Oranda red cap - Carassius auratus auratus

These beautiful white Oranda Redcaps are goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) with a special feature: not only do they have a bipartite long caudal fin and a stockier body shape than other goldfish, but they also have a cap-shaped red thickening of fatty tissue on the head. This cap does not interfere with the fish's ability to swim; it weighs virtually nothing and is not a major nuisance.

Oranda red cap is a breeding form of goldfish, which has a long tradition in China. Goldfish were bred from the Chinese silver crucian carp, but are now considered a separate subspecies. Red-capped Orandas, like all veil forms of the goldfish, are more warmth-dependent and therefore need a winter quarters with at least 13 °C water temperature over the winter. Ideally, they should be kept in a large, unheated aquarium in a cold basement or frost-free garage. In the garden pond, it tends to get too cold for this breeding variety of goldfish in our latitudes during the winter.

An optimal goldfish garden pond should have at least 4 cubic meters capacity for a group of five goldfish. The oranda red cap always needs a group of conspecifics, because group fish do not feel comfortable when kept alone: At least 5 goldfish should comprise the group in the goldfish pond. The coloration as well as the shape of the fins and the body do not matter at all to the beautiful pond fish.

In their youth, the oranda red-capped goldfish also first show a monochromatic dark brown coloration. Only after about two years the beautiful colors and the red cap develop. Here you can buy Oranda Red-capped Goldfish with a length of 4-6, 6-8 or 14-16 cm. Adult Oranda Redcaps can reach a length of up to 25-30 cm and live from 20 to 40 years.

Goldfish of the Oranda Redcap variety, like all Carassius, are uncomplicated omnivores, eating nuisance mosquito larvae in the garden pond, other mosquito larvae, insects, worms and small crustaceans, as well as juveniles and softer aquatic plants. In a properly stocked goldfish pond, you should feed your treasures with a high quality goldfish food. Please give as much as the fish eat directly once or twice a day to avoid high water loads and algae plagues.

If the water temperatures in the goldfish pond become too high in summer, you should provide more oxygen in the water with the help of an oxydator for garden ponds or with a pump. The garden pond should also not be in full sun, a semi-shaded spot is more suitable.

Oranda red caps can even be made to reproduce in your garden pond with a little forethought when creating the pond. Goldfish mate in the spring when the water warms up. Carassius auratus auratus is a free spawner, meaning females simply lay their spawn in open water where the eggs are fertilized by male goldfish as they sink. The spawn sinks to the bottom where the fish larvae hatch. To raise baby goldfish, the pond must have appropriately planted shallow water areas. Here the young fish find hiding places and food and can hide from the older pond fish until they reach a size where they are no longer eaten.