Thursday, March 7, 2013

Birds of a Feather ~ 同羽鳥

It is better to be alone, than in the wrong company.
~ George Washington



Most people are enchanted by more than one variety of Goldfish, and naturally it is common for hobbyists to ask if they could mix other varieties of Goldfish with their Ranchus. 

Though all the Goldfish varieties are mutated from the crucian carp, they have over centuries of selective breeding, evolved both in physical and behavioural traits distinct from one other. For example, the Oranda and Ryukin are fast swimmers and requires a rather aggressive feeding regime in order to grow the body depth and the muscular hump, while most of the short tail varieties are slow swimmers with lower metabolic rate that does not require such an aggressive feeding regime compared to the Oranda or the Ryukin.






In a habitat endowed with ample food and space, different Goldfish varieties may strive peacefully, but when there is any imbalance, the more regal varieties will loose out in the competition. In the very extreme cases, cannibalism may prevail. Moreover, different varieties require different techniques of grooming and may not be well suited to co-exist in the same habitat.


Thus, it is important to consider what varieties of Goldfish you would mix with your current collection: the slower and more regal varieties like the Pearlscale, Dragon Eyes Butterfly and Ranchu may be kept together while the Ryukins are best to be kept only with other Ryukins. Notwithstanding this, each Goldfish has its own character and in fact, we just need one "bad egg" to screw up the whole harmony of the group :D

For me, I just feel so happy and serene watching a school of cute baby Ranchus swimming and hunting for food :)) 

1 comments:

fredfromnyc March 7, 2013 at 10:48 PM  

me too. I also love my ranchu only tub..

Breeding the TVR

Breeding the TVR
Breeding and maintaining a bloodline of the Japanese TVR since 2003.

Goldfish Artwork

Goldfish Artwork
Marriage of 2 of my passions - Goldfish and Art.

Creating a New Variety

Creating a New Variety
My dream of creating a new variety of goldfish in 2006 has proven to be more than just an impulsive fantasy.

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