Fantail Goldfish

Looks how to spot one

Scaled, egg-shaped body with a split twin tail

A rounded, egg-shaped goldfish with a tall dorsal fin and no hump behind the head. Its tail and anal fin are both doubled, splitting into two matching halves, so seen from above the tail opens out like a fan. Show standards look for a short, deep body and a forked tail held high rather than drooping, with finnage more compact than a veiltail's. Scales can be shiny metallic or nacreous (the calico look), and some fantails have telescope eyes, which only start to show at about six months old.124

Personality what they are like

Calm, peaceful and sociable. Fantails swim at a more relaxed pace than single-tailed goldfish and get along well with other gentle fish of a similar size. Like all goldfish they are quick to learn routines and can be trained to feed from the hand.53

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moderate. Fantails are steady rather than speedy swimmers and enjoy open swimming space with gentle water flow. They are hardy enough to live outdoors in ponds in suitable conditions.415

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Prefers slightly warmer, steadier water than single-tailed goldfish: Wikipedia gives about 23 C as ideal for fantails, and Aqueon suggests 20 to 23 C (68 to 74 F) for fancy goldfish. Long spells of cold water should be avoided, and water below about 10 C is too cold for fancy types. pH guidance ranges from 6.0 to 8.0 (FishBase) to 7.0 to 8.4 (Aqueon). Good filtration and regular partial water changes keep the water clean.1537

Home where they are happiest

Around 10 US gallons (about 38 litres) of water per adult fantail is the usual guideline, which makes them a better fit for indoor aquariums than the big single-tailed goldfish. A wide tank with open space, smooth decor and moderate flow suits their twin tails. In mild weather they also do well in garden ponds.354

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Omnivore. A sinking goldfish pellet or quality flake as the staple, with frozen or live treats such as brine shrimp or daphnia and some vegetable matter. Offer only what is eaten in about 2 to 3 minutes, once or twice a day.57

Company who they like around

Peaceful and happy in company. Keep fantails with other fancy twin-tailed goldfish or similarly calm fish of the same size; fast commons, comets and shubunkins can outcompete them at feeding time.53

The story where it all began

Goldfish were bred for colour in China for over 1,000 years, and twin-tailed fish first appear in records from the Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644), when goldfish began to be kept indoors. Goldfish reached Japan in 1603, where long-tailed, deep-bodied types were refined; the ryukin is said to have arrived in Japan by way of the Ryukyu Islands in the 1770s. Goldfish spread to Europe from 1611 and to North America around 1850. The fantail is regarded as the Western form of the ryukin, without the ryukin's shoulder hump, and has become one of the most popular goldfish around the world. It is also the foundation from which many other fancy varieties were developed. Like other twin-tails it was originally shaped to be admired from above, in bowls and ponds, before glass aquariums were common.38126

Recognised by the official bits

Bristol Aquarists' Society / goldfish-types.info

Published show standard for the fantail: short, rounded body about 65% as deep as it is long, single dorsal fin, divided and forked tail with slightly rounded lobes held above the horizontal, minimum body length 5.5 cm4

IUCN Red List

The species Carassius auratus is assessed as Least Concern (4 August 2010)7

Taxonomy

Twin-tailed fancy domestic variety of the goldfish, family Cyprinidae3