Aquarium fishes: Goldfishes

Oranda goldfish care guide

Oranda (in Japanese – 和蘭獅子頭) is one of the artificially bred ornamental species of ‘goldfish’ for home aquariums (Carassius gibelio forma auratus), which is one of veiltail kinds, but it differs from them since it has fleshy outgrowths on its head and gill covers. The main distinctive feature is its “hood” on the head, which is called ‘wen’. Wen starts to appear in about 3-4 month after the birth, but it gets fully formed only 1-2 years later. However, you can say that the ‘hood’ is completely developed only when it is 2-2.5 years old.

Pearlscale goldfish care guide

by Sergey Schulz

Pearlscale goldfish (珍珠鱗 chinshurin in Japanese) is one of artificially bread ornamental freshwater fish species (Carassius auratus auratus) that differs from its relatives by the unusual shape of its scales that look like pearls.

Shubunkin care guide

by Sergey Schulz

Shubunkin (朱文金, red brocade) — is one of artificially bred ornamental species of tank goldfish (Carassius gibelio forma auratus) that has transparent scales and fancy coloring.

Veiltail goldfish care guide

by Sergey Schulz

Veiltail goldfish is one of artificially bred ornamental breeds of tank ‘goldfish’. The fish is famous for its elongated fins and a fluffy vailtail which is even longer if compared to other representatives of this kind. This is very undemanding fish that is perfect for beginner aquarists, though it has some restrictions in keeping. It digs tank bottom a lot, likes to eat and very often it overeats till death; likes cool water.