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Fighting fish put up their dukes at Ekka

They may be from Thailand but Siamese Fighting Fish have joined in the competition for the best in show awards at Queensland's Ekka.

Ekka
More than 50,000 people will head to the Ekka in Brisbane for People's Day on Wednesday. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Cattle, sheep and horses may be best known for receiving the premier show awards at the Ekka, but it's the Siamese Fighting Fish who are making a splash in 2017.

More than 400 of the colourful little fish with the big attitudes were entered into the Royal Queensland Show this year.

They came from nine different countries and were critiqued by judges from Thailand and Sydney.

It was the first time in a decade the fish, the size of a pinky finger, had been included at the Ekka.

Organiser Jodi-Lea Matheson told AAP it was the "only truly international Siamese Fighting Fish competition in Australia".

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The fish were judged on their colour, fins, body shape, bloodline and deportment.

Ms Matheson said that related to how they flared their fins, danced and their aggressiveness.

The Siamese Fighting Fish importer said diet, training and the fish's personalities contributed to their ability to take out the top prize in their category and the best in show award.

"I like their personalities," she said on Wednesday.

In the end, there could be only one best in show winner, with the prize going to Thai breeder Uncle Daeng and his red halfmoon plakad male.

The little fighting fish was just one of the celebrated animals on display at People's Day at the Ekka on Wednesday.

Jacob Taylor watched on with his family from the Main Arena stand as the best cows, sheep, alpacas and other best in show winners were paraded.

The nine-year-old told AAP the sheep were his favourite.

"I just like them because they're fluffy," he said.

About 50,000 were expected to pass through the gates for the annual public holiday, as 30-degree temperatures made for a hot winter's day.

While some braved the heat and the crowds on the rides, others were more content to munch on a dagwood dog or relax with a beer in the popular Stockman's Bar.

Earlier in the day the Pacific Motorway came to a standstill as thousands of other Brisbane residents, not attending the Ekka, used the day to escape to Gold Coast beaches.


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