whats like the best koi, I would want to get it small and raise it, clearly the cheaper of the options as well.
The best are pure white, have proper conformation, and have a perfectly round mark centered on their foreheads of the purest, truest red (just like the Japanese flag). Red and white are generally more highly prized, I believe they are called Tancho (I used to know almost all the different types, which when translated are rather romantic names, like cloudy autumn sky with metallic sparkles), Kohaku are also very populare. Showa tend to be my favorite.
ok dont get mad at me but..why are koi so special? just cool to look at?
They are cool to look at, and are highly prized simply for their beauty.
yeah they are like big goldfish...
It's a carp, essentially, a Cyprinid. They are easily tamed and can learn quite quickly (both goldies and koi, though there's a research article somewhere about goldies learning... something, sorry, I'm drawing a blank on the specifics), though they learn "human" and not necessarily "individual" as many cichlids do. They are VERY long-lived, having been known to live well over 100 years.
They're just gorgeous, is all. Check out the fish on this site, to give you an idea of the "affordable", yet quality fish.
Koi For Sale - Page 1 - Champion Nishikigoi
http://www.champkoi.com/products.php?res=SHOW_WINNERS
Ok, I've just spent... fuck, 45 minutes going through the koi. Of COURSE, I've found so many that I absolutely adore, but of course. Not a single blue (doitsu or otherwise!), though. I cried the day I lost that pondful of fish, and it's the only time in my life that I cried over fish.
Koi varieties.