F A N T A I L
Origin - China
Difficulty - Beginner (variants are moderate)
Availability - Common (Fringetails rare, Broadtails and Veiltails very rare)
Price - Moderate (variants are Moderate to Expensive)
Adult Size - 6 to 8 inches
Scales - Metallic (Nacreous for Calico)
History & Background
"Albert Einstein" is a Calico Fantail. He was taught to do complex
tricks. Technically, any goldfish with a split tail is considered a
Fantail. However, it is usually assumed that Faintails have Tear or Egg-shaped
bodies. Goldfish with split tails were first seen during the Ming Dynasty
in the 1400s.
Fantails are the default breed from which all other fancy varieties are derived. They are mostly distinguished from each other by fin type. This catagory covers a wide range of fin types (listed below). The default for the breed is covered here. Back to Top
Special Care
Example of a Veiltail Most Fantails are fairly
hardy and undemanding. While their split tails mean they cant swim as well
as Common Goldfish, they do swim much better than other fancy varieties such
as Bubble Eyes and Lionheads.
Though they are not as resiliant as Common varieties, they are hardy enough to make good fish for beginners. Some of the variants (see below) take a little extra effort to keep their longer tails in good condition.
Fantails are capable of living in almost any evironment that a Common Goldfish can live in, including ponds.Back to Top
Ideal Characteristics
Tear or Egg shaped, with a body depth between
3/5 the length of the body or more. Shorter body length in relation to the
depth is preferred.
Fantails dont have any superfluous growths such as sacs or headgrowth. The body outline should be smooth and contoured. Though this is ideal, a lot of Fantails have a minor Ryukin-like hump (which may be a residual trait from actual Ryukin ancestry...Ryukins have been bred into some Fantail lines for their color)
While not an ideal specimen, this fish's tail shows
what a Fantail Caudal fin should look like...with the lower part shorter than
the upper part Fantails come in all the same color varieties as all
other goldfish. As with other breeds, color saturation of the fins is highly
desired. All are metallic scaled, except for calicos.
The default finnage is similar to a common goldfish...short (not longer than 1/2 the length of the body) rounded fins that are erect. All fins are paired except for the Dorsal fin. Caudal fins should be divided and forked in profile, with the lower lobe shorter than the upper lobe (as seen in the image here).
There are many variants for this breed, all differentiated by their fins. The major ones are discussed below. Back to Top
Known Variants
Example of a show-quality Fantail Veiltails
(originally known as "Philadelphia Veiltails", and sometimes referred
to as "Broadtails") were first bred in America during the 1920s.
In the orient it is frequently referred to as "Feather dress". Veiltails
have a deeper body than normal Fantails (2/3 the length of the fish). As the
name implies, the fins are broad and slightly rounded. The Caudal fin has
little or no fork, and drapes off the back of the tailbone. Dorsal and Pelvic
fins are broad and erect. True Veiltails are fairly rare and typically only
available through breeders. Though other breeds have veiltail-like finnage,
when people refer to a "Veiltail" they are probably talking about
this variant of the Fantail.
Fringtails have short teardrop shaped bodies with Fringtail type finnage. As with Veiltails, this is the default for the breed, though other breeds may have fringetail finnage.
Ribbontails have short egg shaped bodies with Ribbontail type finnage.
Butterflytails are identical to standard Fantails, but have butterfulytail finnage.
Twin-tail Orientals are just normal Fantails that have Ryukin ancestry as well...they look like normal Fantails with higher backs and larger than normal dorsals.
 |