Would shubunkin and comet goldfish shoal together?

[Lexi B]

Just a general question about goldfish, I guess. I have a dream of one day making a big couple hundred gallon goldfish pond, and really like both shubunkin and comet goldfish. I was wondering if they would recognize each other as goldfish, or would it be better to pick one kind and stick with it?

[Flumpweesel]

I don't see why not but I've never kept big numbers so just speculating.

Pond shops often have them mixed and they generally all together there. I think they are smart enough to get over colour differences

[gardenman]

They'd be fine together. Just understand they won't really school unless they're in a huge pond. And I mean a huge pond. Goldfish spend 90% of their life looking for food and it's hard to do that in a school of fish. If they're in a really big pond with a large, hungry predator who might eat them, they'll be more likely to start schooling together as there's safety in numbers, but in a "normal" pond you won't see that behavior all that much. They'll all spread out looking for food.

[Lexi B]

On 6/8/2022 at 5:31 AM, gardenman said:

They'd be fine together. Just understand they won't really school unless they're in a huge pond. And I mean a huge pond. Goldfish spend 90% of their life looking for food and it's hard to do that in a school of fish. If they're in a really big pond with a large, hungry predator who might eat them, they'll be more likely to start schooling together as there's safety in numbers, but in a "normal" pond you won't see that behavior all that much. They'll all spread out looking for food.

Thanks for the info. This whole idea of mine is many years out, so Im still not super familiar on the personalities of goldfish. Mostly I just wanted to make sure they didn't get stressed out from feeling lonely