Ranchu Goldfish Update June 2013

The weather has been mild in the last couple of days and last night the ranchu began chasing much earlier in the evening. Unfortunately nothing came of it, but it was nice to see the chasing behaviour once again.

I have been waiting for a delivery of bloodworm and during this time the ranchu were being fed solely pellet for a few days. Interestingly the whilst the water quality appeared to be of better quality for longer, chasing behavior did not occur at all during this period. 

Todays image is of another female. This particular fish has shown decent growth since i acquired the group, particularly in its length which i'm please with as i like longer ranchu (though still strong). Whilst this piece has obvious weaknesses, i am pleased with the scaling and length of head, and body. 

I follow a number of Japanese breeders through various blogs, all provide a wonderful insight into the ranchu culture in Japan. I was shocked to read recently of one particular breeder who became the victim of a fish house burglary which emptied seven of his ponds of 60+ parent ranchu! A sad but clear example of just how highly valued good ranchu are in modern Japan.