San Diego, CA
Shopping for koi around San Diego? Visiting a dealer beats shipping when you can — you see the actual fish, its conformation, and the water it's kept in. Below are dealers elsewhere in California, and trusted shippers that deliver overnight to San Diego. Check the price guide before you go.
North Hollywood, CA Ships nationwide $$$ show
Cali Koi is a North Hollywood, California dealer, founded in 2004, that imports Japanese nishikigoi through relationships its owner built directly with breeders and agents in Japan. Alongside retail koi sales spanning pond-grade to high-end show fish, the business also offers pond and lake management consulting, koi rescue, and pond maintenance and installation services.
San Jose, CA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ show
ChampKoi (Champion Nishikigoi) is a San Jose, California online koi dealer founded in 1998 by hobbyist-turned-importer Tom Lai. It sells premium Japanese koi hand-selected directly from named Niigata- and Hiroshima-area breeder farms, ships nationwide overnight, and publishes individual breeder profiles so buyers can see which farm produced each fish before purchase.
San Jose, CA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ show
Genki Koi is a San Jose, California koi importer founded in 1997, run by owner Kevin who travels to Japan several times a year to hand-select fish from more than 50 Niigata and Hiroshima breeders including Dainichi and Isa. It sells a broad range of traditional and metallic varieties online with nationwide shipping.
Fountain Valley, CA Ships nationwide $ $$
Inland Koi is a Japanese koi importer and retailer operating out of Fountain Valley, California (despite its name, current listings place it in Orange County rather than Riverside). It sells through a physical storefront and an online store, quarantines incoming shipments before offering fish for sale, and is regularly mentioned alongside other Southern California shops in hobbyist dealer-recommendation discussions.
Laguna Beach, CA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ show
Laguna Koi Ponds is an Orange County koi retailer in Laguna Beach, California that has operated since 1982. The business maintains roughly 35,000 gallons of display ponds stocked with imported Japanese koi hand-selected from breeders including Koshiji, Ikarashi, Sakazume, and Otsuka, alongside pond design, filtration, and equipment services, with inventory ranging from a few hundred dollars to show-quality fish priced up to $30,000.
Upland, CA Ships nationwide $ $$ $$$
Mystic Koi & Water Gardens is a family-owned shop in Upland, California that has operated since 1996 as, by its own description, the largest Southern California specialty retailer of imported Japanese koi and water-gardening supplies. The three-quarter-acre property carries an unusually wide range of named varieties sourced from Japanese breeders including Sekiguchi, Omosako, and Sakai Fish Farm, alongside plants, filtration, and pond-care products.
Rocklin, CA Ships to 49 states $$ $$$
Sacramento Koi is a family-owned importer of Japanese koi based in Rocklin, California, operating since 2000. It sells hand-selected imported koi online and through a storefront, runs new arrivals through an extended in-house quarantine before sale, and also manufactures its own U.S.-made pond filtration equipment under the Sacramento Koi / Advantage brand.
Carneys Point, NJ Ships nationwide $$ Ships to CA
Beni Hanna Nishikigoi is a New Jersey koi breeding operation founded in 2017 by koi geneticist Mat McCann on the site of the former Quality Koi Company, which closed in 2016. The farm breeds its own American-bred koi lines alongside imported Japanese stock, describing its approach as genetics-first rather than tied to country of origin, and ships smaller koi overnight while larger fish move via air cargo. It is not affiliated with the original Quality Koi Company beyond sharing the same New Jersey property.
Findlay, OH Ships nationwide $ $$ $$$ Ships to CA
Black Swamp Koi Farms, also operating as Kuronuma Koi Farms, is a Findlay, Ohio koi breeder that describes itself as raising show-quality koi from Japanese parent stock for around 40 years, while also carrying individually imported Japanese fish such as Chagoi and Bekko. The farm ships via UPS next-day air or Delta Cargo for larger koi, handles shipping issues case-by-case rather than with a blanket live-arrival guarantee, and welcomes visits by appointment.
Eustis, FL Ships nationwide $ $$ Ships to CA
Blackwater Creek Koi Farms is a working American koi farm in Eustis, Florida that breeds its own fish from broodstock originally imported from Japan, sold online as US-raised koi and goldfish. It operates two bio-secure farm sites, sells nationwide, and allows appointment-only farm visits where buyers can hand-select fish.
Kernersville, NC Ships nationwide $ $$ Ships to CA
Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery (doing business as Blue Ridge Koi & Goldfish) is a fourth-generation family operation based in Kernersville, North Carolina, describing itself as America's largest and longest-running koi and goldfish supplier after more than 60 years breeding fish across six farms with over 200 ponds. It sells standard and premium-grade koi, butterfly koi, and pond goldfish direct to consumers as well as through a retailer network.
Ocala, FL Ships nationwide $ $$ Ships to CA
Chevy's Quality Koi is a small, owner-operated breeding farm in Ocala, Florida run by Brad, who has built a stable of breeder koi to sell quality, affordably priced fish. The farm ships nationwide on a Monday/Tuesday schedule with shipping cost based on box size and destination, and also welcomes appointment visits to hand-select from its Butterfly and Standard Fin koi, including Kohaku, Kujaku, and Matsuba varieties.
La Center, WA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ show Ships to CA
Children of the Sun Koi, doing business as Cots Koi, is a Washington State importer founded in 2004 that sources exclusively from named Japanese breeders including Dainichi, Ikarashi, Maruyama, Izumiya, and Torazo Koi Farms rather than breeding its own stock. It carries Gosanke varieties, Shiro Utsuri, and Ginrin koi across a wide price range, with a live-arrival guarantee that applies to air-cargo shipments but not to UPS shipments. It is included in this Northeast/Midwest research batch even though it is West Coast-based, per the assigned task scope. Note: it competes in the same national import-focused segment as some larger East and West Coast dealers.
New Hill, NC Ships nationwide $$ $$$ Ships to CA
East Coast Koi Imports operates a 32-acre farm near Durham, North Carolina with over 80,000 gallons of show ponds, mud ponds, and holding tanks. The owner has more than 20 years of experience hand-selecting koi from Japanese breeders, and the business ships nationwide with cost calculated by fish quantity, weight, and destination zip code, in addition to welcoming appointment visits.
Milford, NJ Ships nationwide $$ Ships to CA
Fitz's Fish Ponds is a New Jersey-based pond builder and koi dealer founded in 2008, running six greenhouses of Japanese koi at its Milford, NJ farm alongside retail locations in NJ and PA. The company both raises its own stock and imports directly from Japanese farms including Shintaro Koi Farm and Aokiya Koi Farm, and organizes buying trips to Japan for customers who want to hand-select fish. Koi ship nationwide, and the farm location is open to retail and wholesale visitors by appointment.
Douglasville, GA Ships nationwide $$ $$$ Ships to CA
Grand Koi is a Japanese koi importer based near Atlanta in Douglasville, Georgia, describing itself as one of the largest US stockers of imported koi and citing preferred-buyer relationships with Japanese breeders including Dainichi, Sakai, and Momotaro. The company screens, quarantines, and acclimates koi at its Georgia facility before shipping to customers across the continental United States.