A WAY TO RAISE RANCHU ● CULLING ROUND - III

Third Culling Round - Thee Month After Hatching

The ranchu size should be at around 2 1/8 in (55 mm). This culling is done by looking at the side of the fish. On the third month the back and the tail peduncle has taken a shape and can be clearly evaluated.

The focus of this round of culling is on the position of the tail towards the tail peduncle, and the shape of the back. This will influence the way the ranchu swims.

The fish should be selected for their smooth curved backs similar to a long Japanese boxwood comb. 

The tail core (midrib) should stand up and form an angle of 90° to 120° in relation to the tail peduncle. While looking for a smooth curved back, do not overlook the fish charm. If the center of the back is raised, it will flatten with time, as the back thickens in older ranchu.

Standard to follow:

Negative Points To Look For From the Side:

1. tail core is dropped below 120°
2. tail core is less than 90°
3. pinched tail core or has a bump (a), tail side lobes are positioned too forward (b)
4. Tail peduncle is too flat (a) and has a bump (b)
5. tail peduncle is crunched, no smooth curve

 

During the Their Round 

This time attention is on the side view of the tail core (midrib) and the back profile. The number is reduced to about half or 2/3rds. Again, while looking for a smooth back, do not overlook the fish charm. Flatter or rounder backs can be overlooked if a tail core looks right and the fish looks and swims good from above.

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Links to published chapters:

● INTRODUCTION
● WATER
● NOTES ON GREEN WATER & WATER CHANGE
● WATER TEMPERATURE
● AERATION
● SUNLIGHT AND SHADE
● CONTAINERS FOR RAISING RANCHU
● FOOD
● FEEDING REGIMENT
● BREEDING & SPAWNING
● RAISING & GROOMING FRY
● GROOMING KUROKO AND TOSAI
● CULLING
● SELECTION METHODS
● CULLING ROUND - I
● CULLING ROUND - II
● CULLING ROUND - III
● CULLING ROUND - IV
● CULLING ROUND - V
● FORSEEING RANCHU CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

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A WAY TO RAISE RANCHU ● GROOMING KUROKO AND TOSAI

Defining Body Parts

The main body parts are identified as follows: head is from mouth to the edge of the gill cover, body is from gill cover to the vent below tail. The environment and grooming techniques will have a big impact on developing ranchu head, body and tail.

For body part names please refer to this article.

Building Ranchu Foundation

There is an old Japanese saying “Good ranchu head is created before the color change”. For the head-growth to develop properly, it needs a good scull structure, as a foundation. A good foundation must be selected and formed in kuroko before the change of color. During this time it is important to achieve balanced Dragon or Lion Head (more about ranchu standards here). 

If any combination of head-growth below occurs, the head will appear unbalanced:

• growth on the top of the head, no growth on the gill plates 
• growth evenly develops over the entire head  
• growth develops on cheeks and under eyes only 

Delays in water changes help to suppress active fish movement and aids in developing head-growth at an early stage.

To Promote Head-Growth Development

Food is very important in developing head-growth. Feeding protein reach diet is a must. Silkworms, earthworms, bloodworms (can be frozen) are all high in protein and effective. Genetic background is also important.

Suggestions on promoting head-growth development:

• feed plankton, bloodworms, green water 
• reduce water changes to suppress movement 
• make sure the body develops properly 

Pond depth is not known to effect head-growth development. To develop a good ranchu, balancing of the whole body and head must be achieved, and not just the head-growth.

To Promote Funtan (cheeks)

Feeding bloodworm and green algae will help in developing funtan. Suppress movement by extending intervals between the water changes and raising ranchu in green water.

To Promote Body & Head Development

It is important to develop a good skeleton in kuroko before the color change. Good balance between the head and body is very important. Preference should be given to longer bodies with wide back and peduncle, which will balance well with the size of the head.

To make back wider and increase the width between the eyes:

• feed enough 
• use green water 
• slightly increase the stocking density to suppress active movement 

Beware that with increased stocking density vertical body growth will be suppressed.

How to Make Good Back

Water depth is very important in formation of a good back shape in fry. There is an old Japanese saying “Shallow water gives gently curved back, deep water gives round back” makes a good point. 

Water depth at 4 in (10cm) during the fry development produces gently curved back, while water depth around 3.3 ft (1m) gives more rounded shape. Genetics are also important in developing the right back.

Tail Tension

Tail shape is very important and is greatly dependent on grooming technique. However, if you only pursue creating a good tail, you will loose on fish health and overall quality. It is a trade-off to make a good tail and to keep fish health. It is difficult to do and one has to find a balance.

Factors that loosen tail tension:

• weak tail shoulders 
• excessive exercise 
• large pond size
• pond with no shade or over shaded 
• strong aeration 
• often water changes 
• appropriate or slightly lower stocking density 

Factors that improve tail tension:

• strong tail shoulders 
• less exercise 
• small pond size
• pond with sun/shade balance 
• weak aeration 
• use of green water 
• high or low stocking density 

Making a Good Tail Before the Color Change

To create a good tail, you must select kuroko with tail shoulders that are open at 160-180° and have a strong tail core.

                                                          

To make a tail shoulder curve like in a bow (bow and arrow), the fish must swim moderately to finish formation before the color change. If the curve increases it may result in weak tension and possible collapse of the tail shoulders.

Making the Tail Core

Water depth will effect the tail core in fry. The depth at 4 in (10cm) during development is necessary. There is a tendency for the tail core either to fall lower if the water depth is too shallow or rise up if the depth is too deep.

After the tail is formed and the core is established in kuroko stage, it is not effected as much by the water depth. Still, as a general rule, it is a good idea to keep the water depth at 6-8 in (15-20cm) during ranchu development. Also, increased exercise may result in softening of the tail core, as well as loss of the tail tension.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Links to published chapters:

● INTRODUCTION
● WATER
● NOTES ON GREEN WATER & WATER CHANGE
● WATER TEMPERATURE
● AERATION
● SUNLIGHT AND SHADE
● CONTAINERS FOR RAISING RANCHU
● FOOD
● FEEDING REGIMENT
● BREEDING & SPAWNING
● RAISING & GROOMING FRY
● GROOMING KUROKO AND TOSAI
● CULLING
● SELECTION METHODS
● CULLING ROUND - I
● CULLING ROUND - II
● CULLING ROUND - III
● CULLING ROUND - IV
● CULLING ROUND - V
● FORSEEING RANCHU CHANGES IN THE FUTURE

_________________________________________________________________________________

HIGHRANCHU TIMELINE - ONE FISH'S JOURNEY - PART IV

Here is my last ranchu from the same spawn of April 15, 2014. This male OYA is a very nice looking fish with bright red color and neat, well arranged scales. This ranchu is very similar to the ranchu I described in part II, in terms of scaling, coloration, body shape and tail.

Little over 3 months old. Photographed on July 28, 2014

Little over 5 months old. Photographed on September 27, 2014

Little under 10 months old. Photographed on February 6, 2015

Little under 1 years and 7 months old. Photographed on November 2, 2015

Little under 3 years and 3 months old. Photographed on July 5, 2017

COMMENTS

Currently, this male Oya ranchu is close to 6 in (15 cm) long. As you can see, nothing much changed in his body and tail shape, other than him getting bigger. The head has formed into Shishigashira type, which is somewhat vintage for a modern ranchu. His tail, however, ended up with more red markings.

CONCLUSION

As NISAI fish transitions to OYA, it is harder and harder to keep them in shape. While the tail may not have any dramatic changes with age, the body and head do. My goal is to raise "lean" TVR. I prefer the body outline, as viewed from above, to be more elongated, with no protruding belly, so that the sides from head to beginning of O-Tsutsu (tail peduncle) are somewhat parallel. I also like it if the head width stays not much wider than the width of the back, a cigar shape. 

From the side, I like Se-Koshi (back curvature) to be as flat as possible up to the start of O-Tsutsu (tail peduncle). Reminiscent of a long Japanese boxwood comb. For body parts terminology please click here.

Quality of food and its portioning, along with exercise, is crucial to keeping ranchu in good shape. I will write about this subject in a separate article, reflecting on my experience.

A TALE OF A TAIL

One of my female ranchu had recently damaged her tail. I have no idea how the side lobe of her tail got torn, and I have to admit it is quite upsetting to see a beautiful tail messed up.

Fortunately, goldfish have a great ability to regenerate damaged fins and tail quite fast, as well as their scales. While my ranchu "half tail" looked horrible, it is already healing, making a week old damage less noticeable each day. Although, it may not regenerate to its original beauty and the new tissue may not be as translucent, it will look normal and become functional again.

Healing tail side lobe of a nisai ranchu

The main key of the healing process is to have strong, well fed fish and VERY clean water. I don't use any medication or prophylactic treatment. Quality of the water is crucial and that is what I am focused on.

So, next time your goldfish turns up with damage fins or tail, give it a time and concentrate on maintaining exceptionally clean water. Your fish will be happy again in no time!

WHAT DOES YOUR GOLDFISH HAVE IN COMMON WITH THE ALIEN?

There were a few white "scales" laying on the bottom of my ranchu pond today. After I picked and examined them, these "scales" appeared to be pharyngeal teeth shed by one of my ranchu. Goldfish possess four teeth on each of the two pharyngeal arches and use them to breakdown food. Unlike mammals, goldfish are able to replace each tooth many times throughout their life.

A set of pharyngeal teeth of one of my ranchu

For those who did not know that goldfish do have teeth, here is some more information. Technically goldfish belongs to a group of toothless fish, or fish with no jaw teeth. Instead they developed so called pharyngeal teeth attached to the pharyngeal arches located in their throat.

Pharyngeal teeth location in goldfish marked in red, an open source image

As strange as it may sound, teeth predate jaws in their evolutionary development and first appeared in the pharynx of prehistoric jawless fish and possibly marine worms. Today pharyngeal teeth can be found in some toothless fish species, and as a second jaw set in addition to the developed jaw bone with teeth, in such fish as moray eels.

An open source image

This could have been the inspiration in creating an alien character for the classic horror film "Alien" and its sequels. That small set of jaws that would come out of the alien's mouth could be identified as the secondary pharyngeal jaws.

Poster for "Alien 5" movie, an open source image

VARIATIONS, INCLINATIONS AND ACCEPTANCES

The art of creating and keeping Japanese top view ranchu has come a long way, setting strict standards. Because these standards have been closely followed and refined for over a century, TVR have reached the level of perfection we find today, and at the same time has burdened the breeders and keepers with extreme difficulty to produce quality fish.

Through reading and asking questions, I have found that there are a few variations in ranchu head, body and tail shapes equally accepted according to Japanese standard. In a sense it was a relief for me, as adhering to only one standard would be very difficult due to a great level of deviation in ranchu offsprings.

The shape of the head growth or wen is mainly divided on two types shishigashira and tatsugashira.
Shishigashira or lion head is square or rounded in shape. Tatsugashira or dragon head is rectangular with developed funtan or protruding cheeks. Tatsugashira is more popular nowadays, nonetheless, shishigashira type can be very beautiful. There is also a third type, transitional between the two mentioned above types. The main objective here is to have size and shape of the head in balance with the rest of the body. It is not desirable to have head growth as developed in tosai, as it is found in nisai and oya ranchu.

Shishigashira head
original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

Tatsugashira head
original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

The body length is accepted as short, medium and long. Longer body would be my choice, it balances best the head, especially in nisai and oya fish, when the head growth develops more. The body shape and especially back curve must be reminiscent of traditional Japanese boxwood comb, that can be short or long.

Long boxwood comb

Short boxwood comb

The tail, which we scrutinize at the early stages of ranchu development, continues to be in the center of attention throughout the fish life. Unlike head or color pattern, tail doesn't just presents with ornamental value, it plays critical role in how the ranchu swims. That is why over the century certain tail traits were identified to produce good swimmers. All in all, there are three tail types accepted: yotsuo or ⅔ split in the middle of the tail, sakurao or a small split at the tip of the tail and mitsuo or no split.

Yotsuo tail
original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

Sakurao tail
original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

Sakurao tail is reminiscent of cherry blossom petals

Mitsuo tail
original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

Ranchu personality and ability to swim in elegant and powerful manner can overpower certain imperfections of its shape, turning the fish into a praised possession.

DEFINING WHAT IS WHAT

Japanese top view ranchu main body parts are identified as head (KASHIRA), body (DOU) and tail (O). The head starts from the mouth to the edge of the gill cover. The body is from the gill cover to the vent underneath the tail. More specific body parts are identified below, including their Japanese names. Grooming techniques have a great impact on the shape of the ranchu head, head-growth, body and tail. The right grooming is especially important during BBR and CBR stages of development. These techniques include: water maintenance (depth, volume and quality), feeding (amount, frequency and variety), stocking density and amount of swimming.

Diagram defining body parts of a Japanese top view ranchu as viewed from above, side and underneath:

TOP VIEW

original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

1 - cheek growth protrusions (FUN-TAN) 

2 - top of head (ATAMA)

3 - gill cover (ERA-BUTA)

4 - pectoral fin (MUNA-BIRE)

5 - tail shoulder (O-GATA)

6 - tail peduncle scale bracelet (O-TSUKE)
7 - tail core, midrib (O-SHIN) 

8 - tail side lobe tip (O-SAKI)

9 - tail peduncle (O-TSUTSU)

10 - back (SE)

11 - gills (ERA)

12 - eye (ME)

13 - mouth (KUCHI)

SIDE VIEW

original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

1- back (SE)
2 - waist (KOSHI)

3 - back curvature (SE-KOSHI)

4 - tail (O)

5 - anal fin (KAJI-BIRE)

6 - pelvic fin (HARA-BIRE)

7 - pectoral fin (MUNA-BIRE)

8 - cheek growth protrusions (FUN-TAN)

UNDERNEATH VIEW

original art by Alexander Vasiljev, Copyright © 2014

1 - abdomen (HARA)
2 - pelvic fin (HARA-BIRE)

3 - anal fin (KAJI-BIRE)

4 - under-tail plate (O-ZARA)

5 - tail (O)

6 - vent

7 - pectoral fin (MUNA-BIRE)

8 - head (KASHIRA)