The most expensive koi fish ever publicly reported is a Kohaku named S Legend, which sold for about $1.8 million. This record-setting price is widely cited in fish-keeping and koi press, and it helped elevate the reputation of Kohaku as a top-tier show-quality variety.

Key takeaways

• The leading factor driving high prices in koi is bloodline quality, pattern, color purity, size, and show performance. Kohaku, with its iconic white and red pattern, frequently commands the highest prices when the lineage is superb.

• Prices for other top koi varieties vary widely, with some specimens selling in the high hundreds of thousands or lower six figures depending on lineage, pattern, and show results.

• Market sources range from breeder and show coverage to industry roundups, but the $1.8 million figure for S Legend remains the standard benchmark for the most expensive koi sold to date.

If you’d like, I can pull more current listings or show a ranked list of the top koi by price from credible sources, and I can compare what makes each one valuable.