Male or Female??

Question
Hi, I have 3 fantail goldfishes. 2 of them are orange and the other one is a calico fantail. I just got them and at the petstore they didn't put the females and males in seperate tanks and I really would like to know how to tell the difference between male and female. Hope you can help! Thanks

Answer
Hi Shauna;

It's very difficult to tell male and female goldfish, and it's pretty much impossible while they are still babies under a year old. There are no obvious differences until they are actually ready to breed, usually springtime. Male goldfish will develop little spots on their gill plates and front edges of their pectoral fins called "breeding stars" or "breeding tubercles". Females don't have the tubercles but lack of them doesn't necessarily mean the fish is female. The fish could be an immature male that doesn't have them yet. Here is a web page with photos and more information about it;

http://thegab.org/Articles/SexingGoldfish.html

Good luck!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins