Hammer scale

[mikeno]

Here is a picture of my new hammer scaled goldfishes:

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt304/mikenophotos/hammer.jpg

The puckered scales make the fish look like some kind of gin rin. Looks nice from the side.

[Daryl]

That is an interestomg mutation. I wonder how it will stay as the fish grows and ages....

Would you be so kind as to post pictures of the fish as it matures?

[mikeno]

I have read about them in some goldfish books but newer seen any pictures. But I’m pretty sure they are hammer scales. I saw one in the same colour a couple of year ago, but did not have space or money at the time.

The scale type are said to be recessive so it would be easy to fix the hammer scales in any type of goldfish.

Right now they are about 5-6 cm long with tail, but with those big eyes of slow grown goldfish. They may be older than their size. I will keep you updated as they grow.

[Sabine]

You've got quite a rarity there! I've only read about them in books.
"Tack Så Mycket" for sharing :)
Did you just happen to find them in a pet store in Stockholm?

[mikeno]

Maybe I did not just happened to find them. I often sweep through all pet shops in the north-west of Stockholm (the best side) to see if there is anything of interest to buy. This time I was desperately seeking for a blue belly or an albino. Instead I found the hammers among many ordinary yellow, orange and calico goldfishes. The pet shop had no clue what they were selling.

Tack så mycket. At last someone who speaks Swedish! I’m really struggling with my English, very time consuming. Every time I’m done writing in Word (to get some spelling right) and try to transfer the text to the forum I have been logged out…

[Daryl]

NOt only are you doing a VERY good job at your English, I commend you for trying. Too many English-first-language people have far less language skills than you are demonstrating.

:)

I wish we had fish stores that actually carried anything of interest. We only get the "feeder" fish and, of course, the ever-present wenless, bodyless "Oranda" types.....

[mikeno]

Believe me the interesting goldfishes here is very few. I have collected mine over several years and sometimes you get lucky.

The best fishy pet shop here www.akvarielagret.se does only sell ordinary goldfish and shubunkin, and find any other variety to far from the wild thing. I feel this is the general opinion among many aquarists in Sweden, if its not wild type it’s bad. The other shops sell far eastern types of goldfish like “the ever-present wenless, bodyless "Oranda" types......” That’s way I had to join this forum were I can feel somewhat at home.

[mikeno]

Late last evening, just about leaving the goldfishhouse I took a last glance at the hammerscales. They were very active but not really chasing. I throw in a matt with plastic plants, it could not do any harm. This morning they spawned!

Despite the small female I actually think there are quite many eggs.

I even put two small wakin males(one white, one tancho) in the same aquaria some days ago to be able to make some hammerscaled wakins in f2. The wakins did not seam to take the spawning serious... If there is any potential wakins among the fry they should be easy to recognise being normally scaled.

[mikeno]

I did it again!
This weekend I walked in to a LFS and found a yellow bluebelly. I paid about $3 for it. I'm sure it is from the same breeder (Israeli?) as the hammerscales I found some weeks ago, since two of the yellows in the same aquaria where hammerscales. It even looks like the bluebelly is hammerscaled, hard to tell with matt bluebelly scales on a small fish… The h-scales do not look especially nice being matt.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt304/mikenophotos/bluebelly.png

[Veil Gal]

I am still confused as to what exactly a blue belly goldfish is. Can you explain?:youtellme:

[Sabine]

A pretty fish, congrats to your rare find!
How are your hammerscale fry doing?

[mikeno]

The hammers are doing great, eating homemade gelfood, decapsulated brineshrimp and Grindals. I have only culled a couple of weak ones, a healthy bunch!

Bluebelly, mock metallic and net like transparent it is the same thing I think. It’s a recessive gene that makes the scales matt in some degree. My fish is very matt but they can be pretty metallic reminding of a ginrin koi. The demelanizing gene is not affected and wild coloured ones can be mocks.

To me the term bluebelly is not a very good name. To me my fish clearly has a yellow belly not a blue and if they where red the belly would look red. I guess mock metallic is a better name since it’s more a (non)metallic effect then a colour effect.

Also look at:
GFK (http://goldfishkeepers.com/forum/blog.php?bt=130#comment130)
And (http://www.goldfishkeepers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347)
AGA (http://www.americangoldfish.org/new_page_5821111122111.htm)
Goldfish Garage, July 27 (http://goldfishgarage.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=38)