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POMPON

The pompon is very rare in UK, being something of a novelty fish. They breed true to form. The nasal septa are enlarged and frilly, hence the name.

In the Far East the pompon (without dorsal) is called the velvetyball eggfish. In Japan there is a dorsaled variety of this fish called the hanafusa.

Pompons first appeared in 1900.

THE STANDARD

The pompon standard is as follows:

• Depth of body to be greater than 1/2 of body length
• Nasal septa to be well developed
• Dorsal fin to be absent
• All other fins to be paired, caudal fin to be divided
• Caudal fin to be forked
• Extremities of fins to have a rounded appearance
• Minimum length of body to be 5.5 cm (2¼ inches)

The fish should be bright and alert and well balanced. The body should be short with smooth contours and showing no sign of a dorsal fin. The caudal fin should be well divided.

The colour may be metallic (self-coloured or variegated in a pleasing pattern and similar on each side) or calico. Metallic colours should appear as burnished metal, extending into the fins. Calico fish should have a blue background with patches of violet, red, orange, yellow and brown, spotted with black.

Ideal profiles are illustrated below:

THE FISH

Adult pompons, calico colouration, Western standard

Pompon with a nice, smooth dorsal contour. Photographed at BAS 2007.

Another good UK pompon, with a smooth dorsal contour and larger nasal septa. Photographed at BAS 2007.

This fish conforms closely to the standard, but has a slight hood. The fish has good calico colouration but lacks balance of colour and pattern on either side, there being noticeably more red on the right than on the left. Photographed at BAS 2003.

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