Have you ever wondered how many fancy goldfish types are there? Then, read this article to find out all varieties of fancy goldfish
There are over 200 species of goldfish to choose which include common goldfish, slim bodies goldfish, and more slow-swimming fancy goldfish. But the perfect goldfish for you to take home has been shortlisted to 21 varieties.
Hopefully, we’ll see the description of all the twenty varieties of goldfish and how to maintain them with proper products. If you are already a goldfish keeper then this article might help you to know more varieties of goldfish. Get ready to be adored by them.
According to a recent survey, it has been discovered that people who watch fish swimming in a gorgeous aquascaped tank can reduce their blood pressure, lowers stress, and can reform the aspect of life for those who are with Alzheimer’s disease.
It helps kids with ADHD and Autism. It reclines the tightly wired tension among them and helps their nerves soothe.
Types of Goldfish:
All the goldfishes’ scientific name is Carassius auratus and is disembarked from the wild carp species. Among goldfish, many were bred as ornaments for ponds and displayed in the gardens of the wealthy.
This means the common goldfish can even grow from six to eight inches long, not including their trailing, Lucious finnage.
So, if you want to grow in the tank then choose according to how long it will grow, and if it’s in the pond then you can give it a free pass toward size.
1. Fantail goldfish:
- Color: orange, white, black, red, yellow
- Size: 6 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single-colored, bi-colored, koi, Calico
It takes up to 20 gallons of tank size to be kept in a sufficient environment.
They are one of the easiest fancies to take care of. They do require a heater. But if you are a busy bee then the level of care goes to moderate for you.
Fantails are the most common goldfish and are a great pet for beginners. Its body is oval shaped and looks so comic and a wobbling style of swimming.
They have such a beautiful double tail and sometimes their scales can have a metallic or mattish finish which will look so glorious when they swim. I know, I know, it is very tempting for the common goldfish.
But always remember they can grow up to 8 inches and you have to keep monitoring if the tank suits it or not.
2. Veiltail goldfish:
- Color: white, red, gold, and orange
- Size: 7 to 8 inches
- Patterns: bi-colored, single-colored
They need a 20-gallon tank and the maintenance can be moderate to difficult.
Veiltails have a round, compact body and are known for their streaming dorsal fins which are super-elongated up to 3 to 4-inch tails.
These goldfish need plenty of space for swimming since they have long tails which are even delicate. You cannot use many decorative rocks and plants in there because it can damage their sensitive fins which can lead to bacterial infection and disease.
3. Butterfly Tail Goldfish:
- Color: red, white, black
- Size: 7 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single-colored, bi-colored, tri-colored, panda, calico
They need a 20-gallon tank and are moderate to maintain.
Butterfly tails are one of the newly bred fish which is getting very popular among fish lovers because of their glorious tail and structure. They have a curved body and a widespread double tail that has a butterfly’s outline. They also come in telescopic-eye and hooded varieties.
The other interesting thing is, they are also found to be lavender in color, which is so pretty to even imagine. As we know, of course, they are rare to find.
4. Ryukin goldfish:
- Color: yellow, orange, red, black, white
- Size: 6 to 10 inches
- Pattern: koi, calico, single-colored, double-colored
They need a 30-gallon tank and are easy to take care of.
These fish have a round body with a distinctive humped back which gives a tall appearance and they have a splendid double tail.
Ryukin goldfishes are direct disembarking from fantail goldfish. They are easy to maintain and also can be kept in an outdoor pond.
5. Tosakin Goldfish:
- Color: white, black, red
- Size: 4 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
They need a 30-gallon tank and are difficult to maintain since they are very rare nowadays due to world war 2 and its effect leading to the extinction of this species. But fortunately, a man named Tamura rescued just six specimens of these and was able to re-establish to breed them. The Tosakins are rare to see outside of Japan.
6. Sabao or Tamasaba Goldfish:
- Color: red and white
- Size: 8 to 10 inches
- Patterns: single and bi-colored
They need a minimum of 30 gallons of water and they are very easy to maintain.
They are very rare to see outside of Japan which is their native. But can be found online which are kept for sale. It can be a little expensive since you will be ordering it online which includes the shipping charges.
Tamasaba Goldfish were bred using Ryukin fish, so they are similar to the Ryukin goldfish which has a humped back and a long single tail.
7. Ranchu Goldfish:
- Color: yellow, orange, red, black, white, gold
- Size: 5 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
These are tiny fishes so they need a 20-gallon tank and they are hard to maintain because they have a hump on their back which sometimes can be ignored by us when it sometimes shows the symptom of a cyst.
In Japan, where they originated they are known as the “King of the Goldfish,” as they are highly valued.
The Ranchu goldfish do not have a dorsal fin, so they won’t be able to swim as normal fishes do. They require a heater, as well as high-quality water. It is best if you minimize the decors and should be kept with few numbers of fish to have less clutter and plenty of space to swim.
8. Oranda Goldfish:
- Color: red, white, black, blue, brown, gold, calico
- Size: 7 to 9 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored.
The Oranda goldfish needs a 20-gallon tank and is a bit challenging to maintain.
They often get mistaken for Lionhead goldfish, but the oranda has a dorsal fin while the Lionhead does not.
Oranda’s body is round in shape and they have a noticeable double tail with a hood on their head. This delicate texture on their head is called a wen and they keep growing. The continued growth of the wen can obstruct its vision as it gets older. If needed it can be trimmed by the professional as they do not have blood vessels.
9. Lionchu Goldfish:
- Color: calico, red, blue, white, black, gold, chocolate, orange
- Size: 5 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single and double colored
This Goldfish’s name itself shows where it comes from. It’s a hybrid cross between a Ranchu and a Lionhead goldfish.
Lionchu has a similar shape as Ranchu but with the fantail and the lionhead’s head growth.
10. Lionhead Goldfish:
- Color: red, white, orange, yellow, chocolate, calico, black and blue
- Size: 5 to 8 inches
- Patterns: single and double colored
They need a minimum of a 20-gallon water tank and are difficult to take care of. Hence, they have a hood over their head it is, of course, challenging to bear such a burden on their own and their life span is much smaller compared to other normal goldfishes unless it’s healthy.
11. Dragon Eye Goldfish:
- Color: red, black, white, yellow, gold, calico, brown, blue
- Size: 7 to 9 inches
- Pattern: single-colored and double-colored
They have cone-shaped eyes jut out from their face and are an extreme variety of telescopic fish. They were originally bred in China but it is very much famous in the U.S.
The Dragon eye fish needs a 20-gallon tank and is moderately difficult to maintain.
12. Butterfly Telescope Goldfish:
- Color: red, orange, yellow, white, gold, blue, brown, black
- Size: 7 to 8 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
Butterfly goldfish are specifically known for their comical and bug eye. They have regular fancy fantails and are usually smaller in size
13. Black Moor:
- Color: black and gold
- Size: 6 to 9 inches
- Pattern: mono color
Black Moors were originally bred in China in the 1800s. They made their way to Japan throughout the years and were called Demekin. They are wild fish species and fortunately have a longer lifespan than other goldfish.
The interesting fact that you must know before purchasing a Black Moor is that it produces a ton of waste than other fancy goldfishes, it is unusual that they do not have a stomach.
But they are so graceful and magnificent when they swim in the water. It will be the best ornament for your tank. It is very pleasing to see them. They are completely black while young but they get bronzer as they get older. They have an unstable coloration which is also beautiful. You can go for it, despite its interesting fact.
14. Pearlscale Goldfish:
- Color: red, blue, white, orange, yellow, gold, brown, black
- Size: 4 to 6 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
The Pearlscale goldfish has a unique round and golf ball-shaped body. The fish’s scale catches our eye with its shiny pearl-like appearance. This is due to they have calcium deposits on their scales that give them the appearance of little pearls.
They are not recommended for beginners because it does demand a heater or a heated tank. They are very sensitive to environmental change and they require pristine water conditions.
15. Pom Pom Goldfish:
- Color: red, blue, calico, white, black
- Size: 4 to 6 inches
- Pattern: single, bi and tri-colored
Breeders often cross Pompoma with the Bubble eyes and Oranda to create even more variants. They are very popular in Japan. These fishes have oval-shaped bodies and double tails with fancy ends.
Pompom has no dorsal fin which makes them slow swimmers in addition to that they have extremely salient nostrils on either side of their face and they often come with hooded or telescopic eyes.
16. Bubble Eye Goldfish:
- Color: orange, red, blue, white, calico
- Size: 4 to 6 inches
- Pattern: single, bi, and tri-colored
Bubble eye Goldfish is one of the weirdest fish because of its bubbly eyes filled with water and another weirdest thing is it keeps growing as they become mature. This eventually affects their vision.
These fancy fishes are very difficult to maintain. It cannot feed itself nor swim properly because of its poor sight. And also, the bulged eyes of the fish are very sensitive and prone to damage. Bubble eyes should be kept in a tank where there are no sharp or rough edges because they get injured easily and are obvious with many infections and scars which makes their life span a short one.
Bubble eye goldfish needs a heater, floating food, and other extensive care which makes it a difficult fish to maintain to keep it safe and healthy.
17. Celestial Eye Goldfish:
- Color: red, orange, calico, and black
- Size: 4 to 6 inches
- Pattern: calico, single-colored
The Celestial eye goldfish are extremely sensitive to light because their eyes face toward the top with an upturned telescopic structure. They have a round body, no dorsal fin, and a double tail. Because of how it is built, it is very difficult to keep them for a long period.
These fish are not suitable for beginner keepers because they are sensitive to the water quality too.
18. Wakin Goldfish:
- Color: calico, red, orange, black
- Size: 10 to 12 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
The Wakin fish can grow unusually longer than other goldfishes and they need a 50-gallon tank. This rare breed of goldfish is very easy to maintain because it can sustain temperature and water quality variation.
They were used by horse farmers to maintain clean water in the horse troughs since the 1500s which makes it one of the oldest fancy goldfish varieties. They can live up to 20 years which have to consider before setting their environment.
19. Watonai Goldfish:
- Color: red, blue, white, black
- Size: 10 to 12 inches
- Pattern: single and bi-colored
They are originally crossed between Ryukins and Wakins. The Watonai goldfish have a long thin body and a ribbon-flowing tail that looks so glorious while they swim.
They are one of the rarest goldfish breeds to purchase but you can buy them online or from the pond specialist.
But they are easy to maintain because they clean the water they live in and can sustain the temperature change.
20. Jikin Goldfish:
- Color: red, white, crimson
- Size: 10 to12 inches
- Pattern: bi-colored
They are usually bi-colored and have beautiful color combinations among all the goldfish variants. They have white bodies with crimson red on the lips, gills, tails, and fins. These fish have long bodies with marvelous widespread tails which is also the reason they have other names “Peacock Goldfish”. It is at its best when viewed from the top.
21. Comet Goldfish:
- Color: orange, white, black, red, silver, yellow, calico
- Size: 4 to 6 inches
- Pattern: mono and bi-colored
For a change, these variants originated in the state of Washington in the late 1800s.
The most popular is the orange metallic comet fish, which looks like a comet in the water. They are so well structured and compact.
The most prominent part of it is their fins. They are elongated and are three-quarters the size of their own body.
They are budget-friendly and very easy to maintain. They also can sustain other goldfish variants and temperature changes.
Goldfish facts:
Goldfish can be trained and can be able to perform little tricks.
They also have developed social learning where they can recognize people by their sounds and appearance, and also they can communicate with us in their terms like the way they swim or react to what we talk.
It is said that the goldfish resets its memory every three to four seconds, but a recent discovery found that they have built the ability to sustain a few memories for months.
Goldfish can sense infrared and ultraviolet rays, which makes them see more colors than humans.
They can change color depending on how much they are exposed to light. The goldfish that are kept outdoors or exposed to the light more, then they get naturally brighter.
The collective noun for goldfish is “ A troubling” just like you would say “ A flock of birds”.
They can even live up to for a century if it has been given good care and the environment.
The teeth of goldfish are located at the back of their mouth.
They can lay up to 1000 eggs at a time. However, not all the eggs will hatch. Sometimes they are eaten before they can hatch.
Some fish variants are hard to take care of but on the bright side, they are such pleasant pets to have. It reduces stress, which is all you need nowadays.
Hope now you know how many fancy goldfish types are there? If you think, if this article was helpful for you to find all varieties of fancy goldfish then share this article with your friends and family
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Wow, just finished reading this article, I really found it helpful after going through these types of fancy goldfish. keep sharing more lovely content
This was something new for me, glad to read this article. It was really great to check out these fancy goldfish breeds. I wish I could get all these cool goldfish varieties in my aquarium. Thanks for this amazing article