Goldfish are the classic example of keeping fish in the home, but lots of people don’t realize the wide variety available.
Fancy goldfish are a group of unique varieties that offer a glamorous look to your aquarium. They each have their own selling point, from a pair of fluid-filled sacs to a quadruple tail fin.
Most people should be able to look after them as they don’t have any special requirements. You just need to make sure you keep their tank clean.
They’re peaceful creatures that won’t cause an issue with other fish in the tank, and their omnivorous diet makes them easy to feed.
 
Category
Rating
Care Level:
Easy to medium
Temperament:
Peaceful
Color Form:
Various
Lifespan:
5-10 years
Size:
6-10 inches
Diet:
Omnivore
Family:
Cyprinidae
Minimum Tank Size:
20 gallons
Tank Set-Up:
Freshwater, cold, planted
Compatibility:
Peaceful cold-water species
 
 
All goldfish (Carassius auratus) are freshwater fish from the Cyprinidae family and originate from East Asia, where they were selectively bred to produce lots of different types. They’re closely related to carp which tend to be much bigger.
You can usually identify them by their double fins and egg-shaped body, but it’s not always that easy. Though they’re all the same species, there are lots of varieties that come in different shapes and sizes.
 
It’s this variety that attracts most people to them because you can pick your own personal favorite. They look different to most other fish, so they get chosen over the less distinctive slim-bodied goldfish varieties.
They’re peaceful and slow-swimming so you don’t need to worry about your other fish, you only need to consider if their tank mates are aggressive enough to attack them.
If you’re going to get some fancies, you need to be prepared to regularly clean the tank to help prevent illnesses.
This shouldn’t be too difficult, but it might be more time and effort than a beginner would want to give up and could lead to mistakes. Once you’ve added them to your tank they should live for around 5-10 years; it depends on the type and the individual. The type will also determine color, shape, and sizes; though 5-6 inches is most common.
Each fish costs roughly $5, but this can triple for more exotic types and colors. Most fish stores sell a few types of fancy goldfish, but you may have to look around a while if you’re looking for a specific kind.
Typical Behavior
Fancies are generally peaceful and calm animals that spend most of their time swimming around the middle levels of the tank.
They’re slow swimmers so they can’t really chase other fish or escape from them. That’s why you shouldn’t keep these fish with aggressive species because they can’t get away.
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