Calico oranda 2.5" (Pair)

A crown on a patchwork body. Calico orandas carry nacreous scales — a mix of matt and shiny — painted in orange, red, black, white and, in the best fish, a blue-grey base. Add the oranda wen and long tail and every single fish looks hand-painted.

It is a standard oranda underneath: robust, dorsal-finned, round-bodied and one of the easier fancies to keep. The calico colouring is what makes each fish unique, and it is also a living thing — the pattern is not fixed at the size you buy, and it continues to develop for the first couple of years.

Care Snapshot

Setting Up For It

• Choose a backdrop that flatters the blue. The prized blue-grey base of a calico shows best against dark green plants or a black background. Under bright white sand and a white back it can look washed out.
• Nacreous scales show damage. Calico fish mix matt and reflective scales, and lost or scraped scales leave obvious gaps in the pattern. Smooth stones, silk or hardy live plants and no rough resin ornaments keep the coat intact.
• Filtration with headroom. An adult calico oranda at 20 cm produces a heavy load. Use a filter rated for double the water and change around half the tank weekly; the wen and the colour both look better in clean water.
• Inspect the cap weekly. The patterned wen can hide early infection under its mottling. Look for swelling that is redder than the surrounding tissue or for patches that turn fuzzy.
• Gentle to moderate current. With a dorsal fin, calico orandas handle normal flow well. Just make sure there is a calm area where they can rest without fighting the outlet.

Tank Mates

Calico orandas are easy-going; trouble usually comes from mismatched speed rather than aggression.

Feeding — A Balanced Diet For A Changing Coat

Calico colouring keeps developing for two years or more, and diet influences how it settles. A mixed diet with plant matter and some spirulina keeps the white clean and the blue tones soft; a diet heavy in red-boosting food tends to orange the whole fish.

Feed small amounts twice daily and hold back one day a week. A sinking pellet from the AQA range makes the main food — floating ones should be soaked for a minute first. Frozen daphnia and brine shrimp add protein for wen growth, and peeled peas once or twice a week keep the gut clear.

Calico orandas do well on: sinking pellets, spirulina-based gel, frozen daphnia and brine shrimp, bloodworm now and then, peeled peas and blanched greens.

Sexing & Breeding

Breeding-ready males develop pinhead white tubercles on the gill plates and on the first ray of each pectoral fin, plainly visible against calico colouring. Females look fuller and slightly uneven from above when they are carrying eggs.

Calico is a nacreous trait that does not breed fully true: calico-to-calico spawns usually give a mix of calico, metallic and fully matt fry. Eggs laid on a mop after a warming spell should be moved away from the adults. Calico fry often show their mottling earlier than the wen, which may take several months to appear.

Keeping It In Indian Conditions

• Summer heat strains the wen and the colours. Water above 28 °C stresses calico orandas and tends to fade black flecks faster. Shade the tank, put a fan across the surface and run an air stone non-stop from April through June.
• UPS power for the air pump. Monsoon outages can last hours, and a warm tank loses oxygen quickly. A UPS or rechargeable pump is part of the kit.
• Avoid live tubifex. Live worms from Indian street markets are a common source of infection. Frozen foods are safer and just as nourishing.
• Indian hard water works well. Use dechlorinated tap or borewell water at the same temperature as the tank. No softening is needed.
• Too big for a starter kit. A calico oranda reaches 20 cm and lives well over a decade. A bowl or small tank will stunt and kill it.