The most expensive koi fish ever sold is S Legend, a red and white Kohaku bred at Sakai Fish Farm in Hiroshima, which sold for 203 million yen, about $1.8 million, at auction in Japan in 2018. As of November 2026, no koi has come close to that number. This countdown covers the ten highest prices we could document for koi, from verified auction records at Japan’s top breeders down to the published price levels for elite show fish, ranked from #10 up to #1.
Koi prices are harder to track than cars or paintings. Most top fish change hands at breeder auctions in Japan, and many results are never published. Where we have a confirmed sale, we say so. Where we only have a breeder’s published price level or a valuation, we label it clearly. For other record-priced fish, from bluefin tuna to aquarium rarities, see our list of the most expensive fish in the world.
| Rank | Item | Price (USD) | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Top-grade Taisho Sanke (published price level) | about $6,000 | 2026 | Breeders and dealers |
| 9 | Top-grade Kumonryu (published price level) | up to about $15,000 | 2026 | Breeders and dealers |
| 8 | Top-grade Showa (published price level) | up to about $16,000 | 2026 | Breeders and dealers |
| 7 | “Super Mango” Sakai female, 90 cm (valuation) | about $20,000 | 2024 season | Dealer valuation |
| 6 | Dainichi koi over 80 cm (breeder price floor) | about $35,000 to $40,000 and up | 2026 | Dainichi Koi Farm |
| 5 | Dainichi Kohaku | 11 million yen, about $138,000 | 2011 | Dainichi Koi Farm auction |
| 4 | Sakai Sanke, 2011 | 13 million yen, about $163,000 | 2011 | Sakai Fish Farm auction |
| 3 | Dainichi Showa “Special 01”, 61 cm | ¥21 million (about $205,000) | Late 2013 | Dainichi Koi Farm auction |
| 2 | Sakai Sanke No. 107 | ¥21 million (about $215,000) | Early 2010s | Sakai Fish Farm auction |
| 1 | S Legend, Kohaku | 203 million yen, about $1.8 million | 2018 | Sakai Fish Farm auction, Hiroshima |
10. Top-grade Taisho Sanke: about $6,000
Sanke is short for Taisho Sanshoku, a white koi with red patches and small black spots, first shown in Japan in the Taisho era of the early 1900s. It is one of the “Big Three” varieties that dominate koi shows, next to Kohaku and Showa.
A pond-quality Sanke can cost under $200. A large, older fish with clean white skin, balanced red and crisp black can reach about $6,000 at a dealer, and show winners go far higher, as #4 and #2 on this list prove.
How we valued it: published dealer price level for top retail fish, not a single recorded sale; we estimate the upper end.
9. Top-grade Kumonryu: up to about $15,000
Kumonryu means “nine-crested dragon,” and the fish earns the name. It is a scaleless koi in black and white whose pattern shifts through the year with water temperature, sometimes turning almost fully black or almost fully white.
That unpredictability is the draw. Owners never quite know what they will see in the pond next season. The best specimens are listed at up to about $15,000 each.
How we valued it: published price range for top specimens; this is a price level, not a recorded auction result.
8. Top-grade Showa: up to about $16,000
Showa Sanshoku is a black koi with red and white patterns, created in 1927 and named after the Showa era. Where a Sanke is a white fish with black spots, a Showa is a black fish with white and red, and its bold black wraps around the body.
Good Showa from respected breeders are listed at up to about $16,000. The very best go to auction, where they reach six figures, as #3 shows.
How we valued it: published price level for top retail fish; we label it as an estimate, not a sale.
7. “Super Mango” Sakai female, 90 cm: about $20,000
A 90-centimeter female bred by Sakai Fish Farm, nicknamed “Super Mango,” was valued at about 18,900 euros in the 2024 season. That is roughly $20,000 for a fish nearly three feet long from the farm that produced S Legend.
Size drives this number. Females grow bigger and fuller than males, and a jumbo female from a famous bloodline is valued both as a show fish and as a parent for future champions.
How we valued it: dealer valuation cited in a university science communication article; it is a valuation, not a confirmed sale.
6. Dainichi koi over 80 cm: about $35,000 to $40,000 and up
Dainichi Koi Farm in Niigata is one of the most decorated breeders in the hobby, famous for Showa and Kohaku that win the All Japan Koi Show. Dealer guidance on the farm says a Dainichi fish over 80 centimeters costs at least 5 to 6 million yen.
At 2026 exchange rates that works out to roughly $35,000 to $40,000 as a starting price, before any show record is added. Think of it as the entry ticket to the top tier.
How we valued it: minimum price published in dealer guidance on the breeder, converted to US dollars at about 150 yen per dollar; a price floor, not a sale.
5. Dainichi Kohaku, 2011: 11 million yen, about $138,000
Kohaku, the plain red and white koi, is the variety judges respect most. With only two colors, every flaw shows. In 2011 a Dainichi Kohaku sold for 11 million yen at auction, a record for koi auctions at the time.
It held that record only briefly. The same year, Sakai Fish Farm beat it with a Sanke, starting a race between Japan’s top breeders that would end with S Legend.
How we valued it: yen result from koi trade coverage, converted at the 2011 rate of roughly 80 yen per dollar.
4. Sakai Fish Farm Sanke, 2011: 13 million yen, about $163,000
Sakai Fish Farm in Hiroshima has bred koi for generations and is best known for big, heavy-bodied fish. In 2011 one of its Sanke sold for 13 million yen at the farm’s own auction, a new world record for a koi auction at the time.
The price showed that buyers, many from China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, would pay serious money for fish with the potential to win in Japan.
How we valued it: farm auction result reported by the koi trade press, converted at the 2011 rate.
3. Dainichi Showa “Special 01”: 21 million yen, about $205,000
This 61-centimeter Showa, a descendant of the famous Dainichi Showa bloodline known as Gachako, sold at a Dainichi auction in late 2013 for 21 million yen. The buyer was a well-known Japanese koi dealer who had paid the same record sum at Sakai Fish Farm.
The fish was bought young, at 61 centimeters, as a bet on what it would become. Koi keep growing for years, and a fish this size can reach champion size with time and the right pond.
How we valued it: reported winning bid, with the dollar figure as stated when it sold.
2. Sakai Fish Farm Sanke No. 107: 21 million yen, about $215,000
Sakai’s Sanke “No. 107” sold at the farm’s auction for 21 million yen, then about 160,000 euros or $215,000, a new world record for a koi auction. It nearly doubled the 2011 records at #5 and #4.
The exact sale date was not published, but the result came after the 2011 records and before the Dainichi Showa at #3 tied it. For a few years, 21 million yen was the ceiling.
One more result sits between this fish and #1: a Maruten Sanke is reported to have sold at a Sakai Fish Farm auction in 2015 for about $342,000. We found only one detailed account of that sale, so we mention it here instead of ranking it.
How we valued it: record bid reported by koi trade coverage, dollar figure as given at the time.
1. S Legend, Kohaku: about $1.8 million
S Legend is a female Kohaku bred by Kentaro Sakai at Sakai Fish Farm. She grew to about one meter long and won the top prize at the All Japan Koi Show, the most important show in the hobby. In 2018 she sold at auction in Hiroshima for 203 million yen, roughly 1.8 million dollars at the time.
That price was almost ten times the old record at #2. It made S Legend the most expensive koi ever sold and one of the most expensive live fish of any kind. The buyer was a Taiwanese collector, and the price reflects both her show title and her value as breeding stock for future champions.
How we valued it: the yen total reported by multiple news reports and a Japanese data publication; some reports date the sale to late 2017, most to 2018.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
We found no verified new koi price record in 2025 or 2026. S Legend’s 2018 sale is still the top price, and no published auction result has come close. Breeder auctions in Japan continue to sell top fish to buyers across Asia, Europe and the United States, but the biggest results are rarely made public anymore.
Some websites list koi such as a Ginrin Showa or a Kohaku called “Big Girl” at $500,000 or more. We could not confirm any of those sales with a second record, so we left them off the ranking.
What drives these prices
- Show titles turn fish into brands. A Grand Champion at the All Japan Koi Show carries a title that buyers pay for, the same way racehorse owners pay for a Derby winner.
- Bloodline is the long game. A champion female can produce thousands of offspring a season. Part of S Legend’s price was her future children.
- Size takes years. A koi that reaches 90 centimeters to one meter has survived a decade or more of careful feeding and water management. Size is time, and time is money.
- Simple patterns are hardest. The two-color Kohaku tops the list because there is nowhere for a flaw to hide. Perfection is rarer when the design is plain.
- Breeder names matter. Sakai and Dainichi dominate this list. Their fish come with decades of results behind them.
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What is the most expensive koi fish ever sold?
S Legend, a female Kohaku bred by Sakai Fish Farm, sold for 203 million yen, about $1.8 million, at auction in Hiroshima in 2018.
Who bought S Legend?
Reports identified the buyer as a collector from Taiwan.
Has any koi sold for more since 2018?
We found no verified sale above S Legend’s price as of November 2026. Most high-end koi sales now happen at private breeder auctions with unpublished results.
What is the cheapest entry on this list?
A top-grade Taisho Sanke at about $6,000, which is a dealer price level for excellent retail fish, not a show champion.
How much does a good koi cost?
Pond koi start at around $50 to $200. A quality Japanese-bred fish from a known breeder usually costs from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, and large show fish from top farms start in the tens of thousands.
Which koi variety is the most valuable?
Kohaku, the red and white koi, holds the record and is the most respected variety at shows. Showa and Sanke, the other two “Big Three” varieties, also reach six-figure prices.
How we put this list together
We ranked these koi by verified sale price where one exists, using auction results and published breeder prices compiled in our internal valuation model, and we labelled valuations and price levels clearly. Prices are approximate, converted at the exchange rate of the sale year, and change over time.
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Last updated: November 2026.
