One of the best ways for a beginner to understand the different types of koi is to learn about the different types of skin and scaled types. Bryan Bateman, who has been writing a series of articles on koi Varieties offers enlightenment as he writes... "When classifying koi according to their skin and scale types, we can place them into four distinct groups: GinRin, Metallic, Doitsu, and Wagoi (normal scaled). Most koi varieties can appear in any one or combination of these four groups. With the exception of Doitsu, which is simply a scale-less, or nearly scale-less koi, it is the presence of a unique substance called guanine which determines which type of scale or skin a koi exhibits." Excellent photographs throughout the article illustrate the types of scales. Can you identify this one? (Photo at left.)

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