Gold Fish Care

Lionhead Goldfish

Other Common Names:

Shou-xing in China

Origin:

China

Size:

Total length of the body can grow up to 10 inches ( 25 to 28cm), body length is 2.25 inches (5.5 cm), depth of the body is greater than ½ and width is 5/8th of the body length

Lifespan:

It has a lifespan averaging 20 years.

Physical Description

The Lionhead Goldfish was first bred in the 16th century in China where it is called Shou-xing. Shou-xing Gong is the Chinese God of Longevity and the fish's round belly is also said to resemble that of the laughing Buddha. The Lionhead was one of the earliest variety to be bred and is a close ancestor to the Eggfish.

Lionhead Goldfish has a fat round belly and a smooth back. The remarkable feature of this fish is the hood that develops on thetop of the head. Hood is nothing but fleshy growth and it looks like a lion's mane. So it is named as Lionhead Goldfish. Dorsal fin, double caudal fin and matching pairs of anal, pectoral and pelvic fins are not present.

Sometimes, this head growth causes problems to the fish if it grows too large and over the gills. So it is not advised for beginners.

Color Varieties of Lionhead

They occur in orange, red, black, chocolate brown and blue and have metallic scales. Sometimes, you can see them in bi-color (red white, red-black), tri-color (red-white-black) and calico.

Housing

Lionhead can survive happily in 20 gallon volume water tank. You can use substrate like rocks or gravels in the tank basement. Water tank can be arranged with Green plants or aquarium plants. Avoid using sharp plants inside the tank as they may injure the hood of the fish. This fish is docile and gets along with otherslower varieties of Goldfish. You might have to separate them
from other fish if the head growth begins to cover its eye as this will make the fish slow down and won't be able to get much food They love being in an outdoor pond, but you will have to transfer them indoors for the winter.

Temperature:

Temperature varies from 65 - 72 degrees F (18 - 22 degrees C). You have to maintain natural lighting effect.

Water Condition:

The tank water conditions should be maintained at a pH level of 6.5 - 7.5 and dH of 4 - 20.

Moving Level in Water:

They are gracious swimmers and can swim in all levels of water. Your can spend hours just watching them.

Feeding

You can feed your fish with frozen, and flake foods. To maintain 30% of protein and balanced diet, use high quality flake food everyday.You can feed brine shrimp (either live orfrozen), blood worms, Daphnia, or tubifex worms. But, it is better to feed frozen/dried foods. Avoid live foods in order to prevent parasites and bacterial infections.

Reproduction

You can breed them during breeding season after they attain maturity. They have a capacity to lay up to 1000 eggs. The fry doesn't have hood. It will grow between 3 months to 2 years. The popular Goldfish variety, the Oranda, was bred from the Lionhead. Today, it is perhaps one of the most popular Goldfish breeds in the world. To an untrained eye the Lionhead looks like a Ranchu, another variety of Goldfish.

Selecting a good Lionhead

1. The fish should look bright and alert.
2. Flesh around the top of the head should be well developed in
the cranial, infra-orbital and opercular areas.
3. The caudal fin should be well divided and forked.