What is a Shubunkin and what is a goldfish ? Both are really the same fish, only the colouration is different ( and maybe, if you want to be technical, the shape of the fins ). The photos on this page are shubunkins. There are photos of goldfish on another page of this site. Both these fish though are quite hardy and will even survive outside in pools that are 3 feet deep or more during our Canadian winters.
These fish photographed here live in aquariums inside though.
I myself breed shubunkins, and I keep them outside for the summer months and
bring them inside for the winter.....this helps me to breed them more than once
a year.
To trigger them into breeding they, like the goldfish, must be
well fed on high protein diets ( earthworms etc ) and have a period of cold
temperatures after which the water is warmed up a little. The eggs are scattered
randomly and are sticky. These amber coloured little balls stick to everything,
but the parents will gobble them up greedily if they get the chance. I place
breeding mops into their tank and remove them to another tank when I see the
eggs on them. the fry hatch in about 5 days, but it takes months for them to get
to marketable size.
The fish are not fussy about the type of water they are in, but i try to keep it slightly acidic and very clean. In order to keep the water clear, a good filter must be used, as these fish are very messy and produce a lot of waste material.
More about these fish will be added to this page soon.