It comes as no surprise that colourful and beautiful koi/goldfish imagery is so prevalent in tattoo art, interior design, sculpture and painting because they are often associated with good fortune, success, prosperity and longevity. Fish represents good fortune, prosperity and abundance in East Asian culture especially in feng shui. An iconic Chinese New Year symbol is a child holding a large goldfish or koi fish and a lotus flower, symbolizing abundance of gold and harmony. According to Feng Shui, a fish represents wealth and prosperity because the actual word in Chinese for fish, in Pinyin: yú, 魚, also translates to “abundance” 裕 Pinyin: yù.

Goldfish and Koi are both members of the carp family but they are not the same species. They can interbreed but their offspring will be sterile.

The domestic goldfish originated in China, but was introduced to Japan in 1603, to Europe in 1611 and to North America around 1850. There are more than 200 breeds of goldfish around the world and over 480 million goldfish are sold each year as pets. With proper cares, goldfish can live for decades and can grow to be over a foot long when kept in the spacious environment. The longest living goldfish was recorded to be 45 years old. Goldfish can tell different faces apart and are able to distinguish between different shapes, colors and sounds. Unlike people often believe that goldfish have a memory of just a few seconds, they can actually have a memory-span of at least three months. One of the interesting fact about goldfish is they have no eyelids, so they have to sleep with their eyes open! Yet, they can see more colors than humans are capable of. They can to see ultra-violet and infra-red light. Goldfish change color depending on light levels.

Koi is a kind of "river carp" that is selectively bred in Japan for over two hundred years. An average Koi grows to between 24 and 36 inches in length, while some 'jumbo' varieties of Koi are capable of reaching up to 52 inches. The average life expectancy for koi fish outside of Japan is about 15 years and 40 years in Japan. Reportedly, koi fish can live over 100 years in the optimal conditions. As Koi can grow very large and live a long life, Japanses regard Koi fish as good fortune or luck and associat ethem with perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose, The Koi fish symbolize good luck, abundance and perseverance and are considered to be symbolic of advancement materially and spiritually. Koi fish are usually categorized into three classes: pond raised Koi, ornamental quality Koi and show quality Koi. Depending on the size, color, shape and variety, the pond quality Koi normally are priced between $50 to $150 while show-quality varieties can fectch more than $10,000. In 2018, a Koi fish was sold in Japan at $1.8 million which set the record for the most expensive koin fish ever.

LAVISHY love goldfish & Koi fish and we designed some goldfish & Koi fish themed vegan wallets, fashion necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets & brooches. They are great gift ideas to express your good luck wishes to your loved ones. They are available for wholesale to gift shop, fashion accessories and clothing boutique, book shop, jewelry store and speciality retailer buyers. Wholesale orders can be most easily placed online at www.lavishy.com.

For personal use or as gifts for your family & friends, online shopping is available at LAVISHY online boutique www.lavishy.ca. We ship worldwide.