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An I-Koi-nic Journey

By Liam Hordijk
A longtime member of Hong Kong's Koi fish community shares what he did and how
he got here

espite owning about 100 Koi, There are many competitions host- ning Koi in his 40,000-square-foot
DAaron Lit Ying-yeung is able ed by Koi organisations - such as fish farm in the New Territories,
to tell them apart. the Belgian Koi Society and the Koi since the 90s.
Club Singapore - held in places like
“Each Koi has a unique pattern,” China and Japan to pick the most They include a Koromo Showa
the 56-year-old says, adding that beautiful Koi every year. that took home this year’s 80-to-85
he used to name his Koi fish, but cm division champion prize at the
has stopped as he cannot remem- Lit adds that quality Koi, especially 35th Hong Kong Koi Show.
ber so many names now. award-winning ones, can be worth
big money. ‘She wins something whenever she
Koi, or nishikigoi, are coloured enters a competition,’ Lit says, add-
carp that symbolise good fortune. “One can be sold for USD $1.8 mil- ing that she won her first prize in
Lit says some Chinese people buy lion dollars (HKD $14.1 million). 2017, and has done so on five oc-
the fish believing that they will It’s quite crazy,” Lit says. casions up until now.
bring good feng shui and positive
energy. Lit has raised several award-win- Judges appraise a Koi on body