Bristol Shubunkin

Looks how to spot one

Scaled fish with nacreous (calico) scales and a single, large, rounded tail

A long, slim goldfish with a smooth outline, its depth about a third of its length. Its signature is a big single tail with broad, rounded lobes that together form a shape like a heart or the letter B. The nacreous scales give a soft pearly sheen over a calico patchwork in which blue should cover at least a quarter of the body.2314

Personality what they are like

Peaceful, active and hardy; a friendly pond fish that mixes well with other single-tailed goldfish.12

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moderate to high. An active swimmer that enjoys open space and is happy in a garden pond.12

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Thrives unheated in slightly alkaline (around pH 7.7), medium-hard water. Keep the water clean with good filtration and regular partial water changes of about 30% using dechlorinated water. Colour develops gradually, so young fish may take some months to show their full pattern.251

Home where they are happiest

Plenty of room: about 75 litres (20 US gallons) per adult is a common guideline, and FishBase gives a minimum tank length of 100 cm for the species. Fast single-tailed goldfish do especially well in a well-kept garden pond once mature, and in temperate climates they can stay outdoors all year.678

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Omnivores. Offer a goldfish-specific pellet as the staple, which suits their need for less protein and more carbohydrate than many fish foods. Add chopped vegetables such as peas or spinach and small amounts of daphnia or brine shrimp as treats. Feed two or three small meals a day, giving only what is eaten within two to five minutes.98

Company who they like around

Sociable and peaceful with similar-sized fish; FishBase suggests groups of five or more goldfish. Best kept with other fast, single-tailed goldfish such as common goldfish, comets and shubunkins, or in a pond, rather than with slow fancy twin-tailed types.7610

The story where it all began

The shubunkin itself was created in Japan in the 1890s and shown publicly in 1902. In Britain, members of the Bristol Aquarists' Society shaped their own type with a large rounded tail and wrote the first Bristol Shubunkin standard in 1934, revising it in 1938 and again in 1979. It remains the rarest of the three shubunkin types.21

Recognised by the official bits

Bristol Aquarists' Society

First Bristol Shubunkin standard written in 1934, revised in 1938 and modernised in 19792

Goldfish Society of Great Britain (GSGB)

Listed as a standard variety, noted for its B-shaped tail3