Common name: Black Moor

Scientific name: Carassius auratus var.

Family: Cyprinidae

Origin: Domesticated; originally from China

Size: Reach a size of around 12cm/5 inches which is small for the goldfish family. Under some conditions can reach 10"

Description: All black veiltail goldfish with telescopic eyes(that can take 2-3yrs to fully develope), a double caudal fin and are of the metallic scale type. With age they develope a bronze hue on the underside and the fins.

Care and feeding : They are a coldwater fish and are omnivorous so they'll eat all kinds of fresh, frozen, pellet and flake foods fed once a day since they're quite messy. As treats mine love frozen live bloodworms. They are very social and curious and do great in a group amongst their own kind and are great scavengers. It's really not necessary to have other bottom feeders to the aquarium when you have goldfish. Since their eye-sight isn't perfect, they need a little more time to find their food so it's recommended to keep them with other fish with visual handicaps, such as the Bubble Eye Goldfish and Telescope Goldfish.


Temperature: 65-72 F (18-22 C). Mine are kept at 70F. Reportedly they can survive at temperatures close to freezing and in some areas, some people keep them in ponds

Breeding and sexual differences: Very hard to sex when young, but at about 1yr old they become sexual mature. The male is usually smaller and more slender that the female. In the breeding season the male has white prickles/bumps, called breeding tubercles, on his gill covers and head. From above the female will have a fatter appearance as she is carrying eggs. In breeding season you'll notice the male chasing the female. She will then release anywhere from 500-1000 sticky eggs that will basically stick to whatever decor. You must remove the eggs or the parents will eat them.

Comments: Please take into consideration their protruding eyes when buying decor. Even pointed, natural leafs or plastic plants can hurt them. Choose soft and silky plants. I did have live plants with ours but they got eaten very quickly so the plastic plants seen with them is only temperary. I have 3 black moors, one mature and 2 juvies, and are energetic and curious. Great beginner goldfish imo.




This post has been edited by snowyangel: Jun 19 2006, 05:05 AM

Hi heres my black moor

an addition:

I do not recommend keeping these lovly fish in water about the 70F mark, they are true coldwater fish and in my experiences they thrive in water around the 64F mark. They also seem to die off quickly if kept above 70F.

They say don't put a Black Moor in with an active fish...
...My Moor (Man) is paired with a Shubunkin (Gregg) and it's obvious who's the dominant fish.
Gregg does have a habit of pushing Man around a lot, although they've lived in the same tank for over a year together and there seem to be no problems...