Ranchu

[AquaLife]

Anyone keeping or breeding Ranchu? What's the difference between Ranchu and lionhead gf?

[livingart]

Compared to lionheads ranchus have a more arched back and much shorter down turned tail

so a shorter tailed dumpier version of a lionhead

study lots of pics of them to give a better understanding of the shape

[Caryl]

The Type Test for lionheads has a depth of body greater than 1/2 body length whereas the ranchu depth of body is 1/2 the body length, not greater than.

Compared to lionheads, ranchus have a more downturned, tucked-in at a sharp angle, tail and tail fin. The ranchu's tail meets the caudal peduncle at a forty-five degree angle, giving the fish a unique swimming motion.

Their backs are more arched whereas lionheads backs should be flat.

[AquaLife]

So do they come from same spawn/breed/parents, I mean selected few are ranchus and the rest lion heads and some others.

[Caryl]

Err, pass :-?

I have not bred them myself.

[AquaLife]

Interesting, I saw some off the nett from Japan, very impressed by their quality. I wonder why there is so little suply here in NZ. I've seen quite a few ranchus and lionheads, usually from the same breeder and that made me wonder if they are from the same brood.

[Stella]

It has been illegal to import goldfish for years, the small ones are too hard to distinguish from koi, a noxious pest in New Zealand, hence the lack of severely mutant goldfish

[malevolentsparkle]

t has been illegal to import goldfish for years

ah interesting. is this instead of outlawing them entirely as too many people have and like them?

[Stella]

hmm, interesting question! And kinda tricky to answer.

I think it is a case of goldfish are not a big problem in the wild (unlike koi), so people can keep their goldfish, but aren't allowed to have koi.

Banning the import of goldfish makes it harder for people the sneak in fancy koi by labelling it a goldfish.

I guess it just makes it easier to control the movement of the pest fish. Although coarse anglers are notorious for illegally introducing pest fish to new areas without thinking about the damage it can do to not only the ecosystems, but their own 'sport'. :evil:

[Zev]

The ban on importing goldfish was for disease reasons, IIRC, there was something affecting fish overseas, so imports here were stopped.

[AquaLife]

yea, I've been told of the reason of their ban, the disease/pest they carry. Is that disease still an on going concern? I was shocked at the prices they fetched here. From where I come from they are dirt cheap be it orandas, ranchus, or ...... Because of the bann, they're highly priced here. hmmmm saying that, I think all fishes are highly priced here in NZ, lol, but not as overly priced as gold fishes.

Edit: I'd like to take back what I said about the high price of fishes in NZ. lol. I've not been into fishes for about 15-20 yrs now, haha. Times have change and prices of fishes has certainly escalate. Just been into the site of Malaysian Online fish shop and mannn...... they are certainly alot more expensive now then it used to be. :oops: My humble apologies