If I have to choose a fish that I have gravitated to, enough to warrant being named, it’s my Oranda (Carassius gibelio forma auratus).
I have a total of three oranda, a yellow wen/white bodied oranda named Haole, a orange wen/white oranda named Maka Le’a and the largest and cutest, a half yellow/have red wen oranda, with white body named Polunu.
If I have to describe oranda’s, they are chunky, derpy goldfish with a bubble head (known as “wen”).
The oranda belong to the Cyprinidae family of carp and is believed to have originated form China, in fact, mentions of the fish go way back since the 15th century.
There is another bubble headed fish known as Ranchu, but the difference is the oranda has the top dorsal fin on its body, ranchu has no dorsal fin and a curved back. The other is the lionhead, also has no dorsal fins but not as curved back.
I really like the oranda because they have much longer tails.
So, in a way…they have are derpy and cute, but the long flowing caudal fins at the rear.
There are different variants of orandas and of course, for generations, they have been bred in a variety of colors with other different goldfish. But recently, black and also blue oranda’s are becoming quite popular but are very rare. I’ve personally never seen one up close.
I purchased polunu because he looked as if it was supposed to be a red cap but was bred with a yellow wen oranda and thus has half yellow, half red. It also had these chubby cheeks that I absolutely loved seeing.
Haole, mainly for its yellow wen and Maka Le’a, I was curious to see how this oranda would develop overtime with its colors. Because it looked different than a typical oranda.
When it comes to temperatures, they like 65 to 80 F and oranda can reach up to 8 to 12 inches in length. And oranda can live up to 15-20 years.
Sometimes the wen can cover their eyes and make their eyesight limited or blind. So, polunu unfortunately has a wen under his right eye. In Japan and Asia, there are aquarists who specifically know how to surgically fix or even trim wen and some are trained to trim them by a scissor to prevent blindness and then put peroxide to prevent damage. Unfortunately, as he grows older, it remains to be seen if it will cover his entire right eye.
So, a question you may ask is if an oranda is worth having.
For one, they are great, peaceful and fun fish that require a larger tank but like all goldfish, they produce a lot of waste. You have to be do constant water maintenance (for me it’s like every week) and if you are the type who can’t stand seeing poop, well, Oranda (and goldfish in general) poop a lot. So, a lighter substrate is not recommended for oranda if you can’t stand looking at poop (I have white sand-like substrate).
They are quite hardy and I feed them the following:
But I find oranda’s to be the most hardiest of fish that I have owned in the carp family, alongside a common goldfish.
I’ve had black moor and ryukin’s pass away but oranda’s, they have done quite well.
As for price, you can get juvenile oranda’s inexpensively, but four inches or longer, they tend to be around $35 at the most. But certain varieties can fetch up to $100 or more.
If you are planning to get an oranda, I definitely recommend a 36 gallon or more!
But overall, oranda are great fish to own. But be prepared, to do some gravel vaccuming and because they are slow and derpy, best not to have large decorations in the tank.
I have tested HOB filters and sponge filters and felt the large sponge filter worked better with oranda, keeping water clearer than the HOB. But I also used both at the same time for better water clarity but again, be prepared to do quite a bit of maintenance and sponge cleaning and gravel vacuuming.
Overall, they are wonderful fish, but oranda’s are for those who are for those who are responsible fish owners willing to devote time to make sure water parameters and aquarium cleaning are part of the upkeep.
