Hi there

Greeting and salutation, my name is Pat. I am a forum advisor and I just would llike to say hi. If any of you have any questions concerning the breeding, caretaking, or any miscellanious questions about goldfish or ranchu, please do not hesitate to post the questions and I'll try to answer as extensively as possible. Hope to have a chance to chat to you guys soon. Cheers.

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Hi there

Can i ask a few question?
I'm a beginner in goldfish and i like to know how to choose a gd pcs of ranchu also i can't afford japan as they are too x. Beside JP which country would be a better quality or beautiful fish.

Thks in advance for your precious information.

Lastly can bring in ranchu from bangkok to sg..

Cheers

Japanese fish are not actually too expensive, if and when you buy them at black baby size. The price for the Japanese BBR range between 1,500 - 10,000 baht only. (60-400 S$) Bigger fish will of course be more expensive. (However, BBRs are also the most difficult fish to take care of because they do require a lot of your time, close supervision and proper feeding regiment.) But after you have master the caretaking of BBRs you will be ready to take care of any fish at any size.

First I think that you must decide why you want to keep fish. If you are a hobbyist and are not interested in competition then any ranchu that suits your fancy will be good enough. But if you are interested in breeding and competition then you will need to study up on the Nichiran standard or the standard of competition as observed by the Japanese Ranchu Association. This is the only way that you can armed yourself against unscrupulous fish traders. Most people that are interested in competition fish will not mind paying more for quality, but you should be educated enough to know why a fish is expensive. The worst thing that you can do is to go to the shop and say that please find me the best competition fish or merely going along with what the dealers say is a beautiful fish without knowing what the standard is like. Then you will be left at the mercy of the fish shops. From my experience with the ranchu scene in SG (from my participation in the 1st National Ranchu Show in SG and the touring of the ranchu shops and talking to dealers and SG ranchu personalities), there are still a lot of wrong information about ranchu among most dealers and hobbyists.

The best way to get better educated about good ranchu in accordance with the Nichiran standard is to look at pictures of as many Champion fish from Japan as possible. Fish from such competitions as the All Japan Ranchu Show (AJRS), the Kangyokai Ranchu Show, the Kirinkai Ranchu Show, or any Chubu Ranchu Show in Japan will represent the best possible fish that you will be able to find in the world. Once you have a better idea about fish, then you can move to the next level, which is to realize that topview ranchu are the same no matter where they are bred. As long as you stick to the Nichiran standard, you can try to breed the fish any where and compete with any one any where even in Japan. Even for the most distinctive Show such as the AJRS, there has been foreigners who has placed in the top five before. Furthermore, if you are resourceful, you could also find ranchu publication from Japan that covers the competition scene in Japan every year. The publication is under the Pisces Publisher Co., Ltd under the name "Kingyo Densho" or (as translated into english) "150 Years of Ranchu". If any of you are interested, send me an e-mail here or at AbsoluteRanchu@yahoo.com and I can give you information on how you can order it from Japan. The publication is around 900 baht (about 38 S$) but you will also have to add freight on top of that.

There are three countries who are major producers of topview ranchu, Japan, Thailand, and China. There are other small breeders in Europe (UK, Belgium, for ex.) but they do not produce enough to export. Ranchu in China are different than ranchu in Japan or Thailand. Chinese keepers do not follow the Nichiran standard, they do not mind ranchus that have bad or weak tail, they only care about fish with big head formation only. These fish could be found around the Fujou area only. The rest of the ranchu produced in China are Chinese Lionhead ranchu. Only Japan and Thailand produced enough topview ranchu for exports. In Thailand, we have also developed a new form of ranchu which has been coined as sideview ranchu, which has gained much popularity in SG. This ranchu however, do not follow the Nichiran standard either, the standard is different, and set by the Thai ranchu breeders. You may have seen quite a few of them on sale in SG already. These are fish that you keep in aquariums.

Following this comment, I will start to post some pictures of Champion fish and pictures of the different parts of ranchu which are crucial for the fish to be of premium quality. I will be compiling a chart of ranchu body parts and all the necessary details and will post it for members to check out in due course. This chart will be an excellent guide next time you go to the shop to buy fish. Please save these pictures in your gallery and look at them often and study the shapes and characteristics of each fish. The more you look at them, the more experience you will attain. You do not have to be an expert to choose wisely. This I promise you. And remember that color is the last factor that an expert will consider before buying a ranchu, ok. The body form (head/body/tail) and overall balance and beauty are what we desire most. A good swimming action of ranchu will be the result of fish that has the proper body form. I will include a picture of ranchu that has three circles marked on the body and that will represent what I mean by a good balance fish.

Last but not least, you can hand carry up to 50 ranchu on the plan from BKK to SG without having to get any form of a permit from either the Thai or the SG governemnt provided that they are properly packed.

I hope the info will be helpful, and please stay tuned because I will provide a lot more information about how to choose a good ranchu and how to take better care of them for all members to read up on in due course. Enjoy your fish and keep working hard ok. Sawasdee krap.

These fish have really excellent back and tail raise. Notice the accute angle between the tail and the body. This is crucial for both topview and sideview competition.

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A good balance ranchu of different sizes.

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Good tails. The fish can either have one or two under fins, as long as they are straight. The best possible tail is the one that when we look from topview the side of the tail inverted towards the front. This can be seen from the fish in the smallest picture underneath.

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Awesome piece of information you have provide. Bro you have make me realize i'm just a simple ranchu lover not for competition of course and important information of chosing a good pcs of ranchu. After all those pictures you have provide, i will have more confidence in chosing my personal pc of ranchu soon. Will post my ranchu pictures soon.

1 more question what dimenson tank should i place my ranchu in also must i have white background for my ranchu. I think i would go for 3"+ ranchu..Also what type of filter system should i use normal corner filter.

Thks again for this useful information.

Cheers

Very impressive advice .. Any advice for a beginer if I decide to get RANCHUS from BKK? any farms to recommend? not too expensive though