The tremendous hood or headgrowth and fat cheeks of lionheads give them a facial appearance similar to canine puppies. The "wen" fully covers the head, cheeks and gill plates of the fish. Furthermore, lionheads have short but deep bodies, and relatively straight or evenly arched backs without dorsal fins. The finnage, in general, is short. Breeding standards require that the lionhead’s anal fins are paired, the doubletail fin should not droop, and its upper edges should be held away from the body. The tail of a traditional lionhead can be fully separated, partially separated, or webbed. The tail should also meet thecaudal peduncle in a fashion that is almost perpendicular to the body. The caudal peduncle is ideally broad, allowing the tail to open when the fish swims. The back of the proper lionhead is quite broad to support the placement of the raspberry-like hood. Hood development may vary but is more pronounced in males. The hood normally takes a year to develop in young fry. Mature male lionheads periodically shed patches of their headgrowths. Lionheads can grow up to 6 inches in length and may have metallic, nacreous or matte scales. They are available in orange, red, white, red-and-white, blue, black, black-and-white, black-and-red, natural, and chocolate coloration.
Origins
Lionheads were bred in China to depict the image of the mythical Chineselion-dog. They were introduced to Japan from China during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Japanese produced lionheads with more rounded back profiles, modified tails and diminished size of the headgrowth.
Lionheads are sometimes sensitive to low water temperatures. Due to their slow nature, they should not be kept with faster moving fish such as comets, common goldfish, and shubunkins. If kept in an aquarium, the recommended tank size for one fish is 20 gallons with double filtration. They are social fish so tank mates are recommended. They should be kept in a species-only tank with other goldfish. It is advised to feed goldfish only sinking food because flakes can cause swim bladder issues. Lionhead goldfish are omnivores so they thrive on a diet rich in plant and animal matter. High-protein diets will make their colors more vibrant and will cause greater growth.
