Essential Fish Keeping Information on Shubunkin Goldfish

The rare feature of Shubunkin goldfish is their color pattern. They come in four different colors but their color pattern looks like set on blue background. This is a very rare combination and it is the main reason for their popularity.

The Shubunkin are amongst the most beautiful fish variety in the goldfish species. They were developed in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century and their Japanese name has been accepted throughout the world.

The Shubunkins are always described as Calico goldfish. This is because of their multiple colors with a specific pattern. These colors are usually set on a background which is blue. Goldfish are rarely seen in blue color and so they are most expensive amongst the pet fish.

The Bristol variety is found in most of the pet shops and it is very common. Even the London variety is recommended for beginners. Shubunkins are easy pets to maintain because there not choosy about their food. They will pick up whatever is offered. There are strong and active swimmers. They can get adjusted to other fish in your aquarium easily.

There are about 125 varieties which are bred all over the world. The head of Shubunkin is short but wide and the shape of the body is very elegant. Their fins are usually erect and they have a concave dorsal fin.

Shubunkin are relatively smaller than any common goldfish. Depending on the environment, they will grow. If you provide per fish 12 gallons of water and feed them properly, they will grow up to 6 inches. However if you keep them in a crowded tank with other fish varieties, they may grow up to 4 inches. Some expert fish-keepers have grown them up to a size of 13 inches!

Shubunkins will eat all types of food - live and flake food. You should provide them a balanced diet including some flaked food as well as live food in the form of brine shrimp or blood warms. However, live food may carry parasites and it may lead to bacterial infections also. For this reason, the experts recommend frozen or dried food.

Shubunkins will not demand high water quality or good temperature. However for getting the best results, you need to provide good filtration facility in the aquarium. They will certainly require a lot of oxygen so you have to provide enough water surface area.

Shubunkins will swim in all the areas of your aquarium. So you should provide a normal and constant temperature all over the aquarium. A sudden change in the temperature may be fatal for them. The recommended range of temperatures is between 66-73° F. The levels of hardness of should be in the range of 6-20° dGH while the range of pH levels should be 6 to 8.

You should not keep any aggressive fish or territorial fish in the same aquarium to avoid problems.

Chintamani Abhyankar is a goldfish enthusiast and has been raising and breeding goldfish for many years. He is an expert on their care and an advocate for raising healthy goldfish the natural way. His famous digital book, "Secrets on Keeping Beautiful Goldfish", offers simple, easy to follow instruction for raising healthy, long-living goldfish. Visit his website http://www.goldfishcaretips.com to learn more about expertly raising your goldfish and to receive your FREE copy of his special report, "Fish-Keeping Hobby Secrets Revealed".