Red Cap Fantail Goldfish

Red Cap Fantail

Red Cap Fantails are a type of fantail goldfish, characterized by their:

• Fantail shape: They have a long, flowing tail that is forked and symmetrical.
• Red cap: They have a distinctive red or orange coloration on their head, which can be in the shape of a cap or a hood.
• Body shape: They have a slender, elongated body with a moderate size.

What is the difference between a Red Cap Fantail and Oranda?

A Red Cap Fantail is a stunning variation of the traditional fantail goldfish, featuring a mostly white or metallic body with a bright red or orange patch localized strictly on the top of its head. Unlike the well-known Red Cap Oranda, a true Red Cap Fantail lacks the puffy headgrowth (called a "wen").

Because this variety has a flatter, unblemished head, it can be easily distinguished from an oranda by checking for key differences:

• Head Structure: A Red Cap Fantail has a completely smooth head. A Red Cap Oranda has a fleshy, brain-like growth (wen) that covers the top of the head and sometimes the gill plates.
• Swimming Ability: Fantails have a naturally streamlined shape and strong fins, making them vigorous, agile swimmers. Orandas are much clumsier and slower due to the weight of their wen.
• Body Shape: Fantails have a more compressed, egg-shaped body paired with a tall dorsal fin. Orandas tend to have a wider, rounder, and more robust "globe" profile.
• Hardiness: Fantails are hardy and robust enough that they can even be kept in some outdoor ponds. Orandas are highly sensitive to poor water quality, as their delicate wen can easily catch infections if water parameters are unstable.

Features

• Hardy in our SWO winters
• School nicely with all other pond fish
• Distinctive with body with red or orange cap on the head