How Much Are Fancy Goldfish/which Most Common?

[Pl*co]

I was wondering what fancy varieties of goldfish are most common and how much they cost? And how many inches they get.

I think I like fantails, orandas, black moors, and ryukins the most. What's the price range for those?

Will goldies eat shrimp?

 

[Colin_T]

most fancy goldfish are fantail type goldfish. Fantails have 2 tails, whereas common and comet goldfish only have 1 tail.
Fancy fantail goldfish are available in common fantail, black moor, ryukin, pearlscales, bubble-eyes, orandas, ranchus/ lionheads. The breeders are still messing around with the breeds and trying to make new ones, but those listed are the most common and should be available from most shops.

Depending on how big the fish are will determine the price, also where you live will have a bearing on price. In Australia prices are sapproximately
Small 1inch common fantails or black moors should only cost a couple of dollars, whereas bigger fish (4inch) will cost $15-20 or more.
Good quality ryukins about 1inch will cost $10+ and 4inch ryukins can cost $50+.
1inch pearlscales and bubble-eyes will sell for about $10, 2inch fish will sell for about $20ea.
1inch orandas and lionheads will sell for about $5, whereas 4inch fish can sell for $30-40.

All the fancy fantail goldfish can reach 4-6inches, some (ryukins, black moors and common fantails) will get bigger, perhaps reaching 8inches in body length. Pearlscales are the smallest and only reach about 4inches long.

 

[Pl*co]

That's weird larger goldfish cost more. I'd want a 1in one so I could watch it grow, its fun and there's so adorable as babies. So I'm glad they do cost less.
I live in southern US.

How many fancy goldfish could i have in a 65g (that has a wet/dry filter, so it has good filtration and i'd have lots of live plants)?

 

[saltynay]

Forgot to say on the exoskeleton front you can leave it in there as they should consume it if they need minerals i.e. calcium. Although having said that if they don't eat within 24hours you can take it out if you find them an eyesore personally I just leave them indefinately.

Virtually any fruit/vegetable will do fishes eat just about anything and shrimp are the same. So trial and error mine used to love the centre of cucmbers but lately haven't been eating that. Obviously use common sense feeding them chillis probably wouldn't be the best idea.... Depending on the type of snail they will probably eat any sort of vegetable matter aswell.

They can be kept with larger shrimp like amanos when the goldfish are small but once they reach 4+ inches don't be surprised if a few of the male amano's go missing and 6"+ gold fish will probably have a go at the females. Having said that with a good cave system and well planted aquarium you should be able to keep the shrimp for several years without only the occasional one going missing. In that size tank I would put 5-6 goldies in of a species that grows large. I am not sure the filter will be sufficient as goldies are very messy what is the exact make and model?

 

[Pl*co]

I won't risk it with the shrimp then, i can just put them in another of my tanks.

The filter is really expensive (like $200, but i got it for free yesterday. I'm not sure what the make/model is, i haven't seen it yet) and its supposed to be a great filter for messy fish. i'd also do water changes and gravel vac as necessary too.


Also, are Ryukins supposed to float around seemly without much control? Because i remember Superpetsmart sold goldfish that were really round like the fish in this link http/images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...sa%3DN%26um%3D1 My brother and i used to laugh at how funny they looked, and was just wondering ifthat was normal. I don't want to buy unhealthy/bloated fish or something.

Cool, I was hoping 5-6 would fit in there

 

[Colin_T]

That's weird larger goldfish cost more.
How many fancy goldfish could i have in a 65g (that has a wet/dry filter, so it has good filtration and i'd have lots of live plants)?

Larger fish cost more because it takes time, food and water to grow them bigger.

You could have 10-20 small (1inch) fish in a 65g tank but they might need moving into a bigger tank as they grow. However, most fancy fantail goldfish are quite slow growers and the fish will be fine in the tank for a couple of years.

Also, are Ryukins supposed to float around seemly without much control?

Many fantail/ fancy goldfish will float around after they have been fed. This is due to them taking in air when they feed. The air has trouble workings its way through the fish’s digestive tract and causes them to float about until it is passed out the back end (fish farts). Feeding the fish with frozen, live or sinking food will help prevent this.
Sometimes a fish will float around due to a damaged swim bladder. The fish will have trouble keeping buoyancy and will either float or sink and not be able to maintain its position in the water. Swim bladder problems are hard to treat.

 

[Pl*co]

I think I'll go to Petsmart instead to get goldfish then, just in case. Do sinking goldfish pellets (like Progold) help prevent swim bladder and prevent them from taking in a lot of air?

 

[Colin_T]

Swim bladder problems are usually genetic. They are common in fancy fantail goldfish because the fish has been shortened and its organs are squished up. Different foods and tank size don't make any difference to the swim bladder. Keeping the water quality good and feeding the fish a varied diet will help prevent most diseases (by improving their overall health) and this can reduce the chance of a disease damaging the swim bladder. But the swim bladder can have issues anytime and can occur in healthy looking fish.

Sinking pellets usually help prevent the fish from taking in air because the fish are eating the food when it is in the water and not on the surface. This means they swallow water and food instead of air and food. When feeding sinking pellets, only offer a couple of pellets at a time and wait until they have been eaten before offering more. Uneaten food should be removed from the tank asap to prevent it rotting and causing water quality problems.

 

[aquila]

Different foods and tank size don't make any difference to the swim bladder.

I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with you here. Whilst I agree that some goldfish are more inclined to swim bladder disorders because of their extreme body shape, diet can have a striking effect on the number of attacks suffered and the length for which they last. Many, many swim bladder issues in otherwise well kept fancy goldfish stem from constipation, which in turn puts extra pressure on the organs surrounding the swim bladder and affect its function.

A diet that is at least 60% green fibrous foods really helps to prevent swim bladder issues in affected fish. Peas are the most widely touted beneficial food for goldfish (squeeze them out of the skins first and chop up for smaller fish if neccessary), but they will also take blanched lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, green beans, sweetcorn, oranges and so forth.

The rest of the diet should be made up with a good quality sinking pellet. I very much recommend Hikari goldfish food, especially the one in the purple packet which has probiotics added.

Fresh meaty foods like bloodworms and prawn can be fed but should be reserved for special treats only, or for conditioning breeding fish as otherwise they are too rich. One of my oldest and most favourite fish simply cannot have bloodworm, as I know he'll be floating within the hour and it will take three days of peas for him to clear out!

 

[aquila]

You could have 10-20 small (1inch) fish in a 65g tank but they might need moving into a bigger tank as they grow. However, most fancy fantail goldfish are quite slow growers and the fish will be fine in the tank for a couple of years.

I'm sorry, I'm going to disagree with you again!

Given optimum water quality and correct feeding young goldfish grow very rapidly, and in my opinion do the majority of growing before they are two years old. I tend to see mine reach six inches in 18-24 months and then slow dramatically, taking another few years to reach full adult size.

To the OP, I would advise that larger goldfish are also often more expensive by virtue of their conformation and markings, which will be more evident and more stable than in a younger and smaller fish. Goldfish change colour frequently in their first couple of years, and many which look striking as a three-month-old fish are incredibly dull as two-year-olds. You will pay a premium for a big, beautiful, well coloured older fish that is unlikely to change colour again.

I couldn't see the picture in the link but if it is of a very spherical fat goldfish with raised scales it will be a pearlscale, which are indeed much more prone to be floaty because of their unusual proportions! When shopping for these, always pick a fish which can maintain its position in the water with least effort. Some will look more balanced and graceful than others.

 

[Pl*co]

I think I'll get veiltails, black moor, ryukin, and oranda.