hi, i have been reading a lot on goldfish lately and have read that lionheads are difficult ot keep. how delicate are they? and is there any special care they need? i know have a 50 gallon tank ( thanks for the advice guys!!!) i know u can't keep them with the normal bodied GF cuz they can't compete for food. will they be ok with fantails and a moor? they are all the same size right now, about 1 inch.
2006-10-14 16:44:48 · 2 answers · asked by Critter_Queen 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
They are not ddelicate and are raised in large pools here in China, Lionheads lack the doral finnage of orandas and both grow to about 8 inches or so. The only trouble some ones are the bubble-eyes, as the bubbles are very fragile and if the bubble breaks, they look terribly sad until the bubble has healed and refilled with fluid. Celestial-eyes and the moors are different as they have protruding eyes. The care for all goldfish is simple...as large a tank as you can afford, good filtration as they produce a lot of waste...regular water changes...as a build-up in nitrates will stunt their growth, stable temperature (remember that they originated in rivers and the temperature changes slowly both up and down) and a good quality food (sorry many of the cheap varieties have little nutrition in them)...Hikari produces a food that is supposed to enhance head growth but I suspect that the food produces head growth simply because of nutritive value, not a special ingredient. As always, don't crowd your aquarium. A word of caution, some lionheads are bred in the US, and their head growth is poor and the whole fish is too elongated...they are cheaper than the imported varieties but really inferior. Also examine the back of the fish...some have vestigial spine or spines and that detracts from the beauty of the smooth back. Sexing on young fish is almost impossible. In China we have some with a red head and white bodies, white heads and red bodies, calico, black, chocolate, red caps (heads) with black bodies, black caps with red bodies and all have exotic names...usually somethin dragon. China exports about 100,000 or more goldfish a week to the US...importers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa and New York (Tampa Airport reports that tropical and goldfish are the second main cargo...the first main cargo are human remains being shipped home for burial). While the fish are really quite cheap here, the air freight is expensive and the fish move through middlemen before the pet has a new home. Many shipments are made by FEDEX!
2006-10-14 17:39:12 · answer #1 · answered by Frank 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they are more fragile than comets or shubunkins and they dont do well outside here in the US
the main thing I can think of is although you have a large tank, it will be too deep for the lionheads, dont keep them in more than
8-10 inches of water
also you will need good filtration, but if the current produced by the filter makes the water too swift it will wear the fish out and it will die
2006-10-14 21:19:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋