B U B B L E    E Y E   

Origin - China
Difficulty - Intermediate
Availability - Uncommon (Froghead very rare)
Price - Moderate
Adult Size - 5 to 6 inches
Scales - Metallic (Nacreous for Calico)

History & Background

A Calico Bubble Eye. As with fins, dense color saturation on the sacs is desirable as well on Bubble Eyes. These are similar to Celestials, but have two sacs just under the eyes, giving them an endearing puppy-like appearance. These sacs are not filled with air, but with fluid.

The consensus seems to be that the Bubble Eye is a relatively recent breed, first appearing in the early 1900s. There are no details about their exact origin beyond the fact that they appeared in China first. They probably originated as a strain of Celestials, and it is likely that this mutation took many generations of fish to fix in it's current incarnation. The first Bubble-eyes probably looked more like the Toadhead variant (see below). Back to Top

Special Care

This gold Bubble Eye adult has color saturation on it's irises around it's eye, which is also desirable Though the bladders benieth their eyes are more durable than they look, they can rupture if you have sharp objects in your tank (ornaments, some types of fake plants, ect..). If you have a power filter, take care that it is placed so that their sacs cant get caught in the intake.

If the sacs are ruptured, the fish will probably get sick and could die, so take appropriate measures to combat infection. The Sacs will usually grow back if they rupture, but will probably not be symetrical anymore (which will make the fish unsuitable for shows).

Bubble Eyes dont see or swim well, and it gets worse the larger the sacs get as they get older, so include them with goldfish that are similarly handicapped (like Celestials) to ensure that they can get their share of food.

Remember that the sacs are fluid filled...so if you take them out of the water, you need to support them with your hand. Back to Top

Ideal Characteristics

Ideal Bubble Eye coloration includes opaque colored sacs, as shown here Egg shaped, with a body depth between 1/3 and 5/8 the length of the body. Pond versions have longer bodies.

Ideal Bubble Eyes should have no bumps or spikes along the back; it should be a smooth arch from head to tail. The sacs should be uniform size, and bigger seems to be better. Most Bubble Eyes seem to have Celestial-type eyes that turn upward, but its not absolutely necessary.

Bubble eyes have no dorsal fin. Caudal finnage should be similar to a fantail or fringetail, about 1/3 to 1/2 the length of the body. The Sacs should be uniform and large, but small enough that the fish can still swim without problems. Pond versions have ribbontail type finnage.

Though it is common for many Bubble Eyes sold in pet stores to have transparent sacs, ideally both sacs should opaque and the same solid uniform color (except for Calico/mottled types). Most Bubble Eyes are orange, white, red, black or calico. The most rare seem to be bright yellow. As with all exotic goldfish, color saturation of the fins is very desired as well. Back to Top

Known Variants

Frog Head/Toad Head variant Frogheads were sold in America during the 60s and 70s, but are no longer available. They were considered to be merely subpar Bubble Eyes and supplied to fill US demand for real Bubble Eyes.

Toad Heads had a wider body with less developed sacs, and slightly turned up eyes like a Celestial. You may still be able to find them, but only from isolated breeders.

I have heard of other varients as well (Bubble Eyes with only one sac, or two sets of sacs, or sacs trailing the mouth instead of the eye) but these seem to be sporadic accidents rather than deliberate variants. Shown below is one such example; bubble eyes with sets of bubbles under their mouths as well (something occasionally seen in Pearlscales too). Note that they have fully developed dorsal fins. While interesting in their own right, these variants dont seem quite as appealing as the pure breed. Back to Top