Please meet Kate Bush, who I adopted after she was brought to my office in a tupperware sandwich box years ago, by a colleague who was moving to Spain. Amazingly she survived and is now a hefty great thing!

She used to be almost entirely black, but after hanging out with goldfish (and eating their food) seems to have adopted their colours.

I have never identified her. Is she a veiltail? That description would certainly suit her! She was named Kate Bush because of her 'flowing robes'!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/3496772...055bc9dbc_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/3496772...cb1067433_o.jpg

Incidentally, when she swims, the tail flares out most spectacularly, but I did not manage to capture that in a photo.

She could be a veiltail. It would depend on how deeply forked her tailfins are. A veiltail has very little fork or notch in the center of the tailfin. It is usually more straigt-edged in appearance.

Er...

Well, here is a picture of her from behind!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/3497142...d67734d9b_m.jpg

There is a short piece at the top which is joined, and then the fins are sort of vertically divided - can you see in the photo? She's resting on the bottom, so it's not the perfect view.

Thanks so much for your help, it's very much appreciated!

Doubt it that she's a veiltail, as veiltails are quite rare and the ones who has them are very very unlikely to put one in a tupperware as they're quite valueable.

My guess: A telescope, with a looooooooong tail

she looks like one of those early prototypes of the veiltail with some slight forking still remaining before the breeders bred it out. Modern accepted standards for the veiltail now call for a straight edge to the tail fin

Thank you all very much!

I am fascinated to know which part in modern breeding is the straight edge? Do you mean, horizontally along the top, the piece which is joined? *confused*



BTW - her tail is much more voluminous than any photos I have seen described as veiltails, so perhaps she is some sort of breeding misfit, it wouldn't surprise me.

look here:

http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfi...il/veiltail.htm

what tube is that?

ManYu - thank you for that. Her tail does indeed resemble the 50 years old photo at the end of the article - her fin is not straight but like a large floaty frock!

It is still considerably bigger than that one, and I wonder still because her eyes are definitely more telescope like.

Perhaps she is indeed an experimental hybrid!


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Re. the other enquiry re. tube in the photo - it is the aeration tube...if that is what you meant?

She looks like a beautiful telescope, but to be a veiltail means that there is no forking in the tail.

She could be a butterfly tail telescope. Does her tail look somewhat like this? This is a picture of Marigold (unfortunately, Marigold is no longer with me. She passed away a year ago )

Hi touchofsky. I'm sorry Marigold is no longer with us, she looks like she was a real beauty.

Kate Bush's tail fin is much broader and longer than Marigold's. Having hunted around for similar pictures, the closest looking thing I can find is the drawing here called a phoenix tail.
http://www.chinagoldfish.com/english/caudalfin.htm

It's wide, droopy, and very long - when extended during swimming, almost as big or bigger than her entire body. It's also a little curly and frilly.

Thanks for helping me to try to narrow it down!

She sounds very pretty. I hope you can get a good picture of her with her tail extended. I would love to see her

What ever she is....she is beautiful! I wish someone would bring me one like that.....even in a tupperware thingee!!