Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two goldfish. One, Glitter, is actually 'gold', closer to the greenish that goldfish are in the wild. The second, Shiney, is the typical bright orange. I got Shiney first, then Glitter from a different shipment of goldfish at Wal-Mart. They were both small when I first got them, about an inch long. Shiney was bigger than Glitter when I got Glitter, but now, Glitter is, I think, a little bigger than Shiney.

Because of Shiney's recent fin-clamping problem (now all better), I noticed that their backfins are different shapes and sizes. I've added a URL to my drawing of their backfins - not the best art - to show what I mean. Will the shape/size vary that much?

The other question is about the fin-clamping, which I'm now pretty sure was due to an ammonia buildup in the water. Why did Shiney react, but Glitter didn't? Is Glitter more tolerant because of the more 'natural' coloring, being closer to the wild goldfish? Is Shiney weaker because of the 'inbreeding', or more restricted gene pool, that leads to the bright orange color? Or is color irrelevant?

Glad to hear everything is still going well for your two beautiful fish. In my opinion (and educated guess), size and shape will vary with all fish even in the same species.
As for why Shiney reacted and Glitter didn't, could be that Glitter was exposed to some sort of illness or poor water quality, and has more tolerance than Shiney. It doesn't have anything to do with the coloring, but rather his tolerance level. It could also have to do with his genes, but that I don't know for sure.
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Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."