The lionhead is a hooded variety of fancy

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have bec ...

. This

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

is the

precursor Precursor or Precursors may refer to: * Precursor (religion), a forerunner, predecessor ** The Precursor, John the Baptist Science and technology * Precursor (bird), a hypothesized genus of fossil birds that was composed of fossilized parts of u ...

to the

ranchu The (also Maruko) is a hooded variety of goldfish native to China.Andrews, Dr. Chris. "An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish", Interpet Publishing, 2002. - It is referred to as the 'king of goldfish" by the Japanese. Maruko more commonly refers ...

."GFSA - Ask the Judges", an article about the Lionchu by Larry Christensen, Peter Ponzio and Scott Taylor, from the Goldfish Pages Website (Goldfish Society of America), date retrieved: 27 May 2007
/ref>

Description

The tremendous hood or headgrowth and fat cheeks of lionheads give them a facial appearance similar to canine

puppies A puppy is a juvenile dog. Some puppies can weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the York ...

."Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care and Collecting" by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess, Weatherhill, Shambala Publications, Inc., 2006. - The "wen" ( Chinese term for headgrowth) fully covers the head, cheeks and gill plates of the fish."What is a Lionchu?" by Peter Ponzio, an article from the Goldfish Pages Website (Goldfish Society of America), date retrieved: 26 May 2007
/ref> Furthermore, lionheads have short but deep bodies, and relatively straight or evenly arched backs without

dorsal fins A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

. The finnage, in general, is short. Breeding standards require that the lionhead’s anal fins are paired, the double tail fin should not droop, and its upper edges should be held away from the body."An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish" by Dr. Chris Andrews, Interpet Publishing, 2002. - The tail of a traditional lionhead can be fully separated, partially separated, or webbed. The tail should also meet the caudal peduncle (the area where the body joins the tail) in a fashion that is almost perpendicular to the body. The

caudal peduncle Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...

is ideally broad, allowing the tail to open when the fish swims. The back of the proper lionhead is quite broad to support the placement of the raspberry-like hood. Hood development may vary but is more pronounced in males. The hood normally takes a year to develop in young fry. Mature male lionheads periodically shed patches of their headgrowths. Lionheads can grow up to 6 inches (15 cm) in length (including finnage) and may have metallic, nacreous or

matte Matte may refer to: Art * paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection. * a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame Film * Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology * Matte p ...

scales. They are available in orange, red, white, red-and-white, blue, black, black-and-white, black-and-red, natural, and chocolate colorations. Lionheads can also be crossbred with Ranchus to create Lionchu offspring.

Origins

Lionheads were bred in China to depict the image of the mythical Chinese lion-dog (the ''shishi'', in Japanese legend). They were introduced to Japan from China during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Japanese produced lionheads with more rounded back profiles, modified tails and diminished size of the headgrowth.

Special care

Lionheads are sometimes sensitive to low water temperatures. Due to their slow nature, they should not be kept with faster moving fish such as

comets A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

, common goldfish, and shubunkins. If kept in an aquarium, the recommended tank size for one fish is 20 gallons with double filtration. They are social fish, so tankmates are recommended. They should be kept in a species-only tank with other goldfish. It is advised to feed goldfish only sinking food because flakes can cause swim bladder issues. Lionhead goldfish are omnivores, so they thrive on a diet rich in plant and animal matter.

High-protein diet A high-protein diet is a diet in which 20% or more of the total daily calories comes from protein.Longe, Jacqueline L. (2008). ''High-protein diet''. In ''The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition''. Gale. pp. 524-526. Most ...

s will make their colors more vibrant and will cause greater growth.

Description

Origins

Special care

References

See also