Bonnie, they're one of the "names" in quality imported koi. I've only seen
the "4-and-5-figure-BEFORE-the-decimal-point" koi at shows: they're truly
remarkable. Now when folks rant and rave about the Japanese quality imports
versus the domestic "home growns", you'll know what they mean. A "tosai"
(2nd year koi) for $12,000 should have been pretty impressive. But if you
really want "sticker shock", that's not a bad price: there are many that are
far more expensive. The fish must have gone to a serious collector. The
first time I spend $85 for a little import, I freaked. Then I spent $250 for
a domestic butterfly that tripped my trigger. Then I spent $400 on a
Japanese imported Shiru Utsuri fresh out of quarantine from the fall harvest
(my Christmas present to myself G). To me, these are *EXPENSIVE* fish, so
you can understand why I get a bit neurotic about their care. But in the
world of koi, they're chump change (sigh). If *only* I could win the Lottery
.. . .

Lee


"Bonnie Espenshade" wrote in message
...
I just returned from seeing my first quality koi. WOW,
there were some really beautiful fish just in from Japan.
And what beauties! He also had some 2 year old Koi raised
in mud ponds, they were huge and expensive. The one was
already sold and in a holding tank only $12,000. I was
there to pick up a new test kit and the guy that followed me
spent $2800 on fish. I guess you could call me a big spender;-)
--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/