A variety of Goldfish breeds can help keep your tank interesting. Chinese goldfish have been bred for thousands of years, and now these fascinating fish are bred all over the world. There are over 100 varieties of goldfish so there’s sure to be a couple of breeds you want to have in your tank.
Goldfish come in different colors and shapes. Some are rather plain looking with a single tail fin and sometimes referred to as shallow bodied. Other goldfish are fancy with double tail fins and often referred to as deep bodied. Some advise to only keep one breed or the other. The deep bodied goldfish are prone to digestive disorders and care should be taken to make sure they don’t have to fight for their food and that they are not feed any food that floats on the top.
Of the more common breeds of goldfish are the feeder goldfish which are single tailed fish very thin and plain looking. Some people use these as “starter” fish to start the cycle of the fish tank. These goldfish are usually an orange color but can come in silver, brown or mottled shades. They are extremely hardy and can grow to a foot in length!
Other common breeds include the comet which looks a lot like the feeder goldfish but has a longer tail and the shubunkins or harlequin goldfish that is also a single finned fish who has a white body with orange, black or blue spots.
The fancy goldfish are more rounded in body and have beautiful flowing double tails – some longer than others. These breeds can grow up to 8″ long but typically don’t get quite that large in your average tank.
Among these breeds are the veiltail goldfish who have very long tails, the lionheads who have short tails and no dorsal fin with a bumpy growth on their heads. The pearlscale goldfish has pearl like scales and typically has a white body with orange, red or black spots. The oranda goldfish is a favorite breed among aquarists and is characterized by the bumpy growth on it’s head. It comes in a variety of colors. The black moor is one of my personal favorites and is a long tailed fish that is a velvety black in color with an undertone of gold. The telescope goldfish is characterized by it’s “telescoping” eyes and it’s interesting color variations. The celestial is your typical type of goldfish and should only be kept with others of it’s kind. It comes in a gold color only and has no dorsal fin. Perhaps the most unusual of the breeds in the bubble eyed goldfish which has these large air sacks under each eye. At first glance you might think that there is something wrong with these fish, but that is the way they are made!