The Black Moor Goldfish Variety

The black moor goldfish is a variety of goldfish, Carassius auratus, that has been developed through selective breeding in China. Unlike the common goldfish, and most of the fancy varieties they are black, although black moors that are only partially black have also been bread. The other very characteristic mark is the protruding telescopic eyes, a property of many goldfish varieties. They also have fat, short bodies and long fins.

Black moors have an age span of 6-25 years and can grow to a length of 10 inches. Many people buying juvenile fish in a petshop underestimate the size the little cute fish will grow to, and fail to plan for a big enough tank which will eventually need to be provided. Interestingly young fish don’t resemble their parents very much, looking like dull colored veiltails, they only develop the black colour and protruding eyes with age.

The black moor variety of goldfish is related to all the other protruding eye family, which includes bubble eyes, telescope eyes and many others. Solid black fish are difficult to breed and the colour seems to be more stable in moors than in other varieties. A subtype of black moors that have been developed recently is the panda moor goldfish, which are mostly white with some black markings in a pattern resembling that of a panda.

Goldfish are strictly cold water fish, and should not be kept in a community tropical tanks, since the water will be too warm for them (or too cold for the tropical fish if you do not provide a water heater). It is very cruel to keep fish in bowls, they need a properly sized aquarium in which they can swim freely, and in which the water quality is maintained through proper biological filtration.

This variety of goldfish is fairly hardy, however they are handicapped by poor eyesight. It is better to keep them with other fish, that also have protruding eyes, when kept with the common or comet goldfish, that are faster and have good eyesight they are likely to lose the competition for food, and be malnourished. The poor eyesight also needs to be taken into consideration when furnishing the tank, you should avoid decorations that have sharp edges, which can wound the fish if it bumps into them.

Black moors are a very popular variety of goldfish, which are easy to find in most pet shops that sell fresh water fish. Their black colour contrasts well with orange tank companions, and they are not as ‘weird looking’ as some of the more extreme varieties of goldfish.