Pearlscale goldfish
Country of origin
China and Japan
Type
Fantailed
Breed standards
BAS

The pearlscale or chinshurin in Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, is a spherical-bodied fancy goldfish with finnage similar to the fantail

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:...

.

Description

The characteristic feature of the pearlscale is its thick, domed scales with pearl-like appearance. Its body is round and similar to a golf ball. The finnage may be long or short. Pearlscales can reach up to 8 inches long and grow up as large as oranges

Orange (fruit)

An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

. However, pearlscale fancy goldfish are prone to swimbladder disorders which affect the ability to maintain normal position in the water. This is attributed to the selective breeding process of fancy goldfish to achieve particular body forms, such as that of the pearlscale's. Selective breeding gradually resulted to the alteration of the appearance of the swimbladder.
It is also known as the Ping Pong Pearlscale.

The pearlscale standard is as follows:

• Depth of body to be greater than 2/3 of body length
• Scales to be domed
• Dorsal fin to be single, all other fins to be paired.
• Caudal fin to be divided and forked and held above the horizontal.
• Extremities of fins to have a slightly rounded appearance.
• Minimum length of body to be 5.5 cm (2¼ inches).

The fish should be bright and alert and displaying well developed domed scales all over the body area.
The body should be short and rounded (not elongated). The caudal fin should be held high without signs of drooping and well divided. Quality fish will have high colour intensity extending into the fins.

Coloration

Pearlscales come in every color variety.

The colour may be metallic (self-coloured or variegated in a pleasing pattern and similar on each side) or calico. Metallic colours should appear as burnished metal, extending into the fins. Calico fish should have a blue background with patches of violet, red, orange, yellow and brown, spotted with black.

Variants

Pearlscales are found without headgrowth, with 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:...

-like headgrowth or with two large bubble domes. The bubble-domed Pearlscales are known as high-head pearlscale, crown pearlscale or Hama nishiki.

Special requirements

Pearlscales are egg shaped with internal organs crowding the creature's compact body, therefore overfeeding should be avoided.
Pearlscales are very sensitive to cold water and should not be exposed to temperature readings below 55°F (13°C). If you get a pearlsale also be careful as they are quite prone to pH changes and should be kept out of long periods exposed to a high acidity or alkalinity.