AA: Dragon Koi

Species Name: Dragon Koi
Average Lifespan: Sea variant ~30; Freshwater variant ~50-100 years
Habitat:  Sea variants: off the coastline of Song-Lu territory, deep waters.  Freshwater variant: large lakes and sometimes large rivers.

Population/Distribution:  Uncommon, freshwater variants more rare. 

Size: Average length of 4-7 meters.  Sea variants can reach up to 10 meters

Physical Characteristics: Dragon Kois are extremely large fishes with large spins and elongated fins “tails”.  They often covered in vibrant colored patterns of orange, blue, black, and white, although the sea variants tend to look duller.  They have 4 long barbells around their mouths that help them sense their surroundings and find food.

Their bodies are incredibly strong, allowing the kois to swim relatively fast, swim in deeper depths, and even jump out of the water.

Dragon Koi scales are thick and can be larger than an adult hand.  They sometimes shed damaged scales that would usually sink, but undamaged ones can float.  While all kois scale have some magical properties, freshwater kois tend to have a stronger magical content.   

Behavior: Dragon Kois dwells in moderately deep open water closer to the shoreline, especially near volcanic activity seafloors.  New islands erupting from the ocean will often have dragon kois swimming near by.  They usually come up near the surface to feed.  One of their notable feeding approaches is that a koi would swim vertically up to its meal near the surface, causing it to jump out of the water after swallowing their food whole.

Freshwater variants are similar in which they like to hang at the bottom of lakes, where in Song-Lu, tends to be near volcanoes to keep warm.  Rivers are usually populated with very young dragon kois, but as they grow larger, they move up stream to lakes.

When reaching the size of at least 4 meters. Dragon kois lay their eggs (5-10) in shallower waters to allow young kois to feed easily in reefs or rivers.  Sea variants can produce over three times as much eggs (15-30) than their freshwater counterparts.  It is common for sea dragon kois to stay in close proximity of their eggs to ward off any preditors seeking to attack the "nest".

Both variants can be found in groups from two to four, but larger ones, especially between 8-10 meters, are often alone. 

 
Diet: Sea variants: other fish.  Freshwater variants: vegetation and fish

Uses: Their bones, especially their spines, can carve into a variety of jewelry, handles, or other decorative applications.  Both the scales and bones can also be ground into medicine.  Depending on the magical content of the scales, they can be kept for making magical accessories or used in alchemy for water based effects.  In some rare cases, some scales may possess fire and air attributes too, but will most likely be reserved for magic equipment than alchemy.  Sea dragon kois can be hunted for food, usually for special occasions and events, while locals try to preserve freshwater ones.  

Additional Information:

-Despite their name (translated from Songhua), they are not dragons.  Rather, it describes their appearance and size.

-Freshwater dragon kois are often revered as sacred due to appearance, rarity, and longevity.  Depictions of freshwater dragon kois are common and are associated with grace and wonder.

-their eggs are roughly twice the size of chicken eggs

-in summer and spring, sea dragon kois can be seen with their spines above waters near coastlines, the time when they mate

-takes about 10 years to reach mature fully and another 5 to reach average lengths