This is one of my ranchu from Thailand. I bought her when she was about 2 1/2 inches, from Aquatic Connection for $25, on 19 December 2003.



This is she while she was still in the plastic bag she came home in. I was quite concerned over the black markings but they went away after a few days.





She's now slightly more then 5 1/4 inches.



Here's a close up of her head. Her headgrowth partially covers the bottom half of her eyes. She has relatively large pompoms but they aren't obvious in the pics.



Someone said you can't see the anal fins of an "excellent" ranchu. I'm not sure if it's true, but it's a good thing for her because she only has one anal fin (a lefty).



She has a 4-pivoted tails, that stay open and closing slightly when she's propelling forward.

May I have your frank comments please?

Thank you.

Lionheadxranchu.

Excellent balance and body structure.
Growth rate good, well taken care of. Good work !
Color should hv been photo enhanced. Nevertheless, not a major concern. Do watch the diet.

Superb specimen !

I have asked the owner for and replaced the pics with colour-corrected one. Owner claims the new pics (marked "Rev.1") are as close as possible to the fish's real colour, but will attempt to take new pics of the fish swimming in the tank under daylight for better accessment.

Goosh, this fish should be awarded with MIFY of RG - Most Improved Fish of the Year.....

Oh my goodness. Your ranchu excites me!

I'm very impressed by your grooming skill. Of course, this is preceded by your selection skill! You sure you paid only $25 for this gorgeous fish? So fantastic!

On closer examination, I initially felt the back's curve is not drastic enough but I think the fish has not develop fully just yet and it will grow BIG because of the current shape of its back.

Keep up the good work! I'd award you with the MIFY if I can!

Cheers! 1

Noticed from the 1st pic, with black marks, the head has some white patches.

From 2nd pic onwards it looks it has grown and white patche seems to be covered.

I suspect it was kept in green water for sometime.

As for the anal fin, as long got fin who cares and "TAIL FIN must cover anal fin, to me is a load of BULL"!! My honest opinions, no offence.

Anway, its indeed a improvement and goes to show alot of care and nourishment from the owner does makes a difference.

What did you feed ???

Tofu ? Beef heart ? Pig Heart ? Deer Heart ??????

Grin. I'm sorry but my goldfish don't take crazy food.

I feed them Hikari Lionhead only. However, I usually feed them frozen bloodworms a day before water change.

And oh, I don't soak my pellets, nor do I defrost my frozen bloodworms. Crazy things some people do....

All I do is perform massive water change once a week. Good for the fish, and good exercise for me too.

I quote a wise man - "Good water management is upmost agenda for devlopement of goldfish, not food."

http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfi...ad/lionhead.htm

Check out the back profile against the English lionhead standard. More like this than a ranchu!

Nice solid S.V. fish.

Forrest

This fish does seems to fit the ideal side profiles of the British Lionhead, but the photos of real British Lionheads shown on the same page is far off the illustrated pic. The real fish is distinctly Lionhead with that characteristic sloppy tails, and the extra long and protruding peduncle, both of which contributed to the longish body "looks". This fish, however, is fat and round. It's without a doubt a Ranchu, and one with lots of potential. Kudos to the owner! Would he consider breeding it?

A classic example for all aspiring goldfish hobbyists to follow.

1) Select a structurally sound small goldfish for a reasonable price

2) Feed them with inexpensive goldfish food - Hikari Lionhead/Frozen BW

3) Minimal fuss with maintenance - change H2O once/week

4) Post it on Rafflesgold and make everyone else jealous!

Seriously, this looks like an excellent Ranchu with nice head/body/tail/growth

This is the way keeping goldfish should be...

The sold colour infusion of the tail is v/good.

Forrest

IMHO, i thought it would be better for the tail fin to be lower. it give me "the hanging in the air feeling".

nonetheless I thought owner has done a great job in grooming this fish to its full potential and certainly now worth more than its $25 dollar value.

Overall Good colour, good head growth.....

As promised, here's a new pic of the ranchu swimming in a glass tank.



Another one.

I thank everyone for their kind comments, and must admit I've been on cloud 9 knowing my ranchu is well liked.

Here's a close-up pic of its face. She's pretty adorable isn't she?

Strangely I could swear her pompoms were larger. Maybe pompoms don't grow larger overtime for ranchu?

Bad news, guys....

I just got words that this beautiful ranchu is dead, apparently of suffocation. The air pump was working but overnight the airline tubing loosen, and there was no aeration to the intense green water tub. This ranchu was found floating motionless early this morning. His companion ranchu was weakly gasping for air and quickly rescued, and is doing fine now.

My heart-felt condolences to the owner.

Check your airline tubing connection regularly!!

overstock is it?