GOLDZILLA! Is this the biggest goldfish in Britain?
WITh a name like Rocky, she was always going to be a contender.
This giant goldfish is laying claim to the title of the biggest in the UK.
Weighing in at almost 3lb – more than a bag of sugar – she is much heavier than average, something she owes mostly to her big belly.
For while she is not exceptionally long for her breed, measuring six inches from tip to tail, she is almost as wide, with a whopping four-inch diameter.
Due to her extraordinary shape and weight, she is thought to be worth £4,500, 1,800 times more than the average.
Rocky is a three-year- old red oranda goldfish, which are characterised by prominent bubble-like growths on their heads. her owner Andy green, 55, who runs Star Fisheries in Sutton, London, importing and selling fancy goldfish, believes Rocky is the largest ever imported into the UK.
he said: ‘She’s very wide, and really heavy. Compared to a normal goldfish, Rocky is an absolute giant.
‘She is also certainly the largest of this type ever to be imported into the UK. She’s an incredibly strong and powerful fish. That’s where we got her name from.’
mr green’s love of goldfish began after winning one at a fairground aged ten and he began breeding fish when he was 12, starting his own business at the age of 20.
he said he had spent six months persuading Rocky’s former owner in China to sell her to him, and admitted he would be reluctant to sell her on.
Rocky is not the biggest goldfish ever recorded in the UK. A 16inlong fish, weighing 5lb, was caught in a lake in poole, Dorset, by 16year-old nick Richards in 2010.
It was thought the fish had been abandoned in the lake after outgrowing its tank.
Although very pricey, Rocky is also not the most expensive goldfish in Britain. mr green said he sold an oranda for an eye-watering £6,500 two years ago.
he said collectors are willing to ‘pay big money to make sure they get prime examples of goldfish’.
he added: ‘ Some people find them really ugly, especially the fish with bubble heads, but others absolutely love them.
‘goldfish all have different characters and temperaments, which makes them really interesting.’