Ryukin Goldfish

General information

These fish have a short and stubby body and can reach 6 inches. There are many color varieties for these fish like red, calico ( white with red, orange and black markings), white and chocolate. There is a long tailed variety called Fringe Tail Ryukin. The Ryukin Goldfish was developed from the Fantail Goldfish. These two can be differentiated by their back, the former has an extremely high back looking like a dorsal hump and a wider caudal fin.  To keep these fish in captivity, water temperature should range from 65ºF to 72ºF. The tank should have a gravel substrate with silk plants. These fish can be kept in a community aquarium. They can be kept individually or in groups, a 20 gallon tank is enough for a single specimen and for each fish added, the tank size should increase by 10 gallons.

This species is omnivorous. In captivity, it can be fed with dried foods complemented with live or frozen foods.

To breed this species in captivity, the fish should be kept in a 20 gallon tank and fed with live food. The water temperature should be 60ºF and should be warmed 3ºF per day until they spawn. As temperature increases, the male will start to pursue the female which can last for several days, the male will start to push the female this will make her drop her eggs which the male will then fertilize. At this time, the adults should be removed from the tank to prevent them from eating the eggs. The eggs take 4 to 7 days to hatch.

There is a parasite that latches onto goldfish called Goldfish ICH, this parasite feeds on the goldfish until it is fully grown, then it reproduces and starts the cycle again.

This species originated in Japan.