Fantail is basically the egg-shaped version of the common goldfish with its caudal (tail) fin slightly forked and with moderate length. It can be considered the short tail version of another variety of goldfish called veiltail whereby the caudal fin is much more prolonged and trailing. Do not mistaken the failtail as a ryukin because it does not have a hump on its shoulder.Like any other goldfish varieties, fantails are also found exist in different colors ranging from red to orange while some appear as calico speckled with grey and black color spots. It can also be metallic, nacreous and even have normal or wide telescope eyes. The main distinguishing feature is of course having the split caudal fin whereby a good specimen should have the all lobes completely separated. The prize-winning specimen is also characterized as having double anal fin, which are evenly formed and look well-balanced.
Fantails can be easily bred, as long as it has large aquarium space for normal fin development and good water quality. If properly cared for, they can live up to 10 years or more and usually achieve full-grown length size of about 6 inches long measured from the head until the end of the tail fin.
Other Goldfish Varieties: ranchu, pearlscale, black moor, celestial, shubunkin, oranda and pom-pom
