Ranchu Arriving Soon!

So via Dandy Orandas, I'm finally getting a ranchu goldfish! So excited. The fish is so adorable. I have to post a picture of its chubby little face on here. Waiting on the arrival for another two weeks because I want to make sure my new tank for it is cycled properly.

Watercolors - White Wolf

Watercolors - Gandalf the Grey

Watercolors - A New Journey

Treatment Success!

Tatsu (my male calico short tail ryukin) recently went through a hydrogen peroxide treatment on his injury and I am happy to report he hasn't succumbed to any infection or issues. I was SO nervous to give him the treatment, took him out of the water and did the swab, and felt so bad when I put him back in the water and he wriggled about upset with how it felt on his wounds. But I'd rather have that moment of nervousness than to watch him slip away like my female fish.

I believe it helped him recover and he's back to swimming around beautifully and being super active again. Thankful for resources like Jenny from Solid Gold's videos, and other fellow goldfish enthusiasts with experience who have been around the block when it comes to their care. I know that some of my family probably think I'm obsessed, but I just love my goldfish and having one die (like my one female fish) was so frustrating, but it's all a learning process for me and now I know how to treat injuries and do salt dips and administer salt treatments. I'm hoping the next time I receive shipped goldfish, even if one of them is damaged, I can get them on the right path to recovery from the start. I've learned what the short tails need now and since they are one of my favorite varieties I will be getting more in the future (for now I don't have the space).

I will say having Tatsu as part of my goldfish family is so worth all the work and I'm happy to have him.

Ordering my Short Tail Ryukins Part 2

They're here! I was so excited when their box came.  I believe pictures speak louder than words, so here are some pics I took.

Getting them acclimated, fifteen minutes of bag dipping

this one is my favorite of the two, a robust male with great short tail ryukin body structure!

the female is a little worse for wear from the shipping, I have been treating her with salt and hope that she doesn't get an infection

another shot of the male, they are so chubby and adorable! The pictures really don't do them justice!

I got them and my little girls were so excited when I opened a box and there were two live fish inside!  I was very pleased overall with my experience with Coast Gem USA, their fish are reasonably priced and so far I'm finding them to be of good quality, my female fish definitely didn't take shipping well, but I'm wondering if it's because she's such an active fish and really struggle around in her bag a lot during the shipping. My male fish however is doing incredible and look and acts as if he wasn't even shipped.

Will keep my blog updated on the female and on how she's doing. When I first got her all she wanted to do was bottom sit. I could definitely tell she'd struggled in her bag a lot cause she had some torn fins and some of her scales were ripped a bit. Her eyes also were pretty cloudy. As of this morning she's swimming around with her dorsal fin raised and is as active as the male. A good sign, and if she heals up and doesn't get an infection she should be fine. 

Ordering My Short Tail Ryukins Part 1

For a long time I've been considering ordering some quality goldfish (particularly short tail ryukin goldfish) from a specialty dealer. As of now I've never kept my favorite kind goldfish variety, the short tail ryukin, but thanks to Coast Gem USA, my first two calico short tail ryukins are coming on Wednesday in the mail. I'm excited and super nervous for their arrival as I've never ordered fish and I hope I don't mess up on acclimating them. The customer service at Coast Gem USA was great, sending me close-up pictures of the fish I pointed out in their videos and pictures of their tanks. It was a great way to pick out the very specific look I wanted. From the pictures I'm pretty sure my fish are a male and female fish, but we'll see once I can get a look at them live. I'll keep my blog updated on the experience.

In short tail ryukins I look for a high back and deep body. These two are just babies, but from what I see they have a lot of the qualities I like and I'm excited to see them grow.

Here are pictures of the two fish I ordered:

I can't wait to meet them!