Last night after we turned out the light on our fish tank, my boyfriend and I kept watching them for a little bit. I noticed that my male and female fantails were swimming in circles, laying on their sides and flipping over and around and they were never far away from each other.

They are apparently at breeding age. I thought that they were still too young, but the male has the tubercles on his gills and the female's belly is swollen and lopsided. They're only about 3" long including their tails.


Is this spawning? or should I be concerned?

If you can see tubercles on the goldfish, then he at least is mature enough to want to spawn. They are a bit small yet but it's not unheard of for fancy goldfish that size to spawn since they mature at a smaller size and grow slower. It sounds like they could be spawning. I suggest getting some java moss for them to lay any eggs on. It's soft so the female doesn't get beaten up as badly. Alternatively, you can make a spawning mop out of uncolored yarn. Goldfish tend to spawn at dawn but they might do so after dark if they feel so inclined.

Good luck!

If I make the spawning mop, then how long do I leave it in the tank for?


And thank you very much, I was worried =]

If they are really spawning, and you put in a soft mop, and she still has eggs left, I would expect the mop to be covered in eggs within just a day or two. You could then remove it to try to raise some babies or leave it in there in which case the goldfish should eat most if not all of the eggs. By keeping it in there, it provides a soft spot to spawn the next time they need to use it. In ponds, a female can lay eggs weekly in the warm months but aquarium goldfish usually only spawn once (normally in late winter actually).

I went ahead and made the spawning mop but I have no way to make it stay in one spot [some of the pieces of yarn will get sucked into the filter if I don't anchor it somewhere] until Thursday.

So should I just wait until they do it again? Or would there be a chance that she still has eggs left for me to put it in this time anyway?

You can tie the spawning mop on to a rock or on to a fake plant or something using the lead plant weights or fishing line.

It's hard to say if they're done spawning for now or not. I would say you can tell by their behavior. If there's still chasing with spazing, they are still spawning. If they're calmer, then they're taking a break.