Fantail Goldfish

General information

These fish have a split tail fin that is medium in length and a bit forked. They have a short and stubby body with a wide head. There are many color and scale varieties. The Goldfish variety is bred for show, a good show goldfish has a completely split tail fin with the two lobes closer on the top than on the bottom. To keep these fish in captivity, water pH should be between 6.0 and 8.0 and water temperature should range from 65ºF  to 72ºF. The tank should have a gravel substrate and silk plants. These fish can be kept in a community tank with other medium swimmers, neither slow or fast. They can be kept as a single specimen in an at least 20 gallon tank or in groups, for each fish added the tank’s size should increase by 10 gallons.

This species is omnivorous. They can be fed with dried foods that should be complemented with live or frozen foods and with vegetable matter.

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.

These fish originated in China.