Can anyone tell me what the different colors of a koi fish represent? I have looked all over the internet and keep finding differnet answers.

the colors dont mean anything, and koi DONT mean good luck. i dunno where miami ink got that idea buts its deffinatly not true

Dude,
not to be rude, but Google it! try something like "symbolism in Japanese tattoo", seriously, a lot of answers to your questions are right there at your fingertips, you just have to look. I thought about replying to your question, then realized I was only going to look it up on Google and figured, heck, you could do that! lol!
I'll start you off, found this in 2 sec with a search:
http://www.tattoosymbol.com/articles/koi.html
Good luck!

Thanks for an intelligent answer Riggs... People should know what they are talking about before giving advice. You know your stuff or at least did your homework before responding... BRAVO!

I, too, think googling the meaning things was great advice. However, we live in a world where grade B celebrities wake up to find themselves "dead" on wikipedia and other news outlets. We live in a world where a show on tattooing causes everyone to believe an african symbol means something completely different than its original intent. Many times meaning is lost and the medium (in this case skin on ink) is the message.

To me, the best advice when looking for meaning in a tattoo is to ask yourself "what does it mean to me?" Your tattoo is not about getting it "right" or fitting some tattoo model of "perfect traditional tattoo". It's about what you want... (and hopefully not offending anyone else too much in the process)

what color of koi do you want? and do you have a local artist who is willing to vary from "the norm?"

ooops. sorry for my tirade! I meant to add this URL for you as well. I cannot speak to the accuracy of it. I honestly don't know.. I found it on the net and take it with a grain of salt. It answers your question though!

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_a_koi_fish_tattoo_symbolize

quote:

Originally posted by whytepanther:
Thanks for an intelligent answer Riggs... People should know what they are talking about before giving advice. You know your stuff or at least did your homework before responding... BRAVO!

Thanks bro, like I said, I ment no ill intent with my reply, simply trying to help out and save people some time.

visually get what you want and whatever it means to you is what it means to you

That's great Riggs but the question wasn't "what does a koi fish sybolise"? but what do the COLORS of koi fish symbolize. I have been researching this for years and have never found a definative answer. Booboodaddy, just be careful in trusting the internet as "gospel truth". Just ask those that trusted the net with asian script (Kanji) and thought they were getting "strength" or "power" tattooed on them and later finding out it means "shame" or "defeated". I have friends that were both foolish and trusting of the net.