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Lots of fantails are almost always available.
Great Starter Fishes. Fish keepers frequently enter the hobby by starting
with the economical U.S. goldfishes. Goldfish live very well in
unheated tanks. They have huge spawns, so they stay moderately
priced. Even the biggies stay reasonably priced.
You Pay for Imports. Freight from far-away Asian countries costs
considerably more. However, your biggest expense revolves
around the
“culling process.” Goldfishes spawn thousands
of eggs at a time. Unfortunately, even the purest of purebreds
produce relatively small percentages of offspring that are
“true to
type” -- at least for us. Oriental goldfish breeders reduce their crop by as much
as 90-99% in the culling process.
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Calico fantails plus one "red."
Notes on
Culling. Mature adults spawn readily. In fact, we often have
(unwanted) spawns of the larger imported varieties at Aqualand. Of
the thousands of fry that were spawned, we never raised one adult that
conformed to breed standards. Still, if they spawned tomorrow, we’d
probably try to raise them again.
LA
Females of this size usually look lop-sided from the top due to one ovary
filling up at a time.
You Pay for
Size. Small oriental goldfish cost a fraction of the price of mature
adults. It costs much more to raise a goldfish to adult size than to
sell it as a youngster. Unfortunately, as they grow, fewer and fewer
of the youngsters continue to conform to breed standards. In the
Orient, they join their brothers and sisters who were culled out earlier.
They send them here.
Notes
on Size. You can crowd goldfishes considerably. They are among
some of the hardiest fishes. However, if you want yours to grow to
their full potential, give them plenty of elbow room.
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Good-sized mouth on these guys.
LA
Pic
Nice catch -- awfully crowded. Great colors. Note the
"wild-colored" one in front.
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Nice place to fish whether the goldfish bite or not.
Notes on
Color. Sunlight greatly enhances the color of all goldfish
varieties. They show off like living jewels in
“patio
pools.” Whiskey barrels sawed in half, fiberglass ponds, pond
liners, and even hard rubber stock-watering tanks make outdoor miniature
water gardens accessible to everyone. Add a water plant and frame it
with a couple of taller plants. These mini-ponds make very nice
additions to any outdoor area. Avoid full sun. One serious
drawback: Raccoons (very thick in our area) love goldfishes as much or
more than you
do. They work at night and are nearly unstoppable fish catchers.
Many goldfish will swim right up to the raccoons to find out,
“What’s
for dinner.” They find out.
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At first glance a ryukin forerunner of our U.S. fantails.
Really closer to a Bristol shubunkin.
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American red cap oranda. Not even close to Oriental standards.
It's a fantail.
Decorate for
Goldfish. Goldfish really stand out when swimming in tanks with
darker colors. Dark gravel and dark backgrounds make them literally
“pop out” at you. And always use the special fluorescent
bulbs designed for aquaria -- not the cheapie garage fluorescent bulbs.
Aquarium fluorescent bulbs definitely bring out their red
colors.
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Ryukin. Obvious forerunner of our American fantails.
Last Words. American fantails
grow large enough to make a statement. People like them because they
need no magnifying glass to see them. LA
For
mature fantail pictures go to More
Fantails
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LA Productions
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