How to Care Oranda Goldfish in an Aquarium – Carassius gibelio forma auratus or Oranda Goldfish, which means “Dutch Lion Head” is a relatively peaceful fish. They hail from China, but many mistakenly believe this fish is from the Netherlands.
The Oranda goldfish belongs to the Cyprinidae family , it is difficult to trace the origins of this cute creature with certainty, but it is widely agreed that the Oranda goldfish is a product of crossbreeding. This freshwater ornamental fish comes with a variety of colors, which of course can add color and brightness to your aquarium.
Let’s get to know more about how to keep goldfish oranda in an aquarium, starting from the shape, character, food, and tankmates that suit it. Come on, check it out!
Behavior
Goldfish species are generally gentle. Just like other goldfish, goldfish oranda is also not aggressive. They are peaceful fish that can get along with just about anyone! Just make sure they are in an environment that makes them feel safe, and create ideal aquarium conditions that keep the fish away from stress.
Although the oranda goldfish is not a schooling fish , they prefer to be among their own species. They are slow swimmers who tend to spend their time swimming to and fro through the aquarium for fun.
Is the oranda goldfish a strong fish?
Yes, they are tough little fish that enjoy swimming throughout the aquarium. You may find your pet floating on the surface for a few days, then finding it frolicking at the bottom.
They are scavenger fish and will spend most of their time picking up leftover food (if not cleaned) and may be playing with property in the tank.
Appearance
What distinguishes the oranda from other types is the abnormal growth on the head, as you can see in the picture. It is referred to as wen , and is not part of their brain. It does look like that, only flesh growing on the head like a flowerhorn fish.
This fleshy lump begins to grow around the age of 4 months, it can even grow excessively. These growths can affect oranda vision. Wen is fully formed around 2 years of age, but may take longer in some fish.
The oranda goldfish has a variety of colors, such as the Red Cap Oranda which has an all white body but the wen is red. The other types are generally solid in color.
Several types of oranda gold chefs such as:
- Red Oranda
- White Oranda
- Blue Oranda
In shape, the body of this type of goldfish is egg-shaped, meaning they are not slender but also not large. Just like goldfish in general, only on the head that distinguishes. What makes this fish look like a graceful angel is the tail fin. They can vary in shape such as ribbon tails, fan tails, or broad tails, and tend to expand backwards.
Color wise, they are brightly colored fish with variations in black, red, white, yellow, orange, gold and even blue!
For size, Oranda can grow up to 17 cm with good care. In fact, this fish has been recorded to grow up to 38 cm, he is an oranda named Bruce who comes from Hong Kong.
How long do oranda goldfish live?
Well, it will depend on their care. If you are very concerned about the health and comfort of your fish, orandas can live up to 15 years.
Oranda goldfish Care
After getting to know the characteristics and appearance of the fish, now you need to know how to properly care for the oranda goldfish. Oranda fish themselves are basically quite easy to care for, but it is their physical condition that makes care much more difficult.
For example, a lot of dirt or bacteria can lodge in the folds and crevices of the wen , it can cause infection.
This fish is also quite sensitive to changes in water conditions, even though this fish is actually strong enough to survive. But by maintaining ideal water parameters, it will keep the fish healthy and away from stress.
Breeding
Like other types of goldfish, the oranda chef is also a greedy fish that can eat anything. Understandably, they include omnivorous fish that can eat anything. In fact, they can eat anything that floats in the water, so you need to be diligent about cleaning the surface of the water if there is dirt. You can give Oranda chefs dry, frozen or live food.
Foods that are usually given to gold chefs oranda such as:
- Worm
- Larva
- Insect
- Plant
- Dried Pellet
- Brine Shrimp
- Alga
You can feed fish as much as 3% of their body size. You don’t have to do it often, just two to three times a day.
Notice if the fish is already swimming at a slight angle, it’s a sign that you’re overfeeding.
On the other hand, if they’re still foraging through the substrate, maybe another piece of your cloth can give them more. Don’t forget to scoop out the rest of the feed if it’s not eaten by the fish. Food residue that dissolves in water will become waste that worsens the condition of the water. It can later cause the health of the fish to be disturbed.
Aquarium
You can provide an aquarium measuring 61 x 30.5 x 40.6 cm, or an aquarium containing 75 liters of water. Bigger is better. If they don’t have enough space, it can cause stress, which is not good for your fish.
The temperature should be fairly consistent, between 20-22 degrees Celsius. The water hardness should be between 6-18 dH and the pH level should be between 5 to 8. One of the reasons why they are so difficult to care for is because of their sensitivity to water conditions. So, in how to maintain oranda goldfish, you must focus on maintaining ideal water parameters.
Do not forget to pay attention to a good filtration system to maintain water conditions. Because goldfish are greedy fish, they will produce a lot of feces , if it is not balanced with good filtration, the ammonia content in the water will increase. You can provide filters that have mechanical, biological and chemical filtering capabilities. Do not forget to give enough oxygen for good water circulation.
Consider changing the water twice a week, replacing 30% of the old water with new, precipitated water. If you want to give your aquarium substrate, make sure it doesn’t have sharp edges like gravel. That’s because these fish like to dig, so it’s likely that if you give them sharp substrate, they will hurt the fish’s mouth. You can give fine sand, or rocks that are not sharp.
For aquarium decoration, it is actually very beautiful if you combine fish with unique decorations in the aquarium. But make sure you don’t plant a lot of live plants, because this goldfish can eat up your aquatic plants .
Does oranda goldfish need an aquarium heater?
If the water temperature is still within the ideal parameters as discussed earlier, then you do not need an aquarium heater.
Unless, if you live in an area with cold temperatures, or during the rainy season.
Oranda Fish Friends
Because these fish are peaceful species, so they are still suitable to be combined with other peaceful temperament fish. You can give him tank mates of the same type of fish, as well as other types of goldfish such as comet fish .
Watch out for aggressive small fish such as lemon fish or other types of cichlids . Also be careful with predatory fish , goldfish are not very suitable in the same aquarium with them.
That was a complete guide on how to maintain an oranda goldfish in an aquarium, as well as all the intricacies. Hopefully useful for those of you who want to keep this beautiful fish !