Soragoi” means “sky carp” in Japanese and is often compared to the color of a stormy sky. Furthermore, they also have reflective, silvery scales prominent on the back and sides of their body. These scales will create a stunning contrast against its blue-gray color while shimmering in the sunlight.
Matsuba
Matsuba koi fish are known for their unique scale patterns. They have a base color of either white, red, or yellow, with pinecone-like scales appearing in a darker shade of the same color. The name “Matsuba” translates to “pine needle” in Japanese, which perfectly describes the appearance of this remarkable fish.
classes
We sell koi fish in 3 different quality classes
After breeding and the initial growth phase, we sort all our koi fish into three marketable quality classes. Our three quality classes that price from cheapest to most expensive are:
1. Commercial grade koi fish
They are the cheapest koi fish we have for sale. Commercial koi fish has characteristics of the variety but with no particular pattern. For example, a commercial-grade Kohaku koi fish has red-on-white markings without a prominent pattern. Here is an image example of a commercial-grade koi fish.
2. A grade koi fish
A grade koi fish has more characteristics of the variety with stricter criteria regarding the pattern’s balance. For example, an A-grade Kohaku koi fish has a clear red pattern on top of the white and without red over the eyes, gills, or tail.
3. Tategoi grade koi fish
Tategoi grade koi fish are top-of-the-range koi fish. They are the most expensive koi fish and usually sell as larger fish since they will reach their full potential much later in their life cycle. These individuals have specific characteristics unique to the variety. They have deep color, remarkable body conformation, and unique patterns like a lightning bolt(Inazuma) pattern. Every season, we select our future breeders from the Tategoi group while the rest are grown and sold as Tategoi.
Koi Fish
See Koi fish for sale!
Click the here to See all the koi fish we currently have for sale
in our Ponds
See the koi our clients love
Here are some of the koi fish we have bred, raised, and sold at Fish First in Bloemfontein!
Testimonials
What our clients say about our koi fish
These guys trusts our fish.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about koi fish
Koi fish prices in South Africa usually depend on the quality of the koi and its characteristics like variety, size, body, color, and pattern. But the import fees to get the koi fish in South Africa from overseas makes koi fish very expensive. The prices for average quality koi could then range from anywhere from a few thousand rands and upwards. On the other hand, we breed quality koi fish locally in South Africa. Then we sort and sell them in 3 different quality classes. Our koi fish prices start from R45 to a few hundred rands. We only sell top-of-the-range koi fish for much more. We sell our koi fish based on the value of each fish.
When we deliver the koi fish ourselves, we charge a standard delivery fee. Otherwise, we will use a reliable courier service to deliver your fish. However, the delivery fees will vary depending on the courier’s rate.
We have a minimum order quantity on our smaller commercial grade koi fish, which we usually sell in bulk. However, we don’t have a minimum order quantity for our A grade and Tategoi grade koi fish.
