List of goldfish varieties facts for kids

Assorted goldfish

Goldfish are popular pet fish, and there are many different kinds! Over hundreds of years, people have carefully bred goldfish to create amazing new varieties. This process is called selective breeding. It has led to goldfish with all sorts of colors, body shapes, fins, and even eye types.

Some of these special goldfish varieties are very delicate and can only live in aquariums. Others, like the Shubunkin, are quite tough. Most of the goldfish breeds we see today first came from China. There are about 200 recognized types of goldfish in China alone!

Goldfish with Single Tails

These goldfish have one tail fin and one anal fin. They usually have long, sleek bodies and can swim faster than the rounder, "egg-shaped" goldfish. Most of these types come from the original common goldfish. They don't have special features like bulging eyes, head growths, or bubble eyes.

Long-Bodied Goldfish

• Common goldfish - This is the most well-known type of goldfish. All other goldfish varieties were developed from it! It's a direct descendant of the wild goldfish. You might also hear it called a "feeder fish." Common goldfish come in many colors, like red, orange, blue-grey, brown, yellow, white, and black. The shiny orange ones are the most common.

A common goldfish

• Comet goldfish - This type is very popular in the United States. It looks a lot like the common goldfish, but it has a very long, deeply forked tail. Its other fins are also long. The comet goldfish was developed in the United States from the common goldfish.

A comet goldfish

• Shubunkin - This is a strong, single-tailed goldfish. It has special scales that look like mother-of-pearl and a unique pattern called "calico."
  • London Shubunkins - These have a chunky body and short, rounded fins, similar to the common goldfish.
  • American Shubunkins - These are slimmer than London Shubunkins. They have deeply forked, pointed tail fins and longer fins overall, making them look a bit like comet goldfish.
  • Bristol Shubunkins - These are slim-bodied goldfish with well-developed fins. Their tail is large, somewhat forked, and rounded at the end, often looking like a heart.

A clear shubunkin

Egg-Shaped Goldfish with Single Tails

• Nymph goldfish - These look like fantail goldfish but have a single tail fin and anal fin. They are often a natural result of breeding fantail or veiltail goldfish.
• Tamasaba goldfish (or Sabao goldfish) - These are similar to ryukin goldfish but have a single tail fin and anal fin. They are a rare type that mutated from ryukins.

Goldfish with Double Tails

These goldfish are often called "fancy" goldfish because they have two tail fins and two anal fins. They are very popular and often more expensive. There are two main types of fancy goldfish:

Streamlined Double-Tailed Goldfish

• Wakin goldfish - This goldfish looks like a common goldfish but has double tail fins and anal fins. All fancy goldfish varieties were developed from the wakin.
• Watonai goldfish - This type is similar to the comet goldfish but has double tail fins and anal fins. The watonai was developed from both wakin and ryukin goldfish.
• Jikin goldfish - This fancy goldfish has unique double tail fins that spread outwards. Jikin goldfish only come in red and white. Perfect ones have a special pattern called the '12 points of red'.

Egg-Shaped Double-Tailed Goldfish

Egg-shaped goldfish are the most popular type of fancy goldfish. They come in two main groups:

Goldfish with a Dorsal Fin

Orange-white Ryukin goldfish

• Fantail goldfish - This is a common type of fancy goldfish. It has an egg-shaped body, a tall dorsal fin, and double tail and anal fins. It doesn't have a shoulder hump.

A fantail goldfish

• Veiltail goldfish - These are similar to fantail goldfish but have much longer, flowing fins. Their long tails look like a veil, making them slow swimmers. Because of their long fins, other fish might nip at them. The veiltail is simply a long-finned version of the fantail.

A veiltail goldfish

• Ryukin goldfish - This goldfish has a short, deep body with a noticeable hump on its back, near its head. It's similar to a fantail but with this hump. Its name comes from the Ryukyu islands where it was bred. Because of their hump, ryukins need a taller aquarium than most other fancy goldfish.

A ryukin goldfish

• Pearlscale goldfish - This goldfish has a very round, almost spherical body. Its fins are similar to a fantail's. It has unique, raised scales that look like little pearls. Because of its round body, it can easily get constipated, so its food should not contain air. If a pearlscale loses a scale, it will grow back as a normal, flat scale. Keep them away from rough objects that could damage their scales.

A pearlscale goldfish

• Telescope goldfish - These goldfish are like fantails but have large, protruding eyes. Because of these eyes, their vision is limited, so they should not be kept with rough objects that could hurt their eyes or even cause blindness. Black telescope goldfish are often called "black moors." Black moors usually have a velvety black body and broader, longer, more deeply forked tails. While some people think black moors are a separate type, most consider them just a black version of the telescope goldfish. Most telescope goldfish have a dorsal fin, but some do not.
• Demekin goldfish - These are similar to telescope goldfish but have a short, deep body with a shoulder hump, like the ryukin. Like ryukins, they need a taller aquarium because of their hump.

A demekin goldfish

• Oranda goldfish - This goldfish is known for a large, lumpy growth on its head, called a "wen" or "hood," which covers its entire head except for its eyes and mouth. It's similar to a fantail but with this head growth. Orandas should not be kept with rough objects that could injure their wens, as this can lead to infection.

An orange oranda goldfish

• Curled-gill goldfish - This is an unusual fancy goldfish type where its gill covers are turned outwards. It's named for this unique appearance.

A curled-gill goldfish

• Tosakin goldfish - This is a very special fancy goldfish with a large, undivided double tail fin that spreads out horizontally like a fan. Even though it's technically a divided tail, the two halves are joined in the middle, forming one big fin.

A tosakin goldfish

• Butterfly tail - This term refers to any fancy goldfish whose tail fins look like a butterfly when you view them from above.

A calico butterfly tail demekin

• Meteor goldfish - This is a rare goldfish breed that has no tail! Despite lacking a tail, it can still swim quite well thanks to its well-developed anal fin.

A meteor goldfish

Goldfish without a Dorsal Fin

A bubble eye goldfish

• Eggfish goldfish - This goldfish is similar to a fantail but does not have a dorsal fin. It was developed from the fantail.

An eggfish goldfish

• Phoenix goldfish - These are similar to eggfish but have longer fins. They were developed from the eggfish. Their long tails and fins resemble a veil, making them slow swimmers. Like veiltails, they can be prone to fin nipping. The phoenix is the long-finned version of the eggfish.
• Izumo Nankin goldfish - This goldfish is similar to the ryukin but has no dorsal fin. It has a short, deep body with a characteristic shoulder hump. Like ryukins, it needs a taller aquarium because of its hump.
• Pompom goldfish - This goldfish is similar to the eggfish but has large, fluffy growths on its nose, called "nasal septa." These growths look like cheerleader's pompoms, which is how they got their name. Pompom goldfish were developed from the eggfish, though some pompom goldfish do have a dorsal fin.

A chocolate oranda with red pompoms

• Lionhead goldfish - This goldfish is similar to the eggfish but has a soft, spongy head growth (wen) like an oranda, but without a dorsal fin. Its head growth is delicate, so it should not be kept with rough objects that could cause injury or infection. It was developed from the eggfish.

A lionhead goldfish

• Ranchu goldfish - Ranchus are similar to lionheads but have a more arched back and a very short tail that points downwards at a 45-degree angle.
• Celestial eye goldfish - This goldfish has double tails and a unique pair of eyes that are permanently turned upwards, looking towards the sky. Many people call them "stargazers." Because of their upturned eyes, you should avoid aquariums with rough objects that could harm their eyes or cause blindness. They were developed from dorsal-less telescope eye goldfish. Some celestial eye goldfish can have a dorsal fin.

A celestial eye goldfish

• Bubble eye goldfish - This small, fancy goldfish has two large, fluid-filled sacs under its eyes. These sacs are very fragile and can easily burst. If a sac ruptures, it will grow back, but not immediately, and it might not be the same size as the other, making them look uneven. Because of these delicate sacs, bubble eye goldfish should not be kept with rough objects that could pop them. Bubble eye goldfish can have a dorsal fin, but most do not. They were developed from the eggfish.

A bubble eye goldfish

• Tricolor bubble eyed goldfish - These goldfish have three colors and developed from red bubble eye goldfish, which in turn came from a ryukin mutation.

Goldfish for Ponds

Water lilies and goldfish at Biltmore

Pond goldfish at the Yuyuan Garden

Most goldfish varieties can live happily in outdoor ponds. However, some types, like telescope, celestial eye, and bubble eye goldfish, are too delicate for ponds because their special eyes are easily injured.

Goldfish Tail Types

There are many different shapes for goldfish tails!

Single Tail Types

• Wild - This is the standard single tail, like the common goldfish. It's not double, and it's not deeply forked like a comet tail.
• Comet-tailed - This tail is much longer and more deeply forked than the wild type.
• Heart-shaped-tailed - This is a single tail shaped like a heart. The Bristol shubunkin is known for having this unique tail.

Double Tail Types

• Fantailed - This is the most common double tail type for fancy goldfish. It's like a common goldfish tail, but doubled. It's also sometimes called a comet-tail, but it's usually shorter and less sharply forked than a true comet tail. Ryukins, orandas, fantails, and pearlscale goldfish often have fantail-type fins.
• Veiltailed - This tail is twice as long as a fantail. It's very long and flowing.
• Ribbontailed - This tail is longer and has deeper forks than the fantail. It's like a comet-tailed goldfish tail, but doubled. It looks like a veiltail but with deeper forks.

Other Tail Shapes

• Broadtailed - This refers to any fancy goldfish with wide fins that don't have forks on the edge of the tail.
• Butterflytailed - This is any fancy goldfish whose tail fins spread out flat horizontally, looking like a butterfly when seen from above. It's like a broadtail, but turned sideways.

Sometimes, a fancy goldfish might have a tail that connects to its body at an angle. This is called an angled tail peduncle.

Colors of Goldfish

Goldfish get their colors from three main types of tiny color cells, called pigments, in their skin.

• Erythrophores contain red pigment, making goldfish red.
• Xanthophores contain yellow pigment, making goldfish yellow.
• Melanophores contain black pigment, making goldfish black.

Here's how these pigments combine to create different goldfish colors:

• Red - Red goldfish have many red pigments, but no yellow or black ones. Bright red goldfish are often more expensive than orange ones.
• Orange - Orange goldfish have a good balance of red and yellow pigments, but no black ones. This is the most common goldfish color.
• Yellow - Yellow goldfish have many yellow pigments, but no red or black ones.
• Black - Black goldfish have many black pigments, but no red or yellow ones.
• Gray - Gray goldfish have some black pigments on top, but fewer as you go down their body.
• White - White goldfish have no color pigments at all.
• Brown - Brown goldfish have all three pigments (red, yellow, and black) in a balanced amount.
• "Blue" - In "blue" goldfish, the black pigments are deep inside the skin, and there are no red or yellow pigments.
• Uncolored - Baby goldfish, called fry, usually start as dull, grayish-brown or olive-brown. They typically change color as they grow up, depending on their genes. This "wild" color is the same as their wild relatives, like Prussian carp and Crucian carp. Sometimes, a goldfish might keep its wild color even as it gets older.

See also

• Aquaculture