Taniguchi - Sanke

My absolute number one Taniguchi Sanke, and a fish I had to work hard to get hold of. I think it’s obvious just how good this is, just in case you’re looking at it and wondering why I’m so excited. You just need to look at the quality of the thing. The body shape alone is absolutely stunning. It’s got this phenomenal height building on the shoulders and a superb head shape. I love the balance of the head pattern on the face as well.

You see the Tejima breaking in the fins, but I don’t even need to discuss the quality at this point. I just think it’s there. You’ve got a lovely softness in the colour at the minute, but we’ve not even got the best out of that. Sumi’s breaking, but you can also see, on some of the Beni, the level that it’s going to get to. You look at the flow of that Beni pattern, the way it winds down the body, and the Sumi sits within it, a mix of Kasane and Tsubo style. It is just remarkable.

As this fish grows out, it’s going to become a top Sanke. I absolutely assure you of that. At the point of it reaching the end of the growing period, if you’re lucky enough to acquire this fish, you’ll look back and think it’s an absolute bargain.