Black Moor

Looks how to spot one

Scaled, egg-shaped twin-tailed fancy goldfish with protruding telescope eyes

A short, round-bodied goldfish with a smooth outline, a tall upright dorsal fin and a long, flowing double tail. Its most eye-catching feature is a pair of big, globe-shaped eyes that stand out from the sides of the head. The ideal fish is a deep, even black from nose to fin tips, which gives the whole body a soft, velvet-like look. Broadtail show fish carry a wide, square-edged tail without a deep fork.241

Personality what they are like

A calm, unhurried swimmer that gets along well with other peaceful fish. It moves more slowly than single-tailed goldfish, so it does best with gentle tankmates such as other fancy goldfish rather than fast, pushy feeders. Like goldfish in general it learns routines and often comes to the front of the tank when its keeper appears.156

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moderate. A steady, slow swimmer that appreciates open swimming room in a wide tank more than a tall one, and good surface area for oxygen exchange.75

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Coldwater fish that needs an efficient filter, weekly partial water changes (around 30%) with dechlorinated water, and regular tests for ammonia and nitrite. Pick smooth decorations and soft or silk plants, because the protruding eyes are delicate and can catch on sharp edges. Feed only as much as is eaten in two to three minutes.75

Home where they are happiest

An aquarium rather than a bowl: at least about 40 litres (10 US gallons) per adult fancy goldfish, with the RSPCA advising a minimum of 60 litres for a single goldfish and wide tanks over tall ones. Water around 20-23 °C suits fancy varieties (goldfish tolerate roughly 10-21 °C unheated), pH about 6.0-8.4 depending on source, moderate hardness, and no direct sunlight or radiator heat. Best kept indoors with similar slow fancy goldfish.5768

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Omnivore. Feed a goldfish-specific flake, granule or sinking pellet (goldfish foods are lower in protein than tropical foods) once or twice a day, topped up with blanched vegetables such as peas and occasional frozen or live foods like bloodworm. Because it sees less sharply than other goldfish, give it time to find food and avoid overly competitive tankmates.568

Company who they like around

Sociable shoaling fish that is happiest in a small group. FishBase suggests keeping goldfish in groups of five or more in a large tank; good companions are other slow fancy goldfish such as telescopes, bubble eyes and celestials.816

The story where it all began

Goldfish were first domesticated in China, where colour mutations of the wild greenish-brown carp were noticed during the Jin dynasty and actively bred during the Song dynasty, when an empress had a pond built in 1162 to keep red and gold fish. Breeding moved indoors under the Ming dynasty, which allowed odder shapes to survive, and fish with bulging 'dragon eyes' became a recognised type; sources date the telescope trait to around the early 1700s, while the black form is sometimes said to go back to the 1400s. Telescope-eyed goldfish travelled to Japan, where they are called demekin, and then to Europe and North America, with goldfish in general arriving in Japan in 1603, Portugal in 1611 and the USA around 1850. In Britain, breeders refined the Broadtail Moor as a show fish with a written standard that rewards deep, even black colour and a broad, flowing tail.6132

Recognised by the official bits

Bristol Aquarists' Society / goldfish-types.info

UK show standard for the Broadtail Moor: jet black veiltail with large spherical eyes in raised sockets, short rounded body about 65% as deep as it is long, flowing undivided tail about 75% of body length, minimum body length 5.5 cm2

IUCN Red List

The species Carassius auratus is assessed as Least Concern8

Taxonomy

Black-coloured form of the telescope goldfish, a domestic twin-tailed variety of the goldfish (family Cyprinidae); some keepers treat it as a separate variety, others as a telescope colour form4