Hi All,

Happy New Year!!! Wish you all a good and prosperous year with your fortune and your fishkeeping. I have compiled some images of my current collection from topview and sideview to share. All comments are welcome.

RW Oranda
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First item is a RW Oranda that I got about 2 1/2 mths ago. This fish is 160mm head to tail but is lacking in headgrowth. Growth has been generally slow and i don't know if it has potential to be a giant. Very strong swimmer and eats like a vacuum cleaner.

Red Oranda
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This fish was bought abt 3 months old. It measures only 100mm which is mostly the tail. It has a very short body but very nice colour and headgrowth. From the time I got it until now, it has grown abt 20mm or so. I am concerned that it is a runt or stunted fish judging by the large eyes and long fins. Any comments are appreciated.

Calico Ryukin
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I got this ryukin abt 9 weeks ago and it currently measures 121mm. It has a large body and short fin variety. I estimate it grew abt 10mm since I first got it. The colour has improved but unfortunately the body shape is worse now that when I got it. I notice it's belly has developed a flat spot and the hump is not as high as i had hoped. I had hoped that this fish would grow very large. On Rafflesgold you can see ppl with fish that show dramatic growth and improvement after 3 weeks. I am wondering how they are able to do this. Any comments?

RW Ryukin
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This is a RW Ryukin that I got 2 months ago. I especially like the topview as it's lower tail lobes tend to spread out nicely. It has grown quite well though and is now abt 135mm but mostly due to the tail. Do you think it has the potential to be large? May be my imagination only but I think the eyes are quite large for its size.

Pompom
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Got this Pompom abt 9 weeks ago (together with Sakura Ryukin and RW SV Ranchu). This fish has exhibited excellent growth and development. It is a fast swimmer and very lively. Colour has also improved very much. It used to be chocolate only with orange pom pom but now the red and blacks have intensified. Anybody has any idea on how big Pompoms can grow?

Sakura Ranchu
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I got this RW ranchu together with the Sakura Ryukin and Pompom. Abt 9-10 weeks old now. Overall growth is OK only but colour has deepened. I'm concerned it is also a runt and stunted. Any comments are welcome.

TV Ranchu
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Around 95mm. Bought yesterday. Any comments? Form, Shape, colour, potential?

Hope you guys enjoy the pictures and I look forward to any and all comments you may have. I hope to grow and develop the fish to their greatest potential in terms of shape, colour and size (I'm sure every goldfish keeper is trying to do that). However, I have a few question that I'm still unclear on and hope that some of you can help me clarify:

1) When selecting fish. How to avoid getting a runt (stunted). How to identify a stunted fish?

2) What is the normal growth rate of goldfish? I understand that some breeds grow faster than others and at what age can the fish be considered full-grown?

3) What are the faster growing breeds and what are the slower ones?

4) In our tropical weather (in my case outdoor with water temp of 30c), what is the optimum feeding program and how much to feed?

5) With a pool depth of 30" can the whole pond be exposed to sunlight w/o harming the fish?

Tks all!