No offense to Oranda lovers, but wens make me soooooooo nervous! They look so very fragile. When I got Bernie, he was sold to me as an ordinary fantail. I've had him for about 7 months and, I don't know, but he just doesn't look the same as my other fantails. He has poofy cheeks and the top of his head is just a teeny bit different...






Can anyone tell if he is or not?
Lisa

How big is Bernie? Do I see breeding stars?

Is Bernie one of the Goldfish Utopia fish?

I got a pair, too. Ed tells me they're from a line of oranda/ryukin crosses Tung Hoi is using to try to develop a stable line of blue ryukins. They're not completely stable yet, and he even had one turn into a green oranda. It might be too early to tell.

The pair I got seems to be one more ryukin-like and one more oranda-like in body, but no sign of a wen yet.

Hi, Glitter! Let's see...without tail he's about 2 1/2". And yep, those are breeding stars. I have less than zero room for more fry so my one and only confirmed female is being kept AWAY from Bernie right now.

Lisa

No, I don't think so. I got him from Petco. He has a very flat back, not Ryukin-like at all, and while he used to have much more blue, he now has more of a bronze/green color to him.

Lisa

He is sooo adorable! Youre right though, his face doesnt look like any fantail Ive ever seen.

Huh.

His color and face reminded me of Slim here on the top - but I've had a few "fantails" from the big pet shops show signs of wen growth too once they get home and grow, they're often just too little to tell:

Oh! Slim is one handsome guy! His blue is so pretty. He also has a deeper belly than Bernie does. Bernie is kind of long, sometimes I think he's feeder-fish shaped.

Lisa

Chester is an oranda but she has almost no wen and is long bodied for an oranda. Shes about 7" long. I guess they can come in all shapes and sizes.

Ohmygosh, Chester is absolutely GORGEOUS, Glitter! Such a beautiful pure white. Oh, man, I want her!

Lisa

Aww thanks Lisa!

I've actually been selecting the longer bodied fancies lately, figuring I'm less likely to run into heart break and swim bladder problems later on.

Bernie is such a cutie, though.

Bernie looks a lot like my Bluebell. Same colour/shape etc. She is about 2 inches, and was sold to me as an oranda, but i have yet to see any evidence of a proper wen yet, just a bit of a podgy face.

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(not the best pics but she has the same little face that bernie has in your pics, and the same colouring.)

as i said, she was sold as an oranda, but i think only time will tell....but dont worry if Bernie does get a wen, lots of people have fish with huge wens that have no problems.

He does seem to have some head growth, so im going to go with oranda

I love Bluebell's bronze face - so stinkin' cute! We should get those two together, Kat. Bernie is definitely 'ready to go'!

I'll try to squash my wen-fears. As it appears, he may never get much of one anyway. At least not one big enough to cause me worries if he is, indeed, an Oranda or an Oranda-cross.



You really think so, Peaches? I probably should go start looking up info on Orandas, just in case. Do they have different dietary needs?

Lisa

Hehe you're like a fishy matchmaker!!

no. but you can feed higher protine foods like bloodworms to help the wen grow.

Since wens make me nervous, I may have to think about whether I want to encourage growth or not, lol.



Yeah, and that's probably the LAST thing I need to be! I can't handle any more fry!

So, does anyone else want to weigh in on whether Bernie is an Oranda or just an odd looking fantail? I'm really curious now to know one way or the other.

Lisa

Going by those first 2 pics,I definitely thought Oranda. The thing is though,that most fish that you see in Pet store,are Breeder's culls,and most times mixed breeds I'd have to guess. I have a Fantail named Tucker,who has a sort of "Ryukin type hump",but I'd still call him a Fantail.
I have a Blue Oranda that I've had for three years named Belle,and she is only now starting to get a bit of wen,so not all Oranda's get that full sized wen.
I think Bernie is a cutie pie.

your bernie has the exact same face as my potatohead and his "wen" is just as small as Bernie's so i've been curious about whether he's an oranda or not also! but based on everyones posts i'm going to guess that we have orandas with little wens!

Oh, definitely. Any fish you find in a pet store will always be a cull. Before coming here, I never knew how much the 'perfect' specimens were coveted and withheld from the GP, lol.

That's okay, I'm happy as can be with my mix of 'mixes'. It's just nice to know what 'mix' they may be.

And like you, I have a few that aren't totally fantail, but I call them that anyway because that's what they predominantly are. The only ones I can pin to a specific breed are my Black Moor and Siamese Doll. ANd even they probably have something else in there.

Even thought it's usually waaaay over my head, I love to read Daryl's post when she ventures into genetic explanations. It's totally fascinating to me. Dominant traits and recessive traits. How you never know WHAT you'll get in a batch of fry, even with the most perfect. defined specimens as parents.

Anywho, the conclusion is that Bernie most likely has some Oranda in him. He may or may not get a wen, though. But he should keep those puffy cheeks, yes? I love the little puffy cheeks!

Cutiefish51, you do know that you now have to post a pic of Potatohead, don't you?

Lisa