There where these adorable fish in a tank that had ryukin and fantail, and pearlscale.
I could easily point out all the pearlscales,
but the fantails and ryukin i had trouble with.
Ryukin have a pointed mouth right?
These young ryukin were adorable,(if that's what they were) but thay didn't have the hunchback that I've seen in all the adult pics. Will they grow one as they age?


One more random Q:
The only way to tell between young orandas and young lionheads is that lionheads lack a dorsal, right?

Young ryukins and fantails are similar. The young ryukins at the large chain store may or may not grow the prominent hump because their lineage is most likely not so good. A young ryukin from good parents will exhibit the hump even when very young.

If you wanna take a gamble and raise one, then to differentiate between fantail & ryukin is quite easy. Look for the ones with, yes, pointed face and angular looking body, not rounded.

And yes, a lionhead has no dorsal fin.

Oh good, now I'll feel much more confident if I ever want to buy one in the future........yay

Hey speaking of ryukins vs fantails, I also have been looking at both in Petco...is the only difference in physical shape, or do they have to be cared for differently, because the fantails at the store didn't look very healthy and I was thinking about ryukins as plan B. Not a big fan of the hump though.

A fantail and a ryukin have pretty much the same care requirements. They are both hardy, beautiful fish.

Many ryukins do not develop an extremely large "hump". It is genetically predisposed - or not.

You may find, as many here do, that a fish you thought was "too weird" or "unattractive" will grow on you soooo much that they soon become your favorite!

I love ryukins, just cuz they look different from everything else. At least when they're full grown. I've seen baby ryukins that already showed a hump. Beautiful fish, and definately my favorite fancy.