Red and White Oranda Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Choose a red and white oranda with a pattern of its own

The red and white oranda is a fancy goldfish dressed in two bold colours: bright red patches over a white, pearly body, with a red-and-white hood that builds up on the head and cheeks. It has the classic oranda shape, a round, deep body, a tall dorsal fin and a long, divided double tail that flows behind it as it swims. No two red and white orandas share the same pattern. Some are mostly red with white fins, others mostly white with a few red bands and a red crown, and many sit somewhere between, which is why keepers often pick this colour form when they want a fish that is clearly their own.

Every oranda is a domestic goldfish, Carassius auratus, a member of the carp family, Cyprinidae. Wikipedia's summary of the oranda explains that the name comes from the Japanese Oranda-shishi-gashira, meaning "Dutch lionhead", even though the breed is Chinese in origin; it may have reached Japan through the Dutch trading post at Dejima, or "Dutch" may simply have meant foreign. The same summary lists the oranda's colours: orange, red, red-and-white, red-and-black, black, blue, chocolate, bronze, white or silver, plus panda, tri-colour and calico patterns. Compare the colours in our oranda and fancy goldfish category.

Tell it from similar fancy goldfish

Know what you receive

This listing is for one live red and white oranda, sex not chosen. It is sold as a large fish with its own one-off pattern, already showing the oranda shape and hood. The photographs show the colour form, prepared from a reference picture; the fish you receive will differ in pattern, in the size of its hood and in the balance of red and white. That is the nature of the variety rather than a fault.

A large oranda is a long-term companion, so set up the right aquarium before you order rather than after. Our delivery page explains dispatch days and the Live Arrival Guarantee.

Run a quick pre-order check

• Space: at least 100 litres for this fish, plus 50 litres for every other adult fancy goldfish (OATA).
• Filter: already matured, with ammonia and nitrite reading zero.
• Tank mates: only other fancy goldfish of a similar size.
• Position: indoors, away from radiators, cold windows and direct sun.

Expect the red and white to shift over time

Goldfish colour is not fixed for life. Writing about ranchu, Practical Fishkeeping notes that a goldfish's colour can change almost completely as it matures and that many goldfish become whiter with age. On a red and white oranda that usually means the red patches change shape: a band may break up, the hood may turn more white, or a once mostly red fish may finish more evenly split. It can also go the other way. Accept the pattern as a living thing and you will enjoy watching it develop.

Support the colours you have

• Stable water: stressed fish in poor water lose colour fastest, so clean water does more than any food.
• Colour food in rotation: a colour-rich food such as Tropical Goldfish Color helps red areas look their best, though no food can stop a change that is genetic.
• A steady day: OATA recommends overhead lighting on a timer for a regular day and night.
• Cool, steady temperatures: keep within the ideal range below rather than warming the tank.

Give the hood room and gentle conditions

The hood, or wen, is what makes an oranda an oranda. A 2025 study by Li and colleagues found that it forms as the skin of the head thickens, building up collagen-rich layers and dividing skin cells, with small bony outgrowths on the skull beneath it. Practical Fishkeeping says the head growth of young orandas takes one to two years to develop, so a large fish usually already shows a good hood that may continue to fill out.

The hood also brings responsibilities. Wikipedia notes that the wen can grow over the eyes and limit vision, that it is prone to bacterial infection and that it is easily injured by rough objects. Keep the décor smooth, the water clean and the tank mates equally slow, so a fish with limited sight still gets its share of food.

Protect the hood in daily life

Size the aquarium for an adult fancy goldfish

OATA says fancy goldfish are unlikely to grow past about 20 cm, but Practical Fishkeeping and Wikipedia both give 20-31 cm for orandas, so plan for a big fish. OATA's rule is 100 litres for one adult fancy goldfish plus 50 litres for each extra adult. Practical Fishkeeping suggests that a tank should be at least six times the length of the adult fish, and FishBase suggests keeping goldfish in groups of five or more in a tank at least 100 cm long. Most orandas live happily with company of their own kind.

Compare three set-ups

Measure your tank with our tank volume tool and check every adult fish in the stocking calculator. Leave plenty of open swimming water: orandas are slow, steady swimmers that do not need clutter.

Hold the water values steady

Match your tap water

The sources disagree on temperature, so stay where they overlap: 17-23°C suits OATA's ideal and Wikipedia's tolerance range. Test your tap water for pH and hardness, compare it with these values in our water matcher, and read our water chemistry guide if any of the terms are new. Always add a tap water conditioner to new water.

Filter for a heavy feeder, keep the flow soft

Goldfish produce a lot of waste. Practical Fishkeeping's fancy goldfish guide calls good filtration essential for fancy goldfish because of their waste and oxygen demand, but recommends moderate flow because they are poor swimmers, and OATA suggests spreading the return through a spray bar. Choose a filter rated well above the tank volume and direct the outlet along the surface rather than across the swimming space. Our guide to aquarium filtration explains the options, and the tank must complete the nitrogen cycle before the fish goes in.

Keep to a simple routine

Feed a measured goldfish diet

FishBase lists plankton, bottom-living invertebrates, plant material and detritus as the wild diet of the species. OATA recommends a goldfish-specific food as the staple, given once a day in an amount the fish eat within a few minutes, topped up with daphnia, bloodworm, brine shrimp, blanched lettuce or shelled peas.

• Staple: Super Goldfish Mini Sticks, which sink slowly.
• Colour: Tropical Goldfish Color in rotation.
• Frozen: Daphnia and Spirulina Frozen, a light meal with plant content.
• Treat: freeze-dried brine shrimp, soaked first so it sinks.

Avoid floating after meals

Some fancy goldfish swallow air when they take food from the surface and then float or tilt. OATA suggests moving to a slow-sinking food if that happens. Our article on a fish swimming sideways covers other causes worth ruling out.

Quarantine and acclimatise with care

OATA warns that fish can carry disease without showing symptoms. Goldfish herpesvirus is a good reason to quarantine a new fish: Ito and Maeno (2014) found that the disease developed most readily at 20-25°C, and that goldfish infected in cooler water could survive and still carry the virus. A separate quarantine tank with its own net protects the goldfish you already keep.

To introduce the fish, turn off the aquarium lights, float the sealed bag for about 10 minutes, then add small amounts of tank water over up to 20 minutes before netting the fish into the tank and discarding the bag water. That is OATA's floating-bag method; our acclimatisation guide walks through it.

Check these in week one

Keep it with fancy goldfish of its own pace

OATA recommends keeping fancy goldfish alone or with other fancy goldfish, never with common goldfish, which are faster, take the food and sometimes nip fins. Wikipedia adds that an oranda whose hood restricts its vision is best kept with other poor-sighted goldfish so it does not go hungry.

Check any mix in our tank mates checker, and see every goldfish we stock in goldfish and coldwater fish or on our goldfish category page.

Watch for the common health problems

OATA lists the warning signs: hanging at the surface or sitting on the bottom, unusual darkening or paling, more hiding, faster or slower breathing, white spots, fluffy growths, lost fins or scales, weight change and poor appetite. With an oranda, look closely at the hood and fins at every feed.

See where the red and white oranda comes from

All fancy goldfish were bred from wild fish in East Asia, which FishBase gives as the native range of the species. Centuries of selection produced the round body, double tail and hood, and modern genetics is now finding the DNA behind them: Kon and colleagues (2020) sequenced 27 goldfish strains and linked regions of the genome to traits such as the loss of the dorsal fin, long tails and telescope eyes. The red and white oranda brings several of those traits together in one fish.

Answer red and white oranda questions

What is a red and white oranda?

A fancy goldfish, Carassius auratus, with a round body, a tall dorsal fin, a long double tail and a hood on the head, coloured in patches of red and white. It is one of the colour forms of the oranda, alongside red, red cap, red and black, blue, chocolate and others.

Will the fish look exactly like the photo?

No. Every red and white oranda has its own pattern, so the photographs show the colour form, not the individual you will receive. Size, the shape of the hood and the split between red and white all vary from fish to fish.

Can the red and white pattern change?

It can. Practical Fishkeeping notes that goldfish colours can change a great deal as fish mature. Red patches may spread, shrink or move, and white areas often grow with age. Choose the fish for the variety rather than for a fixed pattern.

How big will a red and white oranda grow?

OATA says fancy goldfish are unlikely to grow past about 20 cm, while Practical Fishkeeping and Wikipedia give 20-31 cm for orandas. Plan the aquarium for a fish of at least 20 cm.

How large a tank does it need?

OATA advises 100 litres for one adult fancy goldfish and 50 litres for each extra adult, so a pair of adult orandas needs at least 150 litres and a group of three at least 200 litres.

Does a red and white oranda need a heater?

Usually not. OATA gives fancy goldfish an ideal of 15-23°C, which most UK living rooms hold without a heater. Wikipedia notes that orandas are sensitive to low temperatures, so keep the tank indoors and away from cold windows and draughts.

Can it live in a garden pond?

Not as a rule. OATA says fancy goldfish should be kept indoors, and orandas are slow swimmers that struggle against cold and against fast pond fish. An indoor aquarium suits it far better.

What fish can live with a red and white oranda?

Other fancy goldfish of a similar size, such as orandas and ryukins. OATA advises against common goldfish, comets and shubunkins, which are faster, take the food and sometimes nip fins, and tropical fish need warmer water than a goldfish tank provides.

Check the sources behind this guide

• OATA: How to look after fancy goldfish - UK trade guidance on water values, tank size, décor, filtration, feeding, tank mates, acclimatisation and health signs.
• FishBase: Carassius auratus - species record: native range, water ranges, wild diet and aquarium group size.
• Practical Fishkeeping: How to get fancy with goldfish - oranda size, hood development, tank-size rule, filtration, flow and water changes for fancy goldfish.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Ranchu, king of goldfish - colour change as goldfish mature, including fish becoming whiter with age.
• Wikipedia: Oranda - summary of the oranda: the name, colour forms including red-cap, temperature tolerance and hood (wen) problems.
• Li et al. 2025, Research 8: 0786 - study of how the goldfish hood forms from thickened, collagen-rich skin.
• Kon et al. 2020, Current Biology 30: 2260-2274 - genome study of 27 goldfish strains linking DNA regions to fancy traits.
• Ito & Maeno 2014, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 110: 193-200 - goldfish herpesvirus (CyHV-2) at different water temperatures.