Red Lionhead

Red Lionhead Goldfish - Carassius auratus

(Medium)

Stately and stubby with a roaring red head, the Red Lionhead is definitely an attention-getter. Visually, Lionheads are notable for their lack of a dorsal fin. The Lionhead is the oldest of the dorsal-less breeds, originating as an offshoot from the Eggfish. The Lionhead itself originated in China around the 1600s.

The Lionhead Goldfish is by far the most popular and well known of the dorsal less goldfish. Rather than having the long slender body of the Common Goldfish or the Shubunkins, the Lionhead Goldfish is one of the more rounded or egg-shaped fancy gold fish.

Lionhead Goldfish have a double caudal (tail) fin and a double anal fin. This goldfish variety is very similar to the Ranchu Goldfish, a variant that was highly developed Japan.The Lionhead can be distinguished by a less curved contour shape to its back. Also, its caudal fin is quite similar to that of the Fantail Goldfish, while the Ranchu has a tail fin that splays out to the sides, often being almost horizontal.

This goldfish was bred in China to develop a “hood” that depicts the image of the mythical Chinese lion-dog. The distinctive raspberry or lion’s mane appearance of the Chinese Lionhead Goldfish have led to its common name ‘Lionhead’ Goldfish. The amount of head growth differs for each fish. For some the broad head, except for its eyes, mouth and nostrils, can become completely covered with fleshy growth (sometimes impeding their vision) while others will develop hardly any head growth at all.

These goldfish are available in a variety of colors. The solid metallic types include red, orange, chocolate, blue, and black. The nacreous types can be calico, bi-colored combinations of red and white or red and black, or tri-colored combinations in red, white, and black. There is also a red-capped variety with a bright red head and white body. Though pretty rare, there is also a long finned variety.

The Lionhead Goldfish is considered a rather delicate fish and is not recommended for beginners. Its swimming ability is cumbersome because of its rounded body which is further diminished by the lack of a stabilizing dorsal fin. Many of the elongated goldfish varieties like the Common Goldfish, Comet Goldfish, the Shubunkin, are not really good companions for the Lionhead Goldfish because they are fast swimmers and too competitive during feeding time.

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