Goldfish Classification
As domesticated fish, goldfish through selective breeding processes over centuries and produced many color variations, different body shapes, fin and eye configurations.
Based on their strong characteristics, I classify goldfish into 2 main types : Single Tail goldfish & Double Tail goldfish.
Single tail goldfish
Most of single tail goldfish are hardy and without fancy anatomical features such as : Common goldfish, Comet and Shonai.
While Shubunkin, Sabao, Tamasaba and Fukudaruma are examples of fancy & more attractive single tail goldfish.
Common goldfish
 Common goldfish are a type of goldfish without any modifications from their ancestors (the Prussian carp) except their colour. Common goldfish come in a variety of colors e.g. red, orange/gold, white, black and yellow.
Comet goldfish
  
The comet-tailed goldfish breed was developed in the United States (late 1800's and early 1900's). The comet goldfish can be distinguished from the common goldfish by its long, single and deeply forked tail fin. Under optimum conditions, the tails can grow up to 12 inches in length. Comets with yellow, orange, red, white, and red-and-white coloration are common.
Variants : (see above pictures)
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Sarasa comet is characterized by its red-and-white coloration, has long flowing fins and is very hardy fish.
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Tancho comet is similar to the comet-tail but it has a silver-colored body and fins with a single red patch on the head.
Shubunkin goldfish
  
Shubunkin originated in Japan, a hybrid goldfish between Calico telescope eye and Common goldfish. Shubunkins have streamlined bodies with well-developed and even fins, calico pattern and nacreous/ pearly scales.
Variants : (see above pictures)
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London shubunkins have stout bodies and also short, rounded finnage that is similar to the common goldfish.
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American shubunkins have a slimmer body shape than the london shubunkin with deeply forked, pointed tail fins, and longer finnage all around.
- Bristol shubunkins are slim bodied goldfish with well-developed finnage possessing a tail that is large, moderately forked, and rounded at the end making a shape similar to that of the capitalized letter "B".
Shonai goldfish
 Shonai and Comet look very similar, with slender body and long fins. But their ancestry is quite different and they have evolved in two very different parts of the world.
Shonai originated in the northwest region of Japan's main island (around the late 1800's), from a cross between the native Gibel carp (the ancestor of ALL goldfish) to an early form of the Oranda goldfish (Dutch Lionhead). The resulting Shonai was then selectively bred for cold tolerence inherited from the native carp, and had intense red color on the upper half of the body, with a white underbelly.
Single tail Ryukin (Sabao, Tamasaba, Fukudaruma)
  
Original cross between the cold hardy singletail Shonai and Ryukin produced :
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Sabao, more resembled the Shonai parent but rounder.
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Tamasaba, more resembled the Ryukin parent with a higher shoulder, much deeper body and a very long, flowing, single tail.
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Fukudaruma is a variant of Tamasaba, with a higher shoulder than Tamasaba, makes it the roundest of all (there are short medium & long tail, and transparent scales sub-varities). See above pictures.
All of the types showed only single caudal and single anal fins. They are hardy pond and aquarium fishes.
Double Tail Goldfish or Fancy Goldfish
Fancy Goldfish breeders have greatly advanced in improving or creating new goldfish varieties. Sometimes it's difficult to group them, since they had more than one unique characteristics. There are 4 main characteristics that differ the fancy goldfishes :
Fantail Goldfish
 The Fantail goldfish is the western form of the Ryukin that possesses an egg-shaped body (not as short & deep body as Ryukin), a high dorsal fin, double anal & long tail fins, and with NO shoulder hump.
It's a hardy goldfish, but it can be sensitive to prolonged exposure to low water temperatures. An ideal temperature ranging between 13 to 21°C (55 to 70°F).
Veiltail Goldfish
The veiltail originated in the United States in the late 1800's, a cross between Japanese-bred Ryukin and a telescope eye goldfish (Philadelphia veiltails). There are also Chinese and European strains.
The veiltail has an egg-shaped body without shoulder hump. The hallmark of the breed is its lengthy and graceful extra-long, flowing double tail (caudal fin).
True veiltails must have well-developed (long, flowing) dorsal fin, pectoral fins, pelvic fins and anal fins (Not only caudal fin!). They can occur with normal or telescope-eyes, come in various colors and may have either metallic or nacreous scales. They can grow from 8 to 12 in (20 to 31 cm).
Raising veiltails is not as easy as other fancy goldfishes.
The long and trailing tail of the veiltail is delicate and can be easily damaged. They are not good swimmers and have difficulty competing for food with more active goldfish (e.g Ranchu or Ryukin), especially for Telescope-eyed veiltails.
The are also susceptible to low water temperatures (below 55°F/ 13°C).
Broad tail : Tosakin
The Tosakin was developed in Japan. It is considered a Top-view goldfish and is traditionally kept in large shallow bowls or patio ponds to be viewed from above.
Tosakin has a body shaped similar to other fantailed goldfish, but its caudal /tail fin opens and spreads flat and wide horizontally with the leading edges flipping under once or even twice. Therefore, Tosakin is not a good swimmer requiring it be kept in still water without a strong current.
In spite of poor swimmer, Tosakin is a hardy goldfish. It can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) in length, but it is slow growing compared to most other fancy goldfish.
Tosakin come in various colors such as metallic red, orange, yellow, red and white, iron-black and calico.
Butterfly tail
  
Butterfly tail is a variety of goldfish that is distinguished by the butterfly-shaped caudal fins when viewed from above. The tail spread is preferable 180 degrees but some may droop down at an angle due the weight of the long tail fins.
While the butterfly tail is commonly a variant form of the telescope goldfish /Moor with protruding eyes, 'butterfly shaped tails' may be present in other goldfish standard varieties such as Ryukins or Orandas (see above pictures).
 Jikin is also known as Peacock-Tail goldfish (due to the tail which is completely divided and splayed outwards). It was developed in Japan from the Wakin goldfish (see the right side picture).
The Jikin is a rare goldfish, it has a unique looking caudal fin with four parts that resembles an "X" when it is viewed from the behind (see above picture).
Jikin's body resembles that of the common goldfish (slightly shorter), and the colors can vary from red to white. It is a hardy goldfish, an ideal temperature around 65°-78°F, maximum adult size is around 9" and its lifespan could be more than 10 years.
Moor (Fancy Eye)
 Moors have the protruding eyes and the long & flowing fins in common with NO shoulder hump. Moors come in many different colours and sizes such as plain red, red-and-black, red-and-white, calico, black-and-white (panda moors), chocolate, brown, blue, bronze, lavender, chocolate-and-blue, tricolored (red-white-black), black with golden belly and deep-solid black coloration.
Check out our complete article about taking good care of Moor goldfish.
Demekin (Fancy Eye & Fancy Body Shape)
Demekin Goldfish have large telescope eyes and a hump back (they have short, deep bodies that are similar to the Ryukin). Demekin Goldfish are a cross between Moor and Ryukin goldfish.
Bubble eye (Fancy Eye & Fancy Torpedo-shaped body)
The Bubble Eye is a double tail fancy goldfish with upward pointing eyes that are accompanied by two large fluid-filled sacs that jiggle as it swims. The eyes of the Bubble Eye goldfish are normal in the young fry, but will start to develop eye bubbles three months after hatching.
The bubbles are fragile, although it will regrow if punctured. But the fish should be kept separately from more active goldfishes and away from sharp or pointed tank decor. Their best tankmates are Celestial eye goldfish.
Celestial eye (Fancy eye & Fancy Torpedo-shaped body)
Celestial eye goldfish is a double-tailed fancy goldfish that has a pair of telescope eyes which are turned upwards. Celestials first appeared as a direct mutation of the Telescope goldfish in the 18th century. When the fry hatch, the eyes of young Celestials are normal but gradually protrude sideways, as in the Telescope eye goldfish, and then turn upwards within a period of six months.
They have limited vision and are unable to compete with more vigorous goldfish for food. They are best kept with other limited-vision breeds (i.e the Bubble Eye) or in a tank of their own. Sharp, pointed ornaments and objects in the tank should be avoided.
Oranda (Fancy Headgrowth)
   
An oranda is a type of goldfish characterized by a tremendous raspberry-like headgrowth encasing the whole head except for the eyes and mouth, but in some cases the headgrowth grows enormously covering its eye.
There are 2 types of Oranda : Long body & Short body, but both have a large, deep body without a shoulder hump and a long quadruple tail which normally spreads out broadly when the oranda stops swimming.
Oranda is a big goldfish, it can reach 20 to 31 cm (8 to 12") in length.
Orandas come in variety of colors (e.g. orange, red, red-and-white, red-and-black, black, blue, chocolate, bronze, white or silver, black-and-white (panda-colored), red-black-and-white (tricolor), and calico) and Variants (e.g. Red Cap Oranda, White pompom oranda, Panda oranda and many more)
Pompom (Fancy Nasal Lobes)
  
The Pompom is a double tail fancy goldfish that has large nasal lobes which look like cheerleading pompoms. The size of the nasal outgrowths vary in pompom goldfish.
Pompoms come in variety of colors and can occur with or without a dorsal fin.
Lionhead (Fancy Headgrowth & Egg-shaped body)
 
The tremendous hood or headgrowth and fat cheeks of lionheads give them a facial appearance similar to canine puppies. Headgrowth fully covers the head, cheeks and gill plates of the fish. Lionheads have short but deep bodies, and relatively straight (flat) or evenly arched backs without dorsal fins.
Ranchu (Fancy Egg-shaped body)
The modern-day ranchu is a Japanese development of the lionhead. They are the direct outcome of crossbreeding experiments of different Chinese lionhead specimens (The Japanese produced lionheads with more rounded back profiles, modified tails and diminished size of the headgrowth).
Lionchu : Lionhead-Ranchu (Fancy Headgrowth & Egg-shaped body)
 
The Lionchu or lionhead-ranchu is a fancy goldfish that has resulted from crossbreeding lionheads and ranchus. The ranchu's deep body, broad & curved back, and tail placement has been merged with the large headgrowth of the lionhead.
New variant : Ranchu Telescope (Hybrid between Ranchu/Lionhead/Lionchu and Telescope goldfish)
Shukin (Eggfish phoenix tail)
 The Shukin is a fancy goldfish that has resulted from crossbreeding Ranchu and Oranda at the end of the 19th century in Japan.
The Shukin has a body shaped like long type of Ranchu and less deep. But it also has a long tail fin like the Oranda. They will develop a headgrowth which differentiates them from the Chinese bred Egg Phoenix, a similar variety that has no headgrowth.
Shukin is rare type of goldfish even in Japan.
Tsugaru Nishiki (Japanese longfin Ranchu)
The Tsugaru Nisihiki is a fancy goldfish that has resulted from crossbreeding Ranchu and Azuma Nishiki (calico orandas).
The Tsugaru Nisihiki has a body shape like a Marute (Round style) Ranchu, deeper body than Shukin and has a veiltail like the Oranda. They will also develop a headgrowth similar to Ranchus.
Ryukin (Fancy Short, deep body with a shoulder hump)
 
The Ryukin is a fancy goldfish with a triangular (pointed) head, deep body and a shoulder hump behind the head. It may be long-finned or short-finned tail. The dorsal fin is high while the caudal fin can be twice as long as the body.
Ryukins usually come in deep-red, red-and-white, white, iron and calico coloration and can reach up to 8" (21 cm) in length.
Pearlscale (Fancy Spherical-bodied)
Pearlscale goldfish has a round body like a golf ball with thick & domed scales similar to emerging pearls, finnage similar to the fantail and also has bright colorations. Its head has a triangular shape, some varieties have headgrowth.
Selective & cross breeding creates many beautiful new varieties and colors e.g. Crown & Oranda pearlscales (Spherical-bodied & Fancy Headgrowth) and Telescope pearlscale (Spherical-bodied & Fancy Eye)
 
Check out our complete article about taking good care of Pearlscale goldfish.
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