Veiltail Goldfish Care Guide - Setup, Feeding & Breeding

Veiltail Goldfish are a graceful fancy variety recognised for their exceptionally long, flowing double tail. The tail is broad and rounded, with a veil-like appearance that trails behind the fish as it swims. They may be found in orange, red, white, yellow, calico and mixed colour patterns, with some individuals developing metallic or nacreous scales.

Their deep, rounded bodies and extended fins give them a slow, elegant swimming style. Veiltails are generally peaceful and can become highly responsive to their keeper, often gathering at the front of the aquarium when they associate people with feeding time.

Like other domesticated goldfish, Veiltails descend from East Asian crucian carp and have been bred for centuries for unusual body shapes, colours and fins. Their exaggerated finnage makes them particularly ornamental, but it also gives them a less streamlined form than single-tailed goldfish.

In the wild, their ancestral fish inhabit still or gently moving freshwater environments such as ponds, marshes, lakes and slow rivers. Domesticated Veiltails are fully dependent on human care and are not a natural wild species, although released goldfish can survive and become invasive in suitable waterways.

Veiltail Goldfish are a selectively bred ornamental form of Carassius auratus, whose domesticated history began in China from wild crucian carp relatives. The veiltail form was developed through ornamental goldfish breeding and is not found as a naturally occurring wild population.

A single adult Veiltail Goldfish should have at least 150 litres, with substantially more space for additional fish; a pair is better housed in around 225 litres or more. A practical aquarium should be at least 120 cm long and 45 cm wide, with extra length and volume strongly preferred as the fish mature. Use powerful biological and mechanical filtration with gentle, well-distributed flow, leaving ample open swimming space. Choose smooth sand or rounded gravel that cannot be swallowed, and decorate with robust live plants or smooth ornaments without sharp edges that could catch the long tail. A secure cover helps prevent accidents and limits evaporation.

Up to about 25 cm (10 inches) in body length is typical for a large adult, although exceptional specimens can approach 30 cm (12 inches) including the tail. Females are often slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males.

Veiltail Goldfish are omnivores and benefit from a varied diet based on quality sinking goldfish pellets or granules. Supplement this with occasional blanched peas, spinach, zucchini and other suitable vegetables, together with frozen or live foods such as bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp. Sinking foods are preferable because repeatedly gulping air at the surface can be problematic for fancy goldfish. Feed modest portions that are consumed promptly, rather than relying on a single food.

The safest companions are other fancy goldfish with a similarly calm temperament and comparable swimming ability, including Orandas, Ryukins, Fantails, Ranchus and other Veiltails. Peaceful cool-water species such as mature dojo loaches may also be considered in a suitably spacious aquarium. Avoid tropical fish that require warmer water, fin-nipping species, very fast single-tailed goldfish that may outcompete Veiltails, and tiny fish or shrimp that could be swallowed. Common and comet goldfish are usually unsuitable long-term companions because their speed and activity can leave fancy varieties struggling to feed.

Veiltail Goldfish are egg scatterers that can be encouraged to spawn by providing dense bunches of fine-leaved plants or spawning mops. During spawning, males pursue females and stimulate them to release adhesive eggs, which are fertilised externally. Remove the adults after spawning because they readily eat the eggs. At around 20–23°C, eggs generally hatch in several days, and the fry require very fine food until they are large enough to accept baby brine shrimp or crushed flake.

Females are usually fuller through the abdomen, particularly when carrying eggs, and often have a broader overall body. Males tend to be slimmer and may develop small white breeding tubercles on the gill covers and leading edges of the pectoral fins during spawning season.