Lionchu

[small_ranchu]

We just received a new article contributed by Peter Ponzio regarding Lionchu. Here is the URL.
http://goldfishkeepers.com/Lionchu.php

[bekko]

There is a discussion going on about lionchu at RafflesGold now. Since the term was coined in Singapore I think we have to heed their point of view. Be prepared for a good head spinning.

-steve

[joe]

I have no problem with recognizing it as as separate breed but I think a more apt description would be "chinese ranchu" then lionchu. It seems to me that most of the ranchu coming out of china look more like the lionchu then the traditional ranchu coming from Japan or Thailand, just my opinion of course

[bigbettadan]

The chinese ranchu and the lionchu are the same thing. Neat fish, but they are what they are. The term "ranchu" should be reserved for the Japanese standard ranchu IMO......

Dan

[HNLim]

Different culture gives different name for the same thing. In Singapore and parts of China, oranda with massive wen are called lionhead and hooded oranda are called "high head". Crown pearlscale are sometimes called goosehead. Confused????:youtellme:

FYI, oranda is actually a Japanese miss pronounced name for Dutch. They call the oranda the “Dutch lionhead”. More confused????:youtellme::youtellme:

[jinyu_fan]

FYI, oranda is actually a Japanese miss pronounced name for Dutch. They call the oranda the “Dutch lionhead”.

So the story goes: The orandas were originally culls of Chinese lionheads because of their dorsal fin. But the Dutch like these "reject" and they were called "Hollanders" and "Oranda" was the mispronounciation of the original desgination!

[HNLim]

So the story goes: The orandas were originally culls of Chinese lionheads because of their dorsal fin. But the Dutch like these "reject" and they were called "Hollanders" and "Oranda" was the mispronounciation of the original desgination!
All things Dutch were considered "high class" by the Japanese in the "old days".

It was believed that oranda was a cross between fantails and lionhead. What do you think?

[Fishdork]

In the past, when people (U.S. writers) crossed a Lionhead with an Oranda, they got young with nearly no hood growth, so it was concluded that the hood genes were on different chromosomes and developed independently. This sort of logic makes sense if you cross unrelated blue fish and all the young turn out brown, but when the crosses were made, breeders in the U.S. were breeding sibling orandas and getting no hood growth either. We didn't usually heat goldfish tanks or feed bloodworms. Goldfish food was usually 30% protein.
Sounds inconclusive to me. Occasionally Shubunkins or comets will show some hood growth, so it's possible that Lions and Orandas were developed independently. My guess is they are all selectively bred to develop certain hormones that cause hoods as a growth response in the right conditions.
Most of us are still struggling to learn and provide the right conditions.

Norm