New lionhead / ranchu

[Xavier]

So after losing one of my ranchus during the holidays, I searched real hard for better quality ranchus / lionhead in my area. I managed to find one fish in all of Montreal... but at least I found one.

Here he is. He is about 2 inches long. He's been in QT for 5 days now with no problems. He is getting better at finding the food, so I will introduce him to my other fish soon.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee127/xsldery/3.jpg

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee127/xsldery/4.jpg

[Rue]

Very nice! :1luvu: Whoulda thunk Montreal would be so ranchu deprived? Sounds more like a Western Canada thing...

[Xavier]

You'd think a city of over 3 million, with a decent sized asian quarter would have decent goldfish imports, but no... Most of the lionheads and Ranchus in Montreal are culls, and are put on sale at the tender age of 1 month. They are tiny, skinny, have no wens and have numerous defects (missing gill covers, bent backs, missing fins, etc.)

I've been to over 6 stores, all owned by different companies, and only found 1 with lionheads with wens. Of the 25 the store had, several had pronounced defects, or were sick (buoyancy problems).

[rich311k]

Beautiful fish! Good luck with him.

[Cliff]

Very nice looking fish !

[mermaidwannabe]

That little fishy just got lucky.

[CassieLEO]

Hes so sweet looking, what a love <3!! Congrats on your new fishie!!!

[Xavier]

Update:

I've named him Omega. He has been in the main tank for over a week. He is okay at finding food, but still needs some help. I fed frozen brine shrimp tonight and he went nuts :P He was quite good at catching them.

[Rue]

They love shrimp - that's for sure. I give mine a bit of mysis when I feed the SW tank...don't know who's more enthusiastic about them...my clowns or my goldies...

[jessfish]

He is beautiful!!!!!!

Any idea how old he is?

I have a black ranchu who I believe is maybe 6 months (at most) - i'll add pic's
I am wondering when their head growth starts...my little dude hasn't
gotten any growth yet.


ps. I live about an hr north of Toronto & in a year of looking at several fish stores I have only seen ranchu's ONCE!!!!
it's not just Montreal lacking in the cool fish lol! :goldfish:

[Xavier]

I don't know how old he is... 3-4 months?

If I could afford them, I would buy from Paul:
http://www.ranchumaniax.com/

As for your fish, I had one that looked a lot like it. I think you have the same problem I had, and that was that I was underfeeding.

Now, I know what I'm about to say goes against a lot of strongly held beliefs, but bear with me.

If you want your little guy to have headgrowth (provided his genes allow for it), you need to feed him a LOT more food, and it needs to be high quality food. I've been talking with breeders, and their advice conflicts with every book when it comes to the amount of food to give lionheads / ranchus. All the literature says to underfeed, to never overfeed, whereas the breeders say they need to eat 4-5% of the body weight a day.

I've been giving their advice a try over the last month. I feed 5-6 times a day New life Spectrum pellets, and some evenings I give frozen brine shrimp (Hikari brand) and very few veggies. I've found a balance where they don't become constipated. My 2 old lionheads that I thought would be wenless are showing signs of growth. They've also started to get a lot bigger a lot faster.

This is brutal on the bioload. Be prepared to change more water and test more often.

[jessfish]

wow that is interesting but i do believe it...everything i was reading said the wen doesn't usually grow until the fish are about a yr old, but i see fish in the store that the employees tell me are well under a yr of age & they have good wen growth...

i have a fantail, 2 orandas, a pearlscale & of course the ranchu - the ranchu being the smallest...i usually feed them a mix of flakes & bloodworms in the morning & they get pellets at night...

a month ago i managed to find the Hikari pellets (lionhead & oranda) in my area so at night they have been getting the new pellets & i've noticed a BIG diff...my fantail has gotten really big & my pearlscale & my little ranchu have - what i can only describe as - gotten fatter lol!

I'm thinking now with what u said i might feed a bit more at night - since i don't think i've been feeding enough - i give them a 'pinch' of pellet (prob 4-6 each small pellets) but they gobble them up in about 20 sec! & im surprised bc the ranchu (Mana) can eat ALOT of them! & the package does say feed 3-4 times a day what they can eat in 2min...which seems like alot

What u are saying about feeding more a good/ok idea with the other variety of goldies i have?

ps - i also don't feed the fish one day a week & the next day they get peas in morning & reg food at night - just to help any digestive problems that could arise

is it possible that my ranchy really won't grow a wen!!!!!!! :scry:

[jessfish]

http://www.ranchumaniax.com/

Awesome website! wish i could afford the fish too!

Also you said that you noticed growth on your lionheads that you thought would be wenless...did you notice them getting bigger (body size) first (like i've been seeing a bit with some of mine) or did you notice wen growth first?

[Fisharefriends27]

Wow cool awesome...wow cool awesome! :18:

[Xavier]

Awesome website! wish i could afford the fish too!

Also you said that you noticed growth on your lionheads that you thought would be wenless...did you notice them getting bigger (body size) first (like i've been seeing a bit with some of mine) or did you notice wen growth first?

I think it is good that you feed them peas and fast them. As for overfeeding the other GFs, I don't think it would cause problems, as long as you can keep the water quality perfect.

Yes they are getting fatter as well. I didn't "notice" at first, because it is gradual, but when I stopped and looked closely, I could tell they were getting a lot bigger.

It is possible that your "ranchu" will never have a wen, or a very small one when it does grow. The major factor are their genes. Parents with good wen growth make many babies with good wens, but there are always mutants that are culled by breeders, but most of these end up in stores... sadly most stores stock up on culls, or "ranchus" that have defects like bad backs, no wen, fused tails, missing fins, etc.

I've read a few debates about the depth of the water having an impact on wen growth. Some say it has no impact, while others claim better growth in shallow water when the ranchus are still growing. Direct sunlight is supposed to help as well.

That being said, the factors agreed on are genes, food quality, food quantity and water quality.

OH! I need to point out something that scared me about wen growth. When they have a growth spurt, white spots that look like fungus appear on their wen/head. I thought something was wrong, but as it turns out, that is new wen developing. It lasts a day or two, then a new spot of white appears somewhere else on the wen for two days, then pops somewhere else, then no spots for a week, then back again. Next time one of them has a growth spurt, I'll get a picture and post it, so that when it happens to your ranchu you don't panic.

[ewayjeng]

this is another great place to buy high quality ranchu just bought a 7 inch calico from them, real nice
http://www.koi-art.com/goldfish-store.html