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Brutus, I know you to be above all, a pattern guy! So I'm really glad you responded. "What the heck is this?" was a comment not really about the variety, but about this being a show fish.
Obviously this is an interesting looking fish. Likely male, very finished and sharp looking. You or I might even like to own it for the fascination of the thing. It is, in my view, a Collector's Fish. But is it a show fish? I think not. More like a collectors fish in a koi show.
This is a tricky subject. The reason being is there is the standard or prototype show fish based on conventional taste and against the backdrop of judging rules and standards. A show fish, as livestock and a potential breeder, must be forst and foremost a sound animal- n deformities or abnormalities that are genetically inheritable. After that, a show fish should reflect the standard. And the standard is the ideal. This is why in the old days, there was a point system for judging like at a 4 H club event. But as a strict fixed laundry list of requirements, a standard can be limiting. So two decades ago, subjectivity was built into the standard so that exceptional specimens but with technical violations of the standards could still win. This , in effect, made the standard more like a 'living/ flexible document' and thus it would evolve as the fish evolved. As they say in the hood, " I'm down with that"!
But then there are Collectors fish. These are also valuable and remarkable works of breeding and nature. But they are so far afield of the standard that they can not be judged against fish that excel within the standard. One very famous example of a remarkable collectors fish was the Isawa sanke with the giant patch of deep black hole like sumi at the shoulder. It was amazing- but no show fish.
I see this fish I posted at the beginning of the thread , a really nice collector's fish. Very special and very amazing, just not a great show fish
Here's a picture of the Isawa sanke-
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