Goldfish

[nfn]

How do you sex a goldfish?  And..  how do you know if one is pregnant (apart from waiting for the eggs to pop out)? 

Ta x

[andyjevs]

Sexing goldfish is usually better done in sping (may/june). The females will become noticably rounder especially around her abdomen and anal fin, as she fills with eggs. Males will grow turbicles on their gills and heads...small white spots which can often be mistaken for disease. Goldfish are very easy to breed but you will require at least 3 males to one female. If you have a pond, you might notice the males frantically chasing the poor female into the shallows and plants to release and fertilise the eggs, especially early in the morning . Most of the opaque brown eggs the size of a pinhead are eaten but a few fry might survive and live to adulthood....especially if there's a lot of plants in the pond/tank. Hope this helps

[nfn]

Thanks Andy.  Mine are in a tank and I'm new to all this but hopefully we'll get a few mini Pilchards and Barrys (their names)!!  We're getting a few more at the weekend, now I know I'm not going to kill them in my new tank! lol

[maggie01]

nfn I don't know how big your tank is but did you know you should allow 10 gall per goldfish. I have 4 Orandas in two tanks and goldfish in pond outside.

[nfn]

maggie, i'm worried by this!  I have two in a tank 28 x 12 x 12.  I was assured by the chap at the acquarium that we could have 6 fish in here.  10 gallons sounds a lot, working on the goldfish in a bowl tradition.  Please help me as I obviously don't want to harm these beautiful creatures, but I do want a tank of fascinating fish.  Are Orandas the little fish usually found in domestic tanks?   My two are 1.5" and 2" approx long.  Please help me!

[maggie01]

If you go on any fish forum they will tell you the same. Orandas are fancy goldfish with large rounded bellies and a wen on their heads (looks a bit like little grapes joined together). They started out quite small but have now grown fairly large. Even very small goldfish will grow a lot bigger. My daughter had one goldfish which was tiny and that grew to about 8 inches and needed a lot of room to swim. As I said there are a lot of fish forums and you can get a lot of information from them. Fish are fascinating and I hope you enjoy yours.