Breeding The Most Expensive Koi Fish In The World!

in the mountains of Western Japan the residents of these green houses are waiting for summer temperatures of 35° or [Music] higher that's for some the time for [Music] maing this is the Japanese koi carb a fish that is worldwide admired among collectors and enthusiasts but why what makes this colored carb so special in this video I take you to this remote area in Japan where the origin of the carb comes from a documentary that gives you an insight into a unique world that is unknown to many [Music] people last year I traveled to Japan to find out why these fish are so extremely valuable and unique I delved into the history of the Japanese Koi carp and witnessed for the first time a special breeding process that until now took place behind closed doors this year I return a year after quitting my job to find out how other breeders secure their entire annual income and future during one of the most exciting times of the year breeding the Japanese koi my name is Evo and I'm 34 years old since 2014 I've been traveling to this special area in Japan where I find my passion and love for this Japanese fish I record all my adventures in these documentaries during this trip one of my dreams come true attending the breeding of this special and mysterious fish in Japan travel with me and experience how Japanese culture friendship and love for this living living works of Arts came to [Music] be [Music] the Japanese Koy is one of the most valuable fish and is also called Living Art or swimming [Music] Jewels the Japanese koi represents love and friendship and is popular with collectors worldwide the history of the Japanese koi goes back a long way and started with the black carp in Asia that was called mooy by the Japanese what started 200 years ago in a mountain area in Western Japan as a food source during the harsh Winters rice Farmers discovered that the fish changed color resulting in the creation of the Japanese koi also called Nishiki koi one of the most legendary koi is hanako which means flower child in Japanese the myth says that hanako lived to be 225 years old the oldest koi fish in the world nowadays the average of the Japanese koi is between 40 and 50 years old I'm traveling to Japan to yamakoshi to be precise a small Mountain Village where there are great and one thing breeding Japanese [Music] koi it is June and my journey starts in the Netherlands the journey from Amsterdam to nagaoka in nigata prefecture will take approximately 20 hours a 13-hour flight and a 3-hour train journey from the airport to Tokyo and then on the shin Ganson also known as the super fast bullet train It Feels Like Coming Home the peace and structure in this country is so unique and nowhere else in the world I have experienced this so pleasantly today I have an appointment at torazo koi farm a koi breeder known for breeding a white and red fish called kohaku I want to find out more about the oldest koi in the world hanako and decide to look for some old koi especially fish that are used to breed based on successful [Music] genetics I'm lucky today the par and koi are still swimming in the indoor ponds accompanied by his daughter Yuki kawakami and his granddaughter Cotto Jesse searches for his oldest fish in his Pawns what strikes me is that the fish looks different from the koi that I normally see I wonder if I've seen a fish older than me before I'm curious why the breeder choose this fish to breed and how old the fish is about uh 34 34 something I bought uh when I what a fish was uh three or 4 years old yeah still on a very nice Benny the body shushi explains that he uses this fish for breeding because the structure of the koi is very good but also the Benny that means red in Japanese the red pattern that you find on the fish he breeds I'm curious why he's still attached to the fish that are almost 40 years old no reason uh yeah because uh it was a very important male for me the breeder wants to take me to one of his outdoor ponds also called a mud Pond these are so-called because of the high concentration of clay minerals and vitamins in the soil but before we drive into the mountains sure she want to show me [Music] something [Music] was3 [Music] 1999 I soon realized what it is his holy grill a small book which he has documented all his parent quise over the past decades yeah this is up Ma still B y [Music] [Music] already [Music] it's time to feed the koi the fish swim in these outdoor ponds during the Spring Summer and Autumn the combination of climate proper nutrition and Care allows the fish to grow best here during the autumn in October the fish are harvested and brought in they can stay here or they will be be sold feeding the koi is done every day the MPS are also checked daily for another animal the [Music] beer we leave the mountains temporarily and I travel to oia which is located in a valet last year I visited one of the largest koi farms in nigata the Dani koi farm shigar Manu the owner of this Farm is one of the best koi breeders in Japan and know how to win the biggest prizes with this fish today something special and unique awaits me shikaru invited me to come and see some of his fish including one very special fish [Music] [Music] from many people who hear of the Japanese koi for the first time they will often say that the fish with the Red Dot on the head is the most valuable but that's actually not true but it is an association for people with Japan because of the Red Dot is also Incorporated in the Japanese flag yes this fish is very special shiku is happy to tell you more about it this fish is also called Tano yeah you know this is Tano this is a uh 5 years old I don't the size maybe 80 something right now you know this is really huge body not every Tano become like that you know this is the one of with special body you know 5 years 6 years we have a bunch of so many toy you know but uh every year we have to select select then the really TP TP top toys you know very small number those are one of the top levels and uh you know since you breeding you know fries and we have so many fries every day you know like a summer time 100 day every day we have to select you know you know caring every day then become like uh about 90 more than 95% gone the only little pieces you know numbers to grow you know me side the Sunside you know we have maintenance we have so many houses and so many concrete ponds you know fries we have more than 200 mukb for fries and after 2 years I don't know 100 something so so many M we have it every day we have to go check and the you know so of course the food we have test a lot and so many things to do then 5 years maybe good level s s pieces four years 40 pieces then every year kind of slow slow slow there only one top level that's very very L it takes a lot of effort to select the best fish shikaru has already won the World Championship several times with his top koi I realized that it's also a numbers game the greater the number of Offspring the greater the chance of having a real top koi while shikaru is inspecting some of his fish I am picked up by one of his chief staff members I'm allowed to release one of those special fish into the pond in the [Music] mountains [Music] this is the 2020 world champion an invaluable fish for its qualities such as his skin quality and size a fish with which the dichi koi farm hopes to produce many offspring in the future that have the same genetics this is important to secure the future of the farm I have now arrived at one of the other KO houses where I watch carefully how the staff prepares the fish for the transport into the [Music] mountains in Convoy and filled with thousand lers of water we drive from the farm towards the mountains short 10-minute Drive [Music] in a few moments the fish will be released into the outdoor ponds where they can enjoy their well-deserved rest in this mod Pond the fish can grow and look for natural food the employees of the dichi koi farm carry out this operation with military precision [Music] [Music] by adding water from the pond the fish can get used to any temperature difference in the water this causes the fish to experience less stress it is time to release the big fish including the 2020 world champion [Music] you have to give something to be part of this special moment while filming I discover that my suit is leaking the result is soaking wet legs and socks it's the next day after a good night's sleep I start the day with a short lunch at the invitation of omo son breeder of the n and koi farm the food in Japan is amazing wherever you go I am passing through to a place of interest a gigantic red and white temple that you can see from miles in the mountains I'm curious I want to take a look before I continue my search for a breeder who will allow me to film their breeding process [Music] I'm very impressed with the size of this building from the air but also when walking I feel very small everything is so beautiful last June I quit my job as a police officer and decided to seek my future and happiness in my greatest passion the Japanese koi I was told that this Shrine is not very old and it will bring you luck wealth and prosperity if you visit it I decide to go inside to make a donation and to learn more about this Temple out of respect I decide to leave the camera at the entrance [Music] I have arrived at isako farm isako farm was founded in 1970 and enjoys worldwide Fame for its highly regarded showa the black fish with red and white patterns a major setback was the earthquake in 2004 Isa koi farm was severely affected many fish including their parent stock were lost the farm has now been fully restored and is running a full capacity it is busy today I try not to disturb but I feel that I'm welcome and I decide to watch the selection of the baby koi that are only a few days old only the black fish advance to the next selection round last year I was welcomed for the first time to the Harvest by mitsi Isa the boss of the koi farm an amazing experience and this year I hope to be able to attend something else breeding the koi I decide to walk around the farm before talking to mitso I take a look at the one-year-old koi and I take a look at the bird Chambers a room that normally remains closed to visitors it's early late last night I finally got the answer I was waiting for I'm allowed to be present at the breing of the Japanese koi at 5 to5 I receive a message that I can come to the isako farm while the streets are quiet and many Japanese are still sleeping there is someone who stayed up all night to monitoring his [Music] koi [Music] today we are witnessing a special event an exclusive look behind the scenes of the isak koi farm the wellbe of the fish is most important the breeder ensures that the koi experience as little stress as possible during the collection of the ex and sperm never before has the ISA koi farm allowed anyone to film this this event I'm nervous but also excited I hope everything goes well and I'm not in the way while still can I try to ask as many questions as [Music] possible after hours of waiting something happens I see that m n reacts alertly and takes the time to look at the fish there are woman and men in this Pond the moment the breeding is waiting for is the moment when the females become more active and start releasing their first eggs he uses a flashlight to see whether the yellow colored eggs float in the water just wait a little longer one of the females has only released a few [Applause] eggs [Music] as in nature the males chase after the females the tension builds and mitsi and one of his staff members prepare for the [Applause] moment after being chased by the male fish all night they are now getting some rest all the fish that the breeder has selected have something unique in their DNA something the breeder would like to see in a new generation of [Music] koi everything is done steril to prevent the ex from becoming infected or damaged [Applause] all fish experience no pain the fish are separated and given a sedative this makes the fish calm and does not notice the harvesting of the [Music] eggs [Music] [Music] the staff member keeps a close eye on breathing when the fish is asleep it is time to harvest the female [Applause] eggs the fish is rined clean with sterilized water it is clearly visible that the female is ready to release her EG after drying the fish the Coya wrapped in soft towels that keep any form of moisture away from the eggs some females can produce between 1 and 2 kg of [Music] eggs it is important that the fish recover quickly which means that the breeder must be sure that all EGS have been removed from the koi the fish is then given an antibiotic injection so it doesn't become ill after this physical [Music] [Applause] activity the result is astonishing no less than 1.3 kilos of eggs tens of thousands of coil will be hatched from these eggs after fertilization after receiving the antibiotic shot the fish is allowed to rest and [Music] recover it's the Mal's turn the males experience less stress than the females and only need to be calmed down slightly [Music] the MS are often selected based on their deep colors and skin quality these are often better than those of the females strangely enough female fish are more popular with collectors partly because the meals remain relatively small compared to the females which sometimes grow larger than 1 meter in size once again the fish is dried and it's time to collect the sperm from the M koi this is simply sucked out with the [Applause] [Music] Peet [Applause] it won't be long before the meal can return to one of the indoor ponds it takes a while before mitori has the right quantities it remains a matter of luck it sometimes happens that parent animals are not ready for spawning and skip a [Applause] [Music] year [Applause] now that everything has been collected the breeder can get started with his calculator mixing must be done very carefully because without the correct ratio fertilization can fill the fertilized eggs are distributed over the brushes these brushes have small hairs to which the eggs stick [Music] immediately [Applause] it's crazy that in 3 days these eggs will hatch and there will be probably a potential Champion among them I am grateful that I can experience this this early morning I notice how concentrated the breeder is but I'm about to leave well mitori repeats this process with a new set of parents I prepare for my next appointment because what happens after those 3 days it's time to find [Music] out I travel back into the mountains this is yamakoshi musham the mecca for collectors it is one of the end Enchanted areas of Western Japan where everything revolves around the Japanese koi in my journey in search of answers I return to the shintaro koi farm for some of you this is a well-known place where I was able to be present at night during the cultivation last year I'm now going back to find out what happens in the days after the [Music] xge this is Kuka Saito the son of Masaru Sao and together with his brother kuk they run the shintaro Koy Farm last year Kuka led the cultivation together with his brother today I can help select the newborn born [Music] Offspring while the morning sun is already Burning Brightly the people who come to help today gather outside under the watchful eye of Father kuk prepares everything chairs water extraction and shade everything has been thought of Masaru son comes to see how things are going he is [Music] satisfied today kuk asked for help from his wife best friend and his wife today we will select as many fish as possible with six people kuk explains which color fish should be sucked up through the Small Tube this causes the water and the fish to go to the large container with water and oxygen we start the selection with good courage as strange as it sounds this work calms me down it is relaxing and there is plenty of time to chat and think about everything that I've seen these [Music] days [Music] it is very hot but we continue to work hard one by one we can take a break I am well taken care of there's plenty of cold drinks I Tred to stay focused and separate the black fish from the yellow ones only the black fish will soon have beautiful wet and R [Music] [Music] patterns after 2 hours of selection we are done with the first batch I realize how much more we have to go I walk with Kuka to the big koi house where all the fish swim that are ready to be picked [Applause] out a bucket contains thousands of small fish it is almost unbelievable how many they are in total we be carefully walk back to the main house Kuka has one important job not to drop the [Music] bucket after an hour of work masado comes downstairs lunch we've earned that masaru's wife makes one of the tastiest curries you would have to travel to Japan for this alone made with the best rice in the world which comes from NADA everyone takes a moment to rest especially Kuka who closed his eyes for a moment [Music] it's time for the next step Just Before Sunset I receive a call from the shintaro koi farm after a long day of selection it is time for the next step in the process releasing The Offspring that are only a few days old these are the so-called fry ponds masaro and kosu could drive to the m ponds with all caution it is quite a crazy idea that a few day old fish as vulnerable as they are are are already going into the M Pond here they will be given natural food and adapted powdered food with the right nutrients these koi will grow quickly from a few millimeters to a few cm in just a couple of weeks this means that the breeder can continue with an exellent in just a few weeks but you will see that at the end of this [Music] video I have another important question what happens to the koi that aren't good enough before I go back into the mountains to a place where I was not welcome before I drive past my favorite shop to buy some koi souvenirs I am always welcomed here with open arms and the owner always addresses Me by first name if you ever go to oia in Japan stop by her store her shop is next to the train station I would really appreciate it if we could support her by buying [Music] something another drink from the koi machine and it's time to go back into the [Music] mountains I am driving to a place I've rarely been to a place that is normally only accessible to Japanese hobbyist breeders and hobbyists today I am at the local koi auction fish are auctioned here once a week on Friday koi that are not sold or intended for the domestic Market are brought to this place this way the fish ends up in a good place it is special to see how they work together here sorting the koi and then oxy them the fish go by crate through the auction house where a new owner makes a bit for [Music] them this trip has given me many wonderful memories and answers to my questions in the coming period the Breeders will select their fish for 100 days until the best koi remain selecting these koi is hard work during the very hot summer months in Japan [Music] I come to the conclusion that these fish are true works of Arts bread and judged by humans a unique fish that involves a lot of physical work and the risk for the Breeders knowledge and experience pass down from generation to generation to protect and pass on their unique world making this documentary takes a lot of time I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment would you like to see more of my documentaries then take a look at this one thanks for watching and I see you in October weather breeders are looking forward to harvesting their big fish will I see you there [Music] hey

Channel: The Koi Partner

Views: 729,163

Keywords: Japan, Koi, Koi Farm, Koi Breeder, Yamasan, Shinoda, Marudo, Hiroi, Chogoro, Kaneko, Suda, Fukasawa, Otsuka, Marusaka, Marusei, Kawakami, Ogata, Showa, Sanke, Kohaku, Tancho, Yamabuki, Ogon, breeding koi, breeding ornamental fish, fish farm, breeding fish

Id: oXq-uN7gtTY

Length: 40min 20sec (2420 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 20 2023