Fantail goldfish
The Fantail is the most robust of all the twin-tailed goldfish. Indeed, despite its high dorsal fin and flamboyant caudal (tail) fin, the Fantail Goldfish has no problem swimming at at all, even in moderate currents.
As you watch these fish moving about your dealer’s tanks, you’ll soon appreciate how the Fantail Goldfish got its name. From behind, its tail really does look like a fan. The tail should be evenly divided and proudly held. The body of the Fantail should be short, almost egg-like, rather than elongated like the body of the Comet Goldfish. With good care, they typically grow to about six inches long.
Fantail goldfish come in a great many colours; a mottled mix of orange, white, black, silver and gold are most common in the shops. Pure metallic red Fantails are popular, too, as are the more blue-black calico variety.
Fantail Goldfish tips:
- You want to choose bright and alert specimens. No drooping fins or tail.
- Some shops sell Fantails with very long fins, but enthusiasts prefer a more balanced fish.
- Fantails are the hardiest twin-tailed goldfish, and can live outside all year in ponds.
- If over-wintering outdoors, ensure the pond has a deep area to provide protection from freezing conditions.
- Fantail goldfish are sociable fish, so please keep them in shoals of at least three specimens.
Fantails can live for well over a decade in good conditions, so it makes sense to choose carefully before you buy your new pets.
Click here to learn more goldfish secrets!
Filed in: Varieties
Mar 10th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hey, my first fancy goldfish was a fantail too. I’ve still got a soft spot for them, though I’m more a ranchu man nowadays. (I know. Weirdo!)
Jan 10th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
One of my fantails started out all orange and then turned white except for the top of his head. He got too big (over 8 inches) for my 35 gal tank after a few years so now he has retired to the 1/4 acre pond. He lives with about 40 rainbow trout. Another one I had like him lived in a 10 gal tank for ten years.
Jan 11th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Hi.
I have three beautiful Fantails in one of my many tanks and they are my pride and joy, it is so good to meet people who care about these fantastic creatures
Jan 18th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I think fantails are very pretty how do i tell if i have a male or female
Jan 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
How big do fantails get?
Feb 8th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Somebody help!!!
My fantail just decided to swim on its side. What can I do and prevent this from happening?
Feb 15th, 2009 at 5:43 am
@Jackie - The maximum size a fantail is likely to grow to is around 6″ (15cm) in optimum conditions. In a normal-sized aquarium it’ll probably grow to around 4″.
Sexing is virtually impossible when the fish are young.
When they’re fully mature, there are some things you can look for.
In the breeding season male goldfish will develop white pimples on their gill covers and on their pectoral fins (called tubercles). They are hard to spot and look a little bit like disease if you’ve not seen them before.
Female goldfish get a bit fuller, as they plump up with eggs.
You can also look out for changes in behaviour, such as males chasing females to try to spawn with them.
It’s not easy, but hope this helps!
Feb 15th, 2009 at 5:49 am
@Boxer - has it been swimming like that for a long time? It sounds like a swim bladder problem if so.
You can read this guest post I wrote on AquaDaily for more information on weird floating in goldfish:
http://aquadaily.com/2009/01/05/floating-goldfish-causes-and-cures/
Apr 18th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Hi!
Ihave two very pretty, orange goldfish… though one has white on it’s stomach. There names are Chesseball *the small one with white* and Sandra Lee. Sandra Lee is three And chesse is 2 months old. There my life and I love them.
Owen I have a question,
Sandra is really long and fatish skinyish. Is that proper? For Chesseball He’s the same but small and young. Is that also proper?
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
We have 13 beautiful fantail goldfish in a pond - from 6-10″ long. Ten are orange/red, and 3 multi colored (white and red). We were told to thin them, but we don’t know how to sell some of them. They are beautiful and healthy, and will grow bigger if we have fewer.
Jun 20th, 2009 at 6:40 am
iv got 3 fantials in a 20 gallon tank iv got another 27 gallon tank iv had them about 1,3 yrs how do i now when ther mature ther about 5cm , then 7cm and the other is about 8cm.
should i put it in the other tank iv got 4 other goldfish in ther?
iv had if they spawn should i take them out after?
how long before they hatch?
Oct 4th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hi
Can someone help! we are very worried about our new fancy fishies…Kalu and Moto!
We bought them two days ago and they dont seem to be getting on in the tank that we have. Moto, The Red and White Fantail keeps chasing and trying to bite the black Ranchu!
We are very concearned that they are not compatible, however, they look amazing together! Should we seperate them?
Secondly, Moto keeps coming to the surface to blow bubbles and gasp for air! Is she ok? we have a medium size glass fish bowl (with 10 litres of water) and also have a plant in there that we bought along with the fish for oxygen. We are really worried that the fantail is going to attack the ranchu and we are going to wake up to find ranchu dead!
Help!
Jan 3rd, 2010 at 4:09 pm
hello everyone,ive had my fantail (which i named fanta)for about 1/2 a year.he/she is extremely healthy and is 4in long.then just before christmas i got a very big regular goldfish(named mango)who is about 6in long…i had two minnos also.but mango decided to eat one.the aquarium is 5 gallons with a few decorations with river rocks as the gravel.i am planning on getting a larger aquarium.Any suggestions?? now i have three questions->
1)how do i sex them?
2)is this a proper environment?
3)and are all of these fish suitable with eachother?
thanx for ure help.
,jake
Jan 7th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
my fish are finally recognising me.wen i got home and went to feed them they swam to the top and were freaking out.(thinking that they were gonna eat.which they did)