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World's most expensive fish bought for Dh6.7 million

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Worlds most expensive fish bought for Dh6.7 million

The news about the record sale spread quickly.

Published: Fri 5 Oct 2018, 1:42 PM

Updated: Fri 5 Oct 2018, 8:28 PM

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A red and white Koi Carp fish was sold for a record £1.4 million (Dh6.7 million) in an auction in Japan to became the world's most expensive fish.
The 3feet 3ins long fish was bought by a collector from Taiwan for £1 million more than previous world record. The bidding took place at the Saki Fish farm in the city of Hiroshima where the female Koi named S Legend was sold to successful bidder from Taiwan. The fish is of the Kohaku variety which is the most recognisable among the many varieties of carp and was sold by breeder Kentaro Sakai. 
British Koi expert, Tim Waddington, said that the news about the record £1.4m sale quickly spread among Koi Carp dealers in the UK. "This is a record price paid for a single Koi Carp. At 101cm it is very large and from the favoured Kohaku variety," Waddington was quoted as saying in Daily Mail. He added, "Not much is known about the woman who bought the fish other than she is called Yingying and is from Taiwan."
Photos from the auction were posted on Facebook page of world-famous Saki Fish farm which has been breeding Koi for over 100 years. Koi Carp collectors and fans are expected to travel from all over the world to get a glimpse of the £1.4m fish.
Waddington, 43, from Warrington, Cheshire, has visited Japan over 60 times to source Koi Carp for clients in the UK. He will be travelling to see the most expensive Koi in early 2019 when it is expected to be in Tokyo for the All Japan Show. 
The new owner of the most expensive Koi Carp will have the opportunity to breed the fish which can produce up to 500,000 eggs, of which no more than 5,000 will be of the right quality to sell. Waddington said, "Koi can live up to the age of 25 but it is likely with this one that it will continue to compete in shows for another two years. People in the Koi carp world are excited by the sale as it is an incredible price for a single fish. The previous best price was around £400,000."
Koi Carp, which originated in Japan, come in more than a dozen varieties and are distinguished by their colouring, patterning, and scalation. The Kohaku variety is a white-skinned koi, with large red markings on the top. The perfect Kohaku will have pristine white without any discolouration of yellowing.
Japan remains the biggest producer of Koi with 90 per cent of production destined for export. In 2016, Japan exported a record 295 tonnes of koi carp bringing in revenue of over £28 million. 



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