Hikari is a line of specialty fish food brand manufactured by Kyorin Food Industries, Ltd. in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

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History and profile

Kyorin Food Industries, Ltd. is a part of the Kamihata Fish Industry Group together with its sister companies namely the Kamihata Fish Industries, Ltd. and the Kyorin Company, Ltd. The history of Kyorin Food Industries, Ltd. as a cultivator of Koi

Koi

or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....

, goldfish

Goldfish

The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....

 and fish diets dates back to 1877 when a Japanese named Tozaemon Kamihata started Koi carp cultivation. In 1946, another Kamihata, Tokichi Kamihata, opened a Koi

Koi

or more specifically , are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens....

 carp store in Himeji City, Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

, Japan. Then in 1961, Shigezo Kamihata established the Kamihata Fish Industries, Ltd. The Kyorin Company, Ltd. was formally established in 1968 to manage the wholesale division of Kamihata Fish Industries, Ltd. The Kamihata Group then established other branches in Japan including Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 (1989), Hongkong (1991), China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (1999) and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 (2001). It has a representative office in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 under the company name, Hikari USA.

Kamihata Fish Industries Ltd. exhibited their specialty products at the Interzoo Exhibition in 2004 and 2006, which is an international pet business exhibition, at Nuremberg

Nuremberg

Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

 Messe, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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Hikari foods and fancy goldfish headgrowths

Izhak Kroshinsky, a leading American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Ranchu

Ranchu

The ranchu is a hooded variety of fancy goldfish developed in Japan. It is referred to as the "king of goldfish" by the Japanese.-Origins and evolution:The modern-day ranchu is a Japanese development of the lionhead...

 goldfish

Goldfish

The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....

breeder and co-author of the book The Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care and Collecting (Chapter 10, Breeding Ranchus, page 171) wrote: "Some manufacturers of pellet foods claim to incorporate headgrowth enhancers. I have used Hikari's lionhead pellets, and they do seem to accelerate headgrowth.