Ranchu Vs. Lionhead

Hello! I'm a newbie to fish-keeping but I've gotten so stupefy by fancy goldfish I can't get enough of them. My inquiry is...how can you tell between a lionhead and a ranchu...I bought a black lionhead (at least it was marked as such) but then i went to another local pet shop and were selling (from what i can tell) the same exact fish but only marked as a black ranchu....can someone please give me tips on how to identify my ranchu/lionhead?? (his name is Scar by the way)....details would be appreciated but pictures would be way better.

This is what I found.

Lionheads were originally developed in China and later introduced to Japan during the 17th and 18th centuries. Lionheads have deep bodies that are relatively short and straight. They are dorsaless fish similar to ranchus in appearance. The wen or headgrowth of the lionchu covers its gill plates, cheeks and head. The back of the lionchu is rather flat when compared to the ranchu, which has a more curved back. The wen of the lionhead typically requires about a year for development and patches of the wen are periodically shed.

Julie

Welcome to the Box. Great question and great answer.

welcome to the site.......from one goldfish lover to another!

Cool! Thanks for the info....for now I'll just identify him as Scar...at least untill his Wen really comes in...Thank again

I would love to see a picture of him (and the wen).

Julie

So much that I never thought of when it comes to goldfish :)

I'll try to post a pic of him (@Julie) tonight (2/10/11) when I get home and maybe that will help you guys help me :^)

This is my dilemma....he has a head growth like a lionhead but he also has a pretty curvy back like a ranchu....i've also heard they have been breeding the so called Lionchu that has features of both. But I still can't say what he is. Hope you guys can help me on this one

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Nice

He is really black-black. I hope he stays that way for you. My black guys have lightened up- bellies turned gold so I think they will eventually turn like my chocolate is.

He looks very healthy too. What are you feeding?

Good luck,

Julie

Thanks. I feed them the Tetra sinking mini sticks....I started out feeding them flakes but man that stuff made my tank really dirty....plus I learned about the fish bladder disease....so that's what I feed them now.

What you have in your hand is a BEAUTIFUL little Ranchu. It's a common misconception, and lionchu are hard to classify at such a small size, but you've got all the basics right.



Ranchu have tight compact bodies, with a delicate arc to their backs and a "tail tuck" that should jut off at a 45 degree angle. What you're holding in your hand looks like a common SVR or Side View Ranchu, saying that this fish was bred to have traits that would be attractive to look at from a tank as opposed to a pond. Wen growth is common in Ranchu, and will develop more with good food and clean water. Also, note the "triagular" face, another common trait in young ranchu.

!

Lionheads tend to have longer, straighter backs (the need of the tight curve is unnessicary) and much fuller headgrowth all around, on the cheeks and on the head. Hence the term "Lion" head, reffering to how the when has the full mane-like effect.

The Lionchu is a perfect combination of the two. A fuller longer body, fuller head growth, and are generally a pretty hardy fish.

(I'd show you a picture, but all Lionchu are different and it's hard to pinpoint what traits are "true" lionchu traits)

Not sure where you found this little beauty, but it's a treasure. Looks to be about 2''-2'' 1/2 inches, so about six to eight months old. I can't be certain from the pictures (and ranchu/lionheads can be hard to gender do to headgrowth) but it looks like it's a little girl, judging from the pectoral fins.

Wonderful find, and good luck