Description

The red cap oranda is the most recognisable of the fancy goldfish – a clean white body with a raspberry-red wen growing over the top of the head. The wen develops with age and good feeding, so buying a fish that already shows a defined cap at 8 cm is a much safer bet than gambling on a 3 cm juvenile.

Fancy goldfish are messy, heavy-bodied fish that need far more filtration and water volume than their size suggests. They are also cold-water fish: no heater is needed in Chennai, but summer temperatures above 30 °C do stress them.

Keeping notes

• Allow 75 litres for the first oranda and 40 litres for each additional fish.
• Over-filter. A canister rated for twice your tank volume is not excessive for goldfish.
• Avoid sharp decor – the wen and trailing fins tear easily.
• Do not house with fast single-tail goldfish or koi, which will out-compete them for food.