Some koi have almost the face of a human and is called a humanoid koi. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTVwgvqhwn8

I have been asked by Karen Wentzel to place a value on one of her "humanoid" koi, a 60 cm Matsuba. No blemishes.

I would appreciate your inputs. Quite an extraordinary and unique koi.

The photo is not very good.

My reply to Karen:

Hi Karen

It is an extremely unique koi, and therefore very difficult to place a value on it. It is like antique furniture and I am not an expert. The photo is also not very good and it is very difficult to judge quality from a photo, as the luster/shine, skin quality etc have to be considered. A local bred koi of 60 cm with good body shape like yours and female would go for about R 3900.00. A good Japanese import much more. However, this Matsuba is very unique and some people are willing to pay three times more for a very unique koi.

On the other hand, it is not a go-sanke, and Matsuba's are cheaper than most other varieties. In your case, a Kin Matsuba. At a show, they compete in the Hikari Mujimono group with a lot of competition from other Hikari Mujimono varieties. Some judges may see the unique face as a demerit from a show point of view. Show quality fish normally reach better prices than unique koi, and your fish might not do well at a show.

The value of the fish is obviously linked to what people are willing to pay. Because you are not a dealer, many serious koi enthusiasts would not be interested because of possible health issues. A lot of people sell their fish the moment they encounter health problems, whereas dealers would/should not sell any fish while they encounter health issues. Was the koi exposed to possible KHV or bad bacteria. "Second hand" fish (from hobbyists) do not reach very high prices in South Africa.

The other questions are, how old is the fish, who is the breeder, is it a Japanese import? The age would determine whether te fish will still grow, or did it reach it's peak, the breeder might indicate a specific bloodline, and if it is a Japanese import, it could indicate good further development.

Hope it gives you an indication.

Hi Paul,

het hierdie heeltemal gemis!

Ek sou dink so R50 per cm sal 'n goeie prys wees.