Black Moor Goldfish Breeding Guide

How to breed the Black Moor goldfish (Carassius auratus var. Black Moor): spring spawning trigger, egg scattering on plants, ~4-day hatch and selecting black color and telescope eyes.

Overview

The Black Moor is a selectively bred variety of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, known for its velvety black color and protruding telescope eyes. It spawns with the same egg-scattering biology as other goldfish; the breeding aim is to produce offspring that retain the black coloration and develop the characteristic telescope eyes.

Sexing

Mature goldfish are sexed most reliably in the breeding season, when males develop small white breeding tubercles (stars) on the gill covers and leading pectoral-fin rays. Gravid females become noticeably rounder and deeper-bodied. Tubercles are typically present from spring through autumn.

Conditioning

A breeding programme normally starts in early spring with the water warmed to about 17 degrees C (63 degrees F), with fish well reconditioned after the cooler winter. Breeders commonly spawn one female with two or three males, and add plenty of fine-leaved spawning medium such as hornwort or a spawning mop.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Spawning is triggered by a significant temperature rise in spring as the water approaches about 20 degrees C (68 degrees F). Males chase the gravid female and prompt her to release eggs by bumping and nudging. The adhesive eggs scatter and stick to plants such as Cabomba, Elodea or a spawning mop.

Egg & Fry Care

Because goldfish eat their own eggs, parents must be removed as soon as spawning is over (the eggs are adhesive and cannot easily be moved). The eggs hatch in about four days and the fry become free-swimming roughly 24 hours later, when feeding begins. Fry start as a metallic brown and may take a year before developing mature coloration; Black Moor fry typically darken to black as they mature.

Common Challenges

Not all fry retain the stable black coloration or develop even telescope eyes, so breeders cull to keep only well-colored, symmetrical individuals. Telescope-eyed varieties have poor eyesight and are weak feeding competitors, so fry should be reared apart from faster tankmates to ensure they get enough food.