Shubunkin goldfish are highly active, highly aquatic fish that need plenty of space for swimming. As omnivorous creatures, they enjoy eating both plant-based foods and meaty ones alike.
Commercial flakes and pellets should comprise the bulk of your cat’s diet, with occasional treats such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia or tubifex worms as a treat. Vegetables like blanched spinach or cucumber also make great additions.
Contents
Fish Food
As with other goldfish species, shubunkins are omnivorous fish and enjoy eating a mix of plant material and animal proteins. For optimal performance in an aquarium or pond setting, make sure there is ample swimming room and use adequate filters to keep their environment oxygenated and clean.
Fifteen gallons of water is the minimum tank size recommended per fish; this will help dilute waste and decrease daily water changes required. Shubunkins prefer temperatures between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit with pH levels between 6 and 8. Slight variations in temperature may be tolerated as long as they occur gradually over time.
Fast swimmers such as Koi and Golden Orfe fish make for excellent tank mates; slower-moving fish such as Lioneads or Orandas should not compete for food resources in their tank, however.
Invertebrates
Shubunkin goldfish belong to the Cyprinidae family, alongside carp and danios, and share many characteristics with these other members such as their pharyngeal mouth for eating more quickly as well as long training tails that give them their distinct calico-colored appearance.
Omnivorous fish enjoy a varied, balanced diet consisting of plant-based and meaty proteins. Commercial fish flakes provide them with most of their nutrition; however, occasionally brine shrimp, daphnia, blood worms tubifex worms or frozen vegetables can make for delicious meals that provide essential vitamins.
Shubunkin goldfish require a large tank, ideally 75 gallons. Due to their fast swimmers and voracious eaters, these temperate species should not be kept with other fish such as koi and golden orfe.
Water Changes
Shubunkin goldfish are active aquatic inhabitants that will actively search their tank or pond for food at the bottom. Though omnivorous, these aquatic predators tend to prefer plant-based options like spinach or blanched peas over meaty ones.
Like any fish, shubunkins can become infected. These infections could range from internal, such as swim bladder disease, or external, such as skin flukes or fin rot. To help minimize these issues, perform water changes every one or two weeks and maintain a clean tank environment.
Make sure your tank contains plenty of plants to create an ideal natural habitat for shubunkin goldfish and provide protection from predators, while aiding filtration by reducing ammonia levels in the water. Fungus may develop around their head or mouth if their environment or diet becomes compromised, which is another potential problem with this species.
Breeding
Rapid-swimming goldfish make stunning additions to an aquarium or pond, and are easy to care for. Not aggressive or picky, they get along well with all types of fish; however, their food may sometimes get stolen by slower ones in their tank; so these species work best with active species such as tetras, guppies, killifish, cherry barbs or glass catfish that move more swiftly and can steal some from slower ones in their environment.
Egg-laying crabs spawn readily when conditions are suitable, usually during spring. To induce this spawning process, place them in their own breeding tank with temperatures at 60 degrees Fahrenheit; male crabs will chase females until they release eggs that the males then externally fertilize with external sperm.
Shubunkin goldfish are omnivorous fish but require high protein diets in order to thrive. This includes food such as pellets, flakes, frozen foods such as daphnia, blood worms, tubifex worms, krill meal, brine shrimp as well as plant-based sources like spinach, lettuce, watermelons cucumber shelled cooked peas and spirulina.