I like Koi because they are colorful and will come to the surface when they know food pellets are being shared.

The first image I like to call the “Yin Yang Koi”  because of the white and orange fish circling while trying to get the food pellets. It reminds me of the Yin and Yang symbol and the desire for balance between positive and negative aspects of life.

In the second image, you can see a very young Koi juxtaposed with an orange and black adult. The little fella is about 100th the size of the adult and I suspect more than a few of these little fish get sucked up by the adults in their frenzy to get the floating food pellets. If these little guys live long enough, they will begin to look like the adults and produce the marvelous colors and patterns characteristic of these fish. I like to call this image “Little Big Fish”.

In the third image,  you can see the Koi patrolling the edge of their pond. It was late January in 2010 when this picture was taken and the shadows of the leafless trees on the surface of the water adds depth and dimension to this image. You get an impression of the sky, the water surface, and the moving fish below punctuated by the large spot of sunlight on the back of the center fish. I call this one: “Winter at the Koi Pond”

A little art and a little drama can be found in something as simple as fish swimming in a pond. It makes being a photographer something special when the pieces come together and the light is right.

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Koi are domesicated carp, Cyprinus carpio. While carp have been aquacultured in China for over 1000 years, Koi come from Japanese stocks which have been raised since the 1820’s. They are grouped into varieties based on their color, color combinations and patterns, and the patterns of their scales. Their colors can include white, black, red, yellow, blue and cream.

Carp originated in Europe and Asia and were raised for food. They prefer cold water but can adapt and survive in many different climates. Long cold winters can impair their survival.

Common carp have been deliberately or accidentally released into the wild on every continent except Antarctica. They revert to their wild colorations within a few generations. Carp can disrupt ecosystems by their bottom feeding habits which stirs up sediment into the waters. This can change the kinds of aquatic plant life and other creatures because of the murky water. They have become a pest species or invasive species in some areas and have become an expensive control or eradication project in others.

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Pictured above is the Spotted Gar, Lepisosteus oculatus of the family Lepisosteidae. These creatures have been swimming in the waters of North America since the Late Cretaceous period some 65 to a 100 million years ago.

Spotted Gar are not as large as some members of the Gar family like the Alligator Gar which can grow to over 8 feet long and 160 pounds or more. Instead, the Spotted Gar averages around 3 feet long as adults and can weigh 8 pounds or more.

Spotted gar prefer quiet, clear pools of fresh water that have aquatic plants and algae. They make their living as a nocturnal ambush predator on crayfish, various kinds of minnows, small bluegill, sunfish, and crappie. Young gar have been known to eat many kinds of insects and their larvae. They have been shown to be valuable parts of the ecosystem where they occur and have been shown to prey primarily on non-game fish.

Spotted Gar inhabit the waters of the Mississippi Basin from Ontario Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Habitat loss and pollution have reduced their numbers in the northern parts of their range but they can be found throughout the southern U. S.

All members of the Gar family have a vascularized swim bladder that allows them to gulp air at the surface of the water and be able to live in waters that lack enough oxygen to support them otherwise. You can read more about this living fossil at the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web.

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