Calico or nacreous goldfish are goldfish

Goldfish

The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....

 of any breed that sport a mixture of metallic and transparent scales that produces a pearly appearance. The name "calico goldfish" is often associated, and sometimes confused, with the shubunkin goldfish

Shubunkin

are a hardy, single-tailed fancy goldfish with nacreous scales, and a pattern known as calico. The shubunkins are of Japanese origin....

.

Description

Calico goldfish have patches of red, yellow, grey and black along with dark speckles on a blue background. This nacreous coloration of usually extends over the fins.

Variants

Although calico coloration occasionally occurs in other fancy goldfish varieties such as telescope eye

Telescope Eye

The telescope eye or demekin is a fancy goldfish characterized by its protruding eyes. It is also known as globe eye or dragon eye goldfish.-Description:...

s, fantails

Fantail (goldfish)

The Fantail goldfish is the western form of the Ryukin that possesses an egg-shaped body, a high dorsal fin, a long quadruple caudal fin, and no shoulder hump.-Description:...

, ryukin

Ryukin

The ryukin is a short deep-bodied fancy goldfish with a characteristic hump in the shoulder region.-Description:The ryukin is a hardy and attractive variety of goldfish with a pointed head and has a pronounced hump on the back behind the head. It may be long-finned or short-finned with either a...

s, oranda

Oranda

An oranda is a type of goldfish characterized by a prominent raspberry-like hood encasing its head. The hood or headgrowth encases the whole head except for the eyes and mouth.-Description:...

s, and ranchu

Ranchu

The ranchu is a hooded variety of fancy goldfish developed in Japan. It is referred to as the "king of goldfish" by the Japanese.-Origins and evolution:The modern-day ranchu is a Japanese development of the lionhead...

s, this nacreous characteristic is usually exclusive to the shubunkin

Shubunkin

are a hardy, single-tailed fancy goldfish with nacreous scales, and a pattern known as calico. The shubunkins are of Japanese origin....

s which are single-tailed fish that are similar to the common goldfish

Common goldfish

Common goldfish or hibuna are a type of goldfish with no other modifications from their ancestors other than their colour. Most varieties of fancy goldfish were derived from this simple breed...

and could grow up to 12 inches in length.