Welcome to the latest blog post in our ‘Koi Varieties’ series where we are looking at all of the varieties of koi that we stock here at our premises in South Wales. In today’s instalment, we are looking at the Soragoi koi which is one of the single-coloured koi and is most well-known for its friendliness and size.
Soragoi (SOH-rog-GOY) koi are single-coloured grey koi often with a reticulation pattern in their scales called fukurin (FOO-koo-REEN). The variety is very similar to Chagoi koi (you can read all about Chagoi koi in our ‘Koi Varieties’ article here: https://www.kerutokoi.com/post/koi-varieties-chagoi) and, like Chagoi koi, the Soragoi koi are very closely related to the wild carp from which all ornamental koi carp are descended. This means that less time and fewer generations are required to develop and perfect the variety so, over the last century, breeders have been able to selectively breed for size. As a consequence, most Soragoi koi have the potential to be very large koi and are typically more food-driven than other koi. This is very good for a koi keeper as it means that Soragoi, and Chagoi, koi will often come to greet you at the top of the pond in the hope of being fed and any other fish in the pond will follow them!
Pongoi (Best Quality) Soragoi Koi
When judging a Soragoi koi, or any single-coloured koi, the most important consideration is the consistency and quality of the colour. While other varieties may have brighter colours, interesting patterns or even differences in their fins or scales, the Soragoi is a much simpler koi with just the one colour and the faint reticulation. This, however, means that the colour is the first thing people see and must be perfect in any Pongoi Soragoi.
Essentially, the colour itself is not so important as long as it is consistent. As with many koi, but especially single-coloured koi, the consistency of the colour determines the best koi. This is because, in single-coloured koi, there are no bright patterns or contrasting colours to draw the eye, instead there is just the one colour which should be perfect all over including the body, head, fins and tail, and, in general, the more consistent the colour of the fish, the better the quality of the koi. Any deviation in shade is considered an imperfection in the fish. Of course, for a Soragoi, the shade of the sora is important too. Generally, all colours are acceptable but the most valuable and the best colours are a blue-grey similar to the Asagi koi or a silver-grey. In particular, the silver colouration in the Gin Rin Soragoi koi is very desirable.
Most Soragoi will have the fukurin pattern in their scales and this should generally be as even and consistent as possible. Each scale should be arranged neatly and in even rows while the thickness of the reticulation should be equal across all of the scales. The colour of the fukurin pattern is less important as different koi keepers prefer different shades, a darker fukurin colour will give each scale a very distinct outline while a lighter colour will give a more subtle effect. Again, however, consistency is key. Every scale should be the same colour and shade as any scales with a different fukurin colour will be immediately obvious.
One of the main draws of Soragoi koi is their friendliness. They have a great level of confidence and this confidence will impact any other fish in the pond and encourage them all to greet you at the top of the pond. So the temperament of the fish should be considered when judging a Soragoi koi. The Soragoi that comes straight to you should be preferred over any other koi who hang back or show less personality. This is actually one of many reasons why it is better to view fish in person or to see a video as certain behaviours cannot be seen in just photographs.
Finally, because one of the main draws of Soragoi koi is their size and they are otherwise one of the simpler koi varieties, the body shape of the koi is incredibly important. For more information on what to look for here and how to judge the body shape of a koi, have a look at our blog post ‘Koi Varieties – What to Look for When Buying a Koi'.
Soragoi koi are a fantastic addition to any pond with their confidence and influence on the other fish in their pond. Not only that, but they are such great growers that with a good diet, you can almost see them growing larger and each year will bring a considerable change in the size of the fish!
To browse our current stock of Soragoi koi, click here: