What kind of fish I have

[Texas T]

Hello, my name is Tom and I don't know what kind of Goldfish I have in my pond. These fish were in there when we bought our house 10 years ago. So this is my first time trying a forum to reach out for advise, and hope I can get some questions answered about my fish. First thing is to figure out what Kind of fish I have, And if I can post a picture or video to help do that. Next, in the video I DO post, can someone identify an issue that one of them is having? Oh.... And can you tell which sex? One of the fish (who I've named Sally, and why I asked about the sex) Sally, has grown such a big tail that when she isn't moving her tail is pulling her back end down and puts her in a vertical position, even flips her backwards and upside down. So she keeps swimming around to keep this from happening, and I can tell that she is becoming very stressed out. It seems to be stressing the others out as well. Oh.... Guess I should mention that I have a total of 7 of them. Anyway, I will start figuring out if I can do pics or vid clip of them for you. I am using an old iPad, so if I can do that I will, if I can't I will try another method. Thanks ahead of time for reading, and helping if you can.

 

[JRS]

Welcome, Texas T!

Goldfish are a hodgepodge of types that have been bred for desirable characteristics such as fins, form and color from the original form.

Some info on the basic types: https://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/goldfish/Goldfish.htm

Some body forms with the large fins and or short bodies can have more trouble maintaining neutral buoyancy due to their body structure and/or compressed swim bladder.

Sexing is difficult, especially from pictures. Here is some info: http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/sexing-fs.htm

 

[Texas T]

Thank you for replying and the info, I will check them out. I will try to get a pic of them as well. Thanks again!!

 

[j.w]

@Texas T

 

[Texas T]

Hey there, thanks for all the warm welcomes. I am going to try and post some pics, and or vid here.

 

[j.w]

Those would be Comet goldfish w/long flowing tails.
Found this explanation on the net:

The Comet Goldfish got its name because of its long flowing golden tail which resembles a comet.


Whilst the common goldfish has ‘stiff’ fins, the Comet has long flowing ones; it is also smaller than ‘regular’ goldfish.


However the main way to differentiate between the two is the Comet’s long heavily forked tail; they have a slim body and only have a tail fin and a single anal fin.


Healthy versions will have normal eyes that are not bulging; their scales should also be flat and not bumpy. It should grow to 12 inches long when kept in a healthy condition.


They can come in a variety of colors with yellow/orange and orange/red being the more traditional colors. However you can also get them in:

• Red and White (Known as the Sarasa Comet)
• White
• Brown
• Yellow
• Black (technically these are a Koi/Comet hybrid)

You can also find them with nacreous (cloud like) coloration and patterning; however these are referred to as Shubunkin goldfish.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome. What part of Texas?

How big is your pond?

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

Beautiful fish!

 

[Texas T]

Thank you for the replies, compliments and for sharing your knowledge and the links. I'm not in Texas, I reside and grew up in Wisconsin, its just a nickname given by a friend. I used to perform country music shows, singing and such, and I did live in Dallas for about a year working construction. My pond is kidney bean shape and about 8' x 3'6" x 16-18" deep. I don't know if you have looked at the pictures I posted, but it kind of shows what it looks like. I have the one fish "Sally" that I'm trying to get advise about helping, she can't maintain a horizontal position when standing still, it seems like her tail too heavy pulls her down. Unless she lacks other fins that helps with balance? At any rate, I still have to check out the links that were given and see if I can find some answers there? Thank you all, and have a wonderful day. Here is one more pic of Sally in the vertical position.

 

[JamieB]

I would recommend catching Sally and taking a look at her, to see if there are issues. Compare her to anatomy charts of other comet goldfish to check if she is missing any fins, or has other defects beyond a large tail fin. If excess tail fin is the only problem, research on how to trim them, I've seen a few clips of that being done, but I've never had to do that, so I cannot advise how beyond knowing about it and that you knock them out with clove oil, which in excess will kill them.
I'd also recommend you check her for swim bladder issues first, there are plenty here who can assist on how to treat that.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I would just leave her in pond and give pond a good dose of "Laguna Liquid Pond Peat". I myself only use that as it's all natural and will protect fish from infection so they heal faster. I use whole bottle at one in large ponds over 1000 gallons, but smaller dose in smaller ponds. You cannot overdose as it's all natural and will temporarily color water a deep brown amber color. I swear by pond peat. I myself never had any luck trying to cure fish with typical pond meds and find removing sick fish can cause additional stress to a already weak fish.

 

[snoozer]

Welcome Texas T. There are a few of us from Wisconsin.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Texas T. Welcome! They are all Sarasa comets and are very pretty fish. Lilly probably has a bladder infection. Try feeding her peas. Take frozen peas. Zap them in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. Peel off the skin and rinse them in cold water so they are not hot and mash them up so they are bite size. They are good for all your fish. Don't feed them other food at the same time because you want them to eat their peas. You probably need to do this for a week to make progress.

 

[Texas T]

Hey there CK, thanks for that, I was just about to ask what I could feed my fish other than there fish food. I just ran out of the cold water food yesterday and was looking to give them something to hold them over till I get to the pet store. Also wondering what would be a good treat to give them? Ya know, the wife and I were never pond people, it came with our home as I mentioned and we started with over 30 fish it that little pond. As you can see, we have 7 now, so obviously they are the hardy survivors of our neglect for the first few years we were here. Those first few years we had a lot of snow, so we had just let the pond freeze over, and with a thick layer of snow I guess it didn't freeze to deep, but then a couple of cold winters with little snow took a bunch of fish. That's when we start putting a heater in it. Now that they are getting so big, the next advise I will be looking for will be "how to expand this pond"? We want to double the size and will be digging it by hand. It's going to tight with our septic line, and a bit close to our tank. So there's that...... Thank you all for your warm welcomes and insightful advice. I look forward to hearing more of your advice and learning as much as I can while I have the time. Hope you are all staying safe and healthy, as I have been staying home from my work as a floor technician, and my wife is a 3rd grade teacher and doing that remotely from home as well. Anyway, didn't mean to get into all that??? But there it is. Ha!

 

[Texas T]

Ok so, I threw some peas in there for them and I gotta tell ya, it's been pretty funny watching them pick em up and spit them out!! It was like they were having a contest to see who can spit them the farthest!! That or they are acting like little spoiled brats that won't eat there vegetables!! Funny stuff!!! I wish I could post a video clip, but it says the file is to big so... Here is another pic from my deck above.