33 replies to this topic

[pecan]

I have 13 various types of 8 inch comets. They had babies last year and all the babies have the same shape in various colors including some that are all grey/brown. But one day I notice 3 fish in the pond that don't look like baby comets. The three are identical to each other and have been growing at twice the rate of the rest of the babies. They are a greenish gold color with a distinct white "clown face". My comet babies are about an inch long now, but these alien fish are reaching 3 inches long... Underwater you can't really see the fish other than this bright white mean looking clown face.

Can you help identify what they are? I assume if they are not comets, they came in either with plants or wild animals.

Thanks in advance!

Here's a good look at the face:

[fishin4cars]

It's a comet, very different coloration for sure but it's a common goldfish. If you have three that are very similar I would recommend seperating them and raising and trying to breed them back to each other. Very possible that you could start a new variation.

[pecan]

Weird how quickly they are out growing the other babies. It would be interesting to separate them and see if I could breed them, but I don't really have the set up.

Thanks for taking a look.

[sissy]

You could use a stock tank for now as long as you have a small cheap pump it may work for awhile .

[j.w]

Cool looking fish, I really LIKE it! I haven't seen any yellowish type comets before but wonder if it could be part koi? Interesting to see if it stays that color.

[pecan]

They are kinda cute in a creepy way lol. It's funny, this winter with all the babies schooled together at the bottom, these guys looked out of place since they are now twice the size of the rest of the babies, but think they are the same. It's kind of like a dairy cow running around with a heard of hamsters. LOL.

[pondkid23]

I will take 1

[CountryEscape]

Pecan, you said you have Comets, which I understand to have longer tails than common goldfish. I wonder if you got a Comet that was only half Comet, and had babies that are showing more the common goldfish body. This guy's tail is not very long, but with no whiskers, I would have guessed common goldfish. Also, the fish that are brown/black in color, will likely change to solid orange as they mature. I have 2 babies still that are black, but the others that were born last summer changed to solid orange. The ones left were in the last 1 or 2 spawnings. Also, my babies from last summer were already 3-4" by December, only being 4 months old. I don't remember that any were larger than others; however, maybe I just THOUGHT they were from different spawnings, and some were just larger and growing faster than others. Is it possible these bigger ones were hidden for a long time, and you didn't know they were there growing among the pond plants, until you found them lately? I saw 2 spawnings for sure last summer, and then just judged that there were more due to tiny fish appearing later on. I have 2 fish that are less than 2" right now, one is black, one beautiful calico, and several that are less than 3", the rest are at least 4" long. Maybe they are like puppies, some were runts and growing slower!
PondKid, if you're looking for any larger goldfish come summer, let me know. I'm planning to sell (cheap) all the solid orange fish, and all the short tailed ones (common goldfish) when I move them to the new pond (which is not started yet LOL). If you would be interested in some of them, let me know and I'll contact you when the time comes. There are several with regular tails that are orange and white, too.

[pecan]

I put this fish in the pond around the 1st of July and had babies around the 2nd week of July, they did not waste any time. These guys are bigger than those babies. I noticed them probably around the first of august which I think was when I took those pics. I have other babies that are smaller than the normal commet babies, probably born around late august.

I was very surprised to see how quickly comets "get busy" And I have mosquitofish in the pond so thought babies would not have a chance. But found out they do. Oh sweet babies, can't wait to see them all grow this year.

[Waterbug]

I agree wit Country, Comet and Common are different. Few are pure of course, but I'd also say this is more Common. And also that the color when young is no indication of future color. I've only seen adult Comets and Commons in solid red or white. Other types have different colors of course. I think young are orange and turn red, but the colors are very close.

I see pet shops go through batches of feeder goldfish picking out unusual colored fish and selling them separately for $5 instead of 5 cents. But they all end up the same.

[CountryEscape]

I sure hope you are not correct in that all Comets and goldfish turn out to be solid red or solid white! I have some that were born white with orange/red spots and others orange/red with white spots, and they have not changed at all. I even documented how each one was marked. I have babies that look like their mothers! I have an identical Shubunkin that looks like my original Shubie, and another goldfish I bought because it had a white belly, white ends to all the tails, and white lips. She is my other known female, and she has a twin for a baby. The colors have not changed at all. I think solid fish remain solid, but I also think that patterned fish remain patterned. Koi are a different story, at least with some of the color combination types. Also, the black babies all turned to be solid orange/red. I have 2 that have not changed yet, they are still black, but are very small, 1.5-2" long or so. They will be orange when they get a little bigger, probably by spring.
When I chose feeder fish my local pet store would let me choose them and pay the low price for feeders, but he had it on the tank that if you choose them individually, you had to pay premium, but it was never $5. I think he charged 20 cents for feeders, and 45 for the individually chosen fish. I always chose ones with more patterns and colors, and always long tails, the comets variety, rather than the common goldies. There were a couple that I picked out at Pet Smart that were in other tanks with the other tropical fish to help keep the bottoms cleaned up that I bought for the same price as feeders, since they were 3-4" long! They were commons, and that's how I got the common shorter tailed goldfish. Also, my friend had 2 large goldies that were solid orange. One is common, the other is leaning toward the Comet, and I suspect one of them has been involved in the reproduction as well. My favorite Comet is one that came with my 55 gal aquarium, and it's very much a Comet, VERY long flowing tails, and has a red spot on top of it's head, otherwise it's solid white. (Would be called Tancho if a koi.)

[pecan]

Out of my 13, 8 inch comets I have the following:

2 Shubunkins (Blue, white, orange multi colored)
3 All White (had 4 white, till some critter got it)
2 All Orange
1 Sorasa (White with a large red spot on her head)
5 Orange with white markings (tails, mouths, bellies etc.)

I would think at 8 inches they would have become there permanent color by now, but maybe not, I am new at this.

I have about 27 babies and they are all the same variations of above (shubunkin babies, orange and white babies, sorasa babies, white babies and orange babies) plus the brown ones and the alien funny face ones.

[CountryEscape]

Pecan, any Comets that are red and white are called Sarasa. :-) I have one that sounds like the one you are calling Sarasa, with the red spot on it's head. I have pictures of him when he was still in the aquarium, but evidently didn't put them on my computer, and all pics I have with him in them he's hard to see. The pictures I've taken of my babies are all pretty blurry, because they are always moving around. This time of year, with the water features turned off (at least where I am they are), and the fish pretty much in hibernation, it would be fantastic if they would come to the surface and remain still for nice photos. LOL
Here is a picture of one of the babies from last summer. It has been this color pattern since I first spotted it at about 1.5" long (was hiding prior to that spotting).

And here are my two known females, The Shubunkin is towards the top of the photo, and the one with the white belly, fin edges and white lips is on the bottom. NOTE: The shubunkin used to have black, but she lost those spots sometime during the summer. The white and red has not changed, though.

I know I have a picture of the Shubunkin while it was still in my aquarium, but for the life of me cannot find it now. Oh well. Enjoy. :-)

[Waterbug]

There is a difference between a Common goldfish and a common goldfish. A Common goldfish is a type of goldfish like a Shubunkin is a kind of goldfish. A common goldfish is just a general term for mutt a guess.

[addy1]

I have pond mutts, not too concerned as to what kind they are, but they are pretty.







Keeping an eye on this one, the black marking have not changed since last summer. Waiting to see if they stay, It still has the two orange spots on the tail.