Red Cap Oranda – 3-4cm

A sign of wealth and influence, the weirdly beautiful Red Cap Oranda goldfish continues to fascinate aquarists from all over the world.  Recommended for the intermediate aquarist.  These goldfish should be treated as tropical fish not the typical cold water goldfish.  Minimum tank size: 80 litres, adult size: 23 cm.

The Oranda goldfish was created through selective breeding, so they don’t have a natural habitat of their own.  They are a beautiful fish that are commonly called “the flower of the water” in Chinese culture.

Behaviour

Oranda develop a delicate growth (called a Wen) on top of their head. That is usually fully developed at about 2 years.

Like ordinary goldfish, they aren’t aggressive and are very peaceful and loving fish that get along with other peaceful fish in the aquarium.  They are not a schooling fish but they still feel comfortable in a tank with a number of their own species.  Whilst they are not fast swimmers, like the Comet Goldfish, they are still energetic and bring a lot of life into your aquarium. You’ll find them spending most of their day swimming and digging.  They swim all over the tank and can be found at the top, as well as at the base.  This goldfish doesn’t hide a lot, mainly due to its size.

Tank Conditions

When choosing a substrate keep in mind their love for digging. If your substrate is sharp gravel or uneven sand, your goldfish will hurt themselves. Instead you should use nicely rounded gravel or large grains of sand.

Moderate amount of plants are allowed, but please ensure that you don’t end up with more plants than free space in the tank. They are large fish and need lots of space to swim around. If you restrict their swimming space it will make your fish feel uncomfortable and can also result in sickness as they become stressed.

If you want plants you should pick small, sturdy leafed varieties which don’t prevent oranda from swimming freely. A few live plants you might consider are vallisneria or elodea. Or you can add very pretty plastic plants that we have. It is best to place plants towards the back of the tank so that you get a good view of your fish.

In terms of lighting, orandas require a normal daylight cycle of 8-11 hours.

They love to eat and as a result the water quickly becomes dirty. That’s why there should be a good filtration system. Oxygen-rich water is important for any freshwater fish, and a strong aeration system is also needed. This will keep the water oxygenated and clean.

They should NOT be kept in a goldfish bowl.

Compatibility

Orandas are slow-moving and sometime quite clumsy. However they can still eat smaller fish. Since larger fish and fin-nippers could also stress out your goldfish (this could lead to infection or disease), the best tank mates for your Oranda are other goldfish with similar temperaments.  Suitable tank mates would be Black Moor, Goldfish or other Oranda.

If you decide to get other species, make sure they can be kept under the same conditions (especially temperature). If you don’t want to keep a few of the same species, the next best option is similar sized catfish such as peppered catfish, leopard pleco or catfish from Ancistrus will all make great tankmates. They will also help keep the tank clean, that’s useful if you consider oranda’s eating habits and the amount of waste they create.

They shouldn’t be kept with Neons, Mollies, small Barbs, Bettas, Gouramis, Cichlids and Platies. All of them may nip at the oranda’s fins, which only traumatizes fish.

Feeding

Orandas are omnivorous fish and will eat pretty much eat anything. However, you should always use high quality goldfish food that is specifically formulated for goldfish. We particularly recommend a quality, balanced Oranda food such as Hikari Oranda. You should regularly offer your fish some flakes, frozen fish food, and freeze-dried foods like brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia, and tubifex worms.

These goldfish are prone to having digestive problems, so it is always recommended to soak freeze-dried foods in aquarium water before feeding your fish. This will help to prevent them getting constipation – yes that is a real issue.

They love to eat and easily gain weight. That’s why you should be considerate with their diet to prevent them becoming obese.

Keep an eye out for any signs of overfeeding. If you spot your fish swimming on their side, skip feeding that day, let it rest and in the future give them smaller portions. Young orandas should be fed twice a day, adults once a day.

Overfeeding often leads to problems with digestive system and should be taken seriously. When you don’t pay enough attention, it ends up being lethal for your fish. If you’re unsure whether the portion size is right, keep in mind that an average portion should be around 3% of the fish size.

On the other hand, if not fed frequently enough they will start digging up the substrate looking for food.

Care

Goldfish always produce a lot of waste so ammonia can be a challenge and any ammonia value over 0 ppm can hurt or even kill your fish. A good filter and weekly water changes are need in order to regulate values if the aquarium.

Like other freshwater fish, orandas are very sensitive to changes in water parameters such as ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites so a weekly water change of 25% is needed.

Ignoring the suggested water temperature range can result in something called white spot disease, or Ich.  This can be treated with Ich medications or white spot medications.

See Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment at Rebel Pets for help with diagnosing and treating diseases.