Over the last 15 years, we've had a few issues with our koi pond -- most of which we've been able to solve ourselves or by calling a pond specialist. You can get parts and food from lots of places. But sadly, it was time to replace some of our koi. We put off buying new koi for a long time, having heard horror stories from a vet about the mass breeding of koi fish. Those low quality koi have lots of health problems and die early. Luckily a good friend with a koi pond told us about Champion Nishikigoi. It has an unassuming entrance but once inside there's a huge number of tanks with tons of koi. The entry level small koi are $75 each or three for $200. The medium sized non speciality koi are $150-$300 each. The large koi (or medium sized specialty) can be up to a couple of a thousand. On the day we were there, they had a gigantic 68 year old koi -- I think it was $10K. Paul was incredibly helpful, explaining the different varieties. Apparently Chagoi is the most friendly -- it will eat directly from your hand and will even "organize" the other fish. We selected two and Paul expertly packaged them up in plastic bags with extra oxygen, and a box to carry it in. He explained how to introduce them into our pond. All in all, a really good experience. read more

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I come to Champion Nishikigoi whenever I need to stock up on koi fish food. The service here is good. There are also a variety of different koi fish to choose from. I recommend coming here. read more

When I forest parked my car I thought this place was a small fish shop. Once you step in it's huge! They have the coolest fishes in these ginormous fish tanks. If you are looking for koi fishes range from small to large ones they have it all here. read more

6/20/20 Masks required for customers and worn by all staff, plexiglass at cash register. Bring cash for quicker transaction, though they do accept card. Incredible hidden gem in San Jose. Expansive and well maintained grounds with dozens of ponds and smaller tanks, the one housing the largest Koi is 18,000 gallons! It was pleasant walking around and looking at the fish in each pond, some of the little guys got very excited when we walked by, hoping for a feeding :D There is a public restroom, but I did not verify whether it's closed due to Covid restrictions. There is also a house sitting in the grounds and the cashier was housed in a small shop with lots of pond and fish maintenance supplies. We came to purchase a fancy goldfish and ended up with a very large gold and black Oranda, they were willing to bargain down $80 from the list price which was an offer we couldn't refuse. All of the fish, from smaller Ranchu to baby Koi to large Koi looked very healthy and active. They have a huge variety of smaller and medium size Koi separated by breed type and size, prices ranging $50 to $1k plus. The second largest pond contained fish all in the $900+ range and the largest did not have prices listed. According to the business, they make multiple trips to purchase Koi in Japan each year. They had a much larger variety of Koi than Genki Nishikigoi and the fancy goldfish were less pricey for larger specimens, but the Genki folks were super helpful and had a larger variety of fancy goldfish of all sizes and colors, so I would recommend visiting both businesses depending on your needs. read more

Friendly staff, good service, quality fish and sufficient inventory selections of pond equipment.

An extremely large selection of koi fish of all sizes at great prices for the quality. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommended for koi! read more

This place is the best. With Covid so scary for the elderly we were happy that this place provided everything we needed to make my mom's dreams come true. They walked us through the whole process and have some pretty amazing fish to boot. I can't say enough great things about the staff they talk to my mom several timincluding myself read more

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This is a o e stip shop for anything and everything related to koi fish. The staff is very polite and helps you guide with your specific needs. Highly recommended place if you are a koi pond in your house. read more

I started my koi pond 4 years ago and first koi was purchased online from here. I started with small koi as a trial but had them in a small 150gal stock tank so they are stunted right now (my fault) but still alive. I then made a 2500 gal pond and purchased about 14" kois from here and those keep growing to this date. They are now probably more than 20". Anyway Tom is so nice to work with. He will give you discounts if you purchase enough. You know he goes to Japan and selects the fish for us customers so I bet the business is not cheap to maintain. Every fall, I would add 3 to 4 good size kois to my pond and they are all healthy and strong. Nice selection of japanese koi from less than $100 to $8000 fish. If I win the lotto then I can buy $1000 fish:)--Benson read more

Champion Nishikigoi - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Jose, California

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Very nice facility with gorgeous koi. Extremely friendly & helpful. I had an issue & they took care of it immediately. How a business treats their customers when things don't go to plan says much more about their work ethic than when things are perfect. Thank you so much for the excellent customer service. I will absolutely be back. read more

CHAMPION MY ASS!!! We have a 2400 gallon pond that has been happily existing for nearly 40 years which was home to four beautifully healthy koi for just as many years. We decided to buy a few additional koi to add a bit more color to our pond so we bought two small koi from Champion. FIRST MISTAKE!!! We paid $250 for the pair. We specifically asked, repeatedly, if there was anything special we needed to do before introducing the new fish to our pond. Repeatedly we were told "No; just put the bag in the pond for 15 minutes to let the temperature balance for them, then let them loose." We did exactly as instructed. SECOND MISTAKE!!! Within three weeks our oldest koi, was so infested with trichodina that he died! We had to have Dr. Jessie Sanders, the state's only fish vet, come to treat the fish/pond at a cost of $680!!! He was an 8 lbs. 28" 40+ year old koi who'd lived a healthy life until Champion. Two weeks later, we learned that the pond had also become infested with flukes. Once again, we had to call Dr. Jessie come out to treat the pond/fish at an additional cost of $400. Even after all of the treatments and a ton of additional education, two more of our 40+ year old koi still died!!! All because Champion didn't advise us to quarantine the new fish and do a salt dip, before introducing them to our pond. Please, save yourself the trouble and expense of dealing with such careless unprofessional people. DO NOT BUY FROM CHAMPION NISHIKIGOI!!!! read more

Champion Nishikigoi is AMAZING -- I can't say enough good things about my visit today. I was in a panic because my pond pump died, and I was having a hard time getting a service appointment with any of the pond maintenance companies I called. I finally decided to just try to fix it myself and drove to Champion as they seemed to have a great selection of equipment. They were SO helpful and patient, and went way above and beyond. They took a lot of time helping me choose the right pump for my pond, and then not only identified all the proper PVC plumbing pieces, but actually got out the plumber's glue and put everything together for me, while patiently explaining everything. I haven't gotten a level of service like this anywhere in years! I also took a look at their extensive koi ponds while I was there -- and have to say that their koi are the most beautiful and healthiest-looking that I have ever seen anywhere. I highly recommend Champion -- and thank you again for all your greatly appreciated help! read more

Just received 3 Koi, a Tancho Kohaku, and two very nice Showa here in New York in 23 degrees. The koi are big and healthy and doing VERY well. This is the third time doing business with them and they have exceeded my expectations. I will use them in the future and highly suggest anyone doing business with them! Wish there were more than 5 stars! read more

This is the place my Dad and I usually go to to get our Koi. They usually have deals when you buy 6 for $100-$125. They're tiny, but they have a good selection. Although, you may want to call to make sure they have a new shipment in before venturing forth, as the nicely-colored ones get snapped up pretty quickly. We've been going to this place for years because accidental murderings of our Koi (over-watering the pond). There was only one incident where all but 2 in a batch of 6 mysteriously died, but we have since bought more and they are just fine. This place doesn't have as many tanks as Tse Koi, but they still do have a really deep one in the back which is always nice to see. All the tanks are outdoors. read more

Friendly and informative team. Good selection of koi's and supplies. We bought two small/medium koi for our pond for $100 read more

Great place, quality products and the price is right. Love to come here every time since 2003. Keep like this please. Thanks read more

There are koi of all price points and sizes here, which is nice if you're just a hobbyist looking to stock a pond. This is also one of the few places that I know that regularly stock tamasaba goldfish, at a pretty decent price too. read more

I'm not an experienced Koi person, but they have a large variety of Koi, the pools are clean and the shop is kept impeccably organized. I had to ask for help, but I'd rather than approach than being followed--so it worked for me. I brought my four year old and we weren't followed or harassed and my son enjoyed watching the fish. I'm just setting up a new pond for my new home, and they had everything I needed to get my water set up and ready for fish. I wish they carried some plants, but I guess I'd prefer they concentrate on great quality fish. read more

I'm not sure whey they are listed under home decor...they sell Koi fish and all the things you need to build and maintain your own koi fish pond. The staff here are very friendly and knowledgeable about the koi fish. My dad went here when he built our koi pond. They helped him to find the right size tank and pump as well as koi fish. And I don't really know how to take care of fish or what to do or even know when fish get sick. Actually, I kill all plants and fish left under my care. But the koi fish we got from this place actually made babies in our pond! That's right, they multiplied! Talk about more bang for your buck! And all I had to do was feed them, it was that simple. Thanks Champion Nishikigoi for making me like less of a fish killer! read more

If you're into koi you need to check this place out great selection of fish and everything you need to keep your pond and koi happy

I drove all the way from Berkeley to this place to check out and pick up some 6-8inch Koi. They have a very nice selection, and the people working there are laid back very helpful to look at any particular Koi. They have pools of Koi from $25 - $2000. its so cool to look at the higher end koi because there around 2 feet long ! Very breath taking to see a pool of them swimming around. After buying a young Koi, i got home to find it missing an eyeball. I took it back but they said keep it and gave me store credit to another Koi. They swim till today. I recommend this place for good Koi. price is slightly high but if you pick right, you can get a really High quality fish. read more

Great place to see many different Koi Fish. People there was also very good. There are large pools of Koi fish which allow one to see they look in a pool at home. read more

Super cool place, beautiful Japanese Koi, very clean! I would love to come back and see this place again very soon.

I came here looking for specific plumbing parts and lo and behold, Champion Nishikigoi had them in stock! This place has it all. The retail space and outdoor koi area are smaller than Tse Koi, but the space is well light, clean and organized. I was able to navigate and locate the parts I needed with ease. Finding the store was a breeze as you can see the storefront and signs right off of Aborn Road. Parking is directly in front of the store, but is minimal. Fortunately for me, there was only two other patrons there. After I purchased the parts, I took a quick glance at the koi selection outdoors. Lots to choose from and a lot of variety in terms of size and species. I'll definitely be a return customer for the koi and certain items not found at other koi and koi supply stores. read more

I would give this place 19 stars if I could. I specialize in the smaller sizes and I have fish from all the South Bay plus some East Bay and even East Coast dealers, Since April 2018, Champion Nishikigoi with the help of Tom and Justin Lai have given me: A Baby Champion Kohaku from Marusei A First Place Size 1 Kohaku from SFF A Best in Size 2 Showa from Ogata Several awards for Asagi and Kawarigoi Size 1 & 2 Were they expensive? No, in fact, there were plenty of more expensive fish there and these would probably have cost two to three times more in the other nearby outlets. Was I the first to select from a shipment and pick out the potential champions? Yes and no. Baby Champ was easy because most of its' brothers and sisters have been sold off and he was discounted twice! The Ogata Showa was in the bargain tank with lots of better fish. I was able to reserve one with just a phone call. In any case, the staff usually helps pick out the best in a bunch if you tell them what you want. I have spoken to other Koi show winners and this place has a reputation for finding potential winners in Japan and making them available here. Certainly MORE winners than any of the other nearby outlets. Champion Koi has very strict quarantine procedures all the fish I bought have been healthy. I regularly scour the other outlets for quality fish at reasonable prices but so far, very few have come close to the ones you can get at Champion Nishikigoi even if they were down to their last few fish in their last few tanks. To prove a point, Champion Koi was down to its' last few tanks so I went to another outlet and told the resident Koi experts there I wanted a winner from their recent shipments. All I got was -- "Oh very difficult." "Impossible." but then they pointed me to some small to medium $ 200 to $ 500 fish that on hindsight, would not have had a chance in most shows. I'm glad I made my way back to Tom's depleted tanks and picked out a winner. When asked if the little Kohaku would win, their Koi wranglers simply said "Maybe" -- which is a far cry from "Impossible". read more

This place is great! There's an awesome selection of koi fish you can get ranging from baby to massive koi. All the fish here are shipped directly from Japan. They're listed as a distributor in Japanese websites that I found. People here are very friendly and they also have a great selection of products. Definitely recommend this place whether you're a beginner or experienced hobbyist! read more

Champion Nishikigoi is behind the plaza with wells fargo on white and aborn. The place is well set up with multiple ponds with the koi arranged by size, type, price. The people who work here are not too pushy and allow you to browse and are helpful when you ask for help. I bought my dad a koi for his birthday and they were nice enough to package it for travel. They are also very strict on quarantining their fish upon arrival and will somtimes allow you to see them, but not buy them. read more

My check valve for my in-ground pool is malfunctioning and needed to be replaced. I called Leslie's Pool and they put me on hold for 20 minutes, then they said they couldn't talk to me because they were busy helping other customers in the store. All I wanted to do is to find out if they had the check valve in stock. So I did a google search on pool parts and landed on Champion Nishikigoi's website. I called and they had the part in stock. When I get to the store, the people their were extremely friendly, helpful and professional. The only thing I wasn't keen on is one of them is a smoker, but he did it outside (I have asthma). A thumbs-up for Champion Nishikigoi. read more

I have been to most or all the koi shops here in NorCal and I have to say dealing with these guys for the past 11 years has made taking care of my pond and koi easier!!! This shop has everything in one place from plumbing and fish. Plus all the employees are very knowledgable and helpful!! Plus if your looking for special order in Koi fish they can help you out. read more

My daughter and I walked around for the better part of 20 minutes trying to find a person who worked there. Finally we just gave up. The prices are cheaper at Champion Nishikigoi, but if you want to have great service and feel like you are welcome at the store go to Genki Koi. read more

I'm a beginner with koi . I met the owner Tom in the shop ,at first I didn't know he was the owner, he came to me to ask if I need help . I told him I'm the beginner just builded a pond want to get some koi . So he introduced all the variety of koi to me let me have some idea to pick , than he picked some koi explain to me how to look the Pattern, End up I bought 3fish , I want buy more , but he told me my pond is new , just start with 2 or 3 fish to test water to be safe , After month later I went back there to get more fish ,To now all my fishes are live I'm so happy with them . Thanks again Tom , I'll keep come back and introduce to all my friends your shop. read more

Disregarding the below i'd give the place a 3.75/5. The 2/5 rating is explained below. i read most of these reviews about the quality of these koi so i went to check it out. upon arriving (driving over 60 miles), i looked at the stuff and was somewhat impressed (but i'm a noobie to the koi world). anyways, we browsed around, and finally came to a conclusion to pick up a platinum ogon. after much debate, i asked the worker to pull them out for viewing. he proceeds by using a blue tub that doesn't really let you see the sides. you can only really see a topside view and that was excellent. the worker was very patient and i let my guard down a bit since this place appears reputable. i left without really doing any more inspections. when i arrived home i placed it into my tank and i took a good look at it's side view. to my horror, the koi has a very bad side view. the body appears to have grown faster than it's fins and thus the fins are smaller than the overall body. in addition, the back fin is deformed as instead of the expected l==D form you get the below | /==D \/ hard to picture but the fin somewhat points up instead to staying in line with the body. i'm not sure how i missed it, but i guess looking only from the top is a bad way to choose. the last defect is that the fish is verrrrry tall from top to bottom. i paid $30 for it as it's just a typical mid size koi. was totally not worth it for that quality. almost all places that sell koi have an all sales are final policy, as does this one. if you decide to go, ask them to pull your koi out for viewing. be sure to look in the pan they use as well as ask them to put the fish in a bag so you can inspect the side view. i called and the guy that picked up somewhat laughed in my face. the only reason i'm not too upset was because in actuality i admit this was my fault for not inspecting more and going with other reviews. long story short be sure to look at the sides. the 3.75 rating comes becuase overall based on various other choices on where to buy koi (Connies Pond and Garden: Rating 1, Tse Koi, Rating 1; Genki Koi, Rating 5; and alot of others in the bay) this is relatively not bad. and if you get the younger looking guy, he's very helpful. you'll need to initiate the help as they don't really go out and ask if they can help you. happy hunting read more

Heard good reviews about Champion and periodically get their advertising emails. We decided it's time for more koi addition to my 3,000g pond. Drove an hour down to South Bay. Good koi selection but vague detail on pricing. After twenty minutes browsing around there was no staff to greet us to ask if we needed help. The weather was warm and we saw them inside the building. Perhaps I was poorly dressed or maybe they just have too many looky loos. But another family showed up and someone inside instantly walked out to greet them. That's fine, maybe they know each other. No hard feeling. Ten minutes later we decided on the size of koi to buy. Finally a staff came out. "How much are these here?" I asked. He replied "the price are on the website." WTF am I suppose to go home to check your website then drive 60 minutes back to buy your fish? He gave me a look then said "$200 each." We were looking at smaller size fishes, some had price posted at $100, $150 and some don't. "All $200 each" he said, and pointed to other side "those are cheaper there." At that point my wife gave me a bad look. "Thank you" I said, we left and drove to Tze Koi 15 minutes away also in San Jose. At Tze Koi, we were greeted by a staff upon entering. We were then given space to view fish selection but periodically he came back asking if we had questions - now this is customer service. Make story short, we spent another two hours there viewing and select our new fish addition. Overall we spent near $1K, not a lot of money when it comes to koi hobby. But I felt I was well treated and educated. After coming back home I looked at Champion website, I didn't see any group of small koi selection that says $200 each? Was the staff lying to me? oh well. Sorry Champion, I am going to think twice before visiting your store again. read more

They have koi of all sizes that vary in prices which is similar to other koi fish stores in the area. They have many different kind of koi to choose from such as smaller koi for beginners to bigger kois for those with huge ponds to really expensive koi for those wanting pure koi or koi for breeding purposes. The breeding koi is kept in the back which is restricted so not sure if people can go in and check it out. They do not sell plants at all but they do sell food. They don't really greet you or acknowledge that your there which is somewhat good because you can look around yourself with out anyone bothering you or following you but they do look at you or pretend to look at you. They do have alot of koi but the quantity of koi is somewhat less compared to other stores in the area (if that makes sense). Overall a good place to come for koi that caters toward amateurs to pros. read more

Fish are so Beautiful theirs sooo many thats all I have to say. The staff is unbelievabley nice and friendly theyll help with everything. Everything is clean and the fish are super healthy. Looks wonderful. I'd come back again and again! read more

Beautiful high quality koi and friendly professional help. We bought 10 koi here and they packed them well for our 4 hr trip home. Wish we lived closer. read more

We are beginners at Koi and traveled to Champion Nishikigoi to find beautiful Koi for our new pond. This place is amazing, and Tom patiently helped us find exactly what we wanted. I learned many new things on our adventure. Now that our Koi are swimming healthy in our pond, I have to say that this is the best place. Thank you! read more

This place is a God-send. My pond is a little intimidating and can get so expensive. They helped me feel more confident and gave me a lot of information that has always seemed like some kind of secret at other places. It's beautiful, too and the lay out just encourages looking around and dreaming. Thanks for making koi ponding a little more friendly. read more

Great place! Knowledgeable personnel - that's the most important thing when it comes to buy koi. They have an excellent selection on koi products. No pressure to buy - and customers are welcome to wander around checking out the fish - from the little guys to the huge koi worth thousands. A wonderful place for beginners to experienced koi keepers. read more

This place is awesome. Huge selection of quality koi. They have big koi, lil koi, affordable koi, expensive koi, all different colors and varieties. This place has it all. Worth checking out fo sho. read more