Well, I thought you might be interested to see how my little random surprise fry is getting on! Frankly he's a porky little thing, and has eaten every single other fry in my tank. He's a horror. But very cute I named him Stephen. I know, it's not a very fishy name. But you see, he's Stephen Fry. Well, it made us laugh anyway.

Here he was a couple of weeks ago, for comparison:



He's now roughly a month old and is eating a mix of liquifry, crushed pellet and daphnia. He's probably about a cm and a half long, and is getting rather fat...



At least his digestive system is working



NB. The bottom of the tank looks a little scuzzy-I'm scared to siphon that section too much in case Stephen goes up the tube!

Just wondered if anyone else can answer a couple of questions for me, as I'm totally new to this fish raising thing. At what age should I expect to see any colour? I recall that fry can often be brown or pink, is this right? Stephen has little black spots along his back and forehead, and also in his tail. Is this the start of calico coloration, or do all fry have these? Lastly, Stephen's tail is joined along the top seam, a little like a tosakin. Is this normal for fry or is he just a bit weird? Thank you!

Oh I remember when you posted.I cant remember all of your story that you posted before, but I remember that pic.

Look how cute he is and definitely gotten alot larger.


What breed are the suspected parents? looks a little like my baby calico fantail, but Im terrible with breeds. If you want to clean the bottom a little bit, you can use a turkey baster. I know that lots of fry have all kinds of defects too, like weird fins, flipped gills and such. Congrats on your baby

Well, the mother was a beautiful big calico oranda with marvellous wen so in theory his genes could be good, but the father...well, not sure. Either a black moore, a red and white telescope or a calico ryukin-so he'll be a mixed up fishy. But even if he's all wonky and weird looking I'll still love him

Aw, he's so cute! I have been wondering how the little guy was getitng on.

Stephen Fry! You really have a way with names (I still like Carmen Oranda).

Can't help you much on the colouration question though as I have never raised fry, but Rick Hess's book says the colour starts coming through at 2 weeks old, and metallic / matte scales can be discerned (mattes look like they have a translucent sheen to their bodies while metallics look, well, metallic! Calicos should be apparent by a month - maybe his spots are an indication of calico colouring! The book also recommends heavy feeding (and lots of water changes) over the next 4 months with small worms and brine shrimp especially.

Keep us posted.

What a stinker..... he ate all his brothers and sisters? Wow. I remember hism when you found him hangin out in the bubbles!! What a cute, yet evil little guy!!!

Congradz,he is a very cute little guy
well,im sure it's nothing really to worry about cleaning the
bottom of the tank.I would gently take him out,and clean the tank up.

Congrats on your baby??? LOL-He looks quit healthy ,doesn't he?

I was wondering how he was doing! The post title scared me a bit, I thought Stephen might be someone who did something to the little guy and he was a monster for doing it! Glad to hear all is well.

Maybe he should be named FREDDY for being so horrible.... lol

beautiful pics
its so funny how you can look at their digestive system
when they are are a fry

How cute is young Master Fry then?? (btw, great choice of name, Stephen Fry is a most entertaining gentleman). As a person who has raised a goldfish from an egg for the first time only two years ago, I know the excitement you feel. My baby ("junior") is now as big as her daddy, and a real beauty too (she's a veiltail). I'm trying to remember about when she started colouring. I think at about 2 months and I know she went from being a very light golden colour to a blackish colour and then, gold again. She is now totally gold. So yeh, about 2-3 months of age this happens I think. I did not notice any spots of young Junior, so maybe your fish is gonna be a calico. I can't help you with the tail question, but I can relate to your fears of siphoning STephen up accidentally. To make sure you don't lose him, always siphon into a clear jar, then check the tank. If he's missing you know he's in the jar!!

Thanks for all your comments and responses! Stephen's still doing well, eating like a pig and very keen to get out of his section and socialise with the other fish. He's still mouthful sized though so I think he can stay put for now. I'll keep you posted

bless, hes such a pretty little one isnt he? i cant wait to see him when hes fully grown