ORIENTAL TWINTAIL (MAN-YU)

This fish is the common/basic Chinese twintail goldfish; it doesn't have an English name and in UK is usually sold as the fantail, which it is not. The Chinese name, man-yu, simply means graceful fish.

The man-yu is intermediate in form between the fantail (short, rounded finnage, well forked tail) and the veiltail (long, pointed finnage, minimally forked tail); the ryukin is another intermediate form and has a dorsal hump, and is quite distinct from this fish which has a smooth dorsal contour like the fantail/veiltail. Calico colouration can be superb, with a full range of vibrant colours, and a careful outcross to good specimens should improve the calico colouration of fantails or veiltails, which can be a bit dull in colour by comparison.

In fact, there is a continuum of form from the veiltail through the fantail and the man-yu to the ryukin, these varieties differing in the length-vs-depth of the body, the length of the finnage and the carriage of the tail.

When you go shopping for a basic, twintailed goldfish in a pet shop or most other aquatic outlets, this fish is what you are buying, imported from the Far East. For fantails or veiltails you need to visit a specialist outlet or join a goldfish club.

THE STANDARD

There is no British standard for the man-yu and there is unlikely to be one.

It has a short, fairly deep, fantail-style body with a divided caudal and anal fin. Finnage is usually medium to long and well rounded, with a deeply forked tail.

Colouration is metallic or, more usually, calico.

THE FISH

Metallic fish

red-white metallic oriental twintail red-white metallic oriental twintail
red-white metallic oriental twintails red-white metallic oriental twintails

These are modern, Chinese fish photographed in Honk Kong in July 2006. Some of the patterns now available are striking, such as the red-on-silver scales (top fish), the red band in a white tail (in both sets of pictures) and the silver-white collar on a red fish (bottom set).

Calico fish

Chinese twintail goldfish
Chinese twintail goldfish

Calico fish with rich colouration. Photographed in Hong Kong, December 2000.

Chinese twintail goldfish

Blurred portrayal of a shoal of Chinese twintails (man-yu). Hong Kong, December 2000.

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