Sexing Goldfish

[Biulu]

At what age and how can goldfish be sexed? And on the breeding front: which genes are dominant? If I would for instance breed a lionhead with a fantail, would I get lionheads or not at all?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

At what age and how can goldfish be sexed? And on the breeding front: which genes are dominant? If I would for instance breed a lionhead with a fantail, would I get lionheads or not at all?

In my experience with them..... they mature a lot later than being "Spawning active".... & what I mean is that before I can even tell which are male and/or female, (by the tubercles developing on the males' gillplates)..... they start spawning already..... So, I know the chasers are males.... and those fleeing from them - (or being chased).. (typical, isn't it ).... are the females....

On the Genes aspect..... Most all of the Lionheads I've seen are fantails.... so if you're talking about spawning them with ordinary Orando Fantails..... Certainly there will be some Lionheads in the fry, but my theory of why they would be in the minority.... (say 30% of the total spawn) is exclusively because they are not as hardy as the Orandos and by the time they become recognisable.... more of them would've pegged than the Orandos..... so the spawn my be 50/50, but the rearing would be 70/30.....

Females can also be recognised by their "Fuller" body shape and as they grow (beyond 14 to 18 months).... the first ray of the male dorsal fin will show sharp teething edges - apart from the tubercles on the gillplates.