Black Moor

Carassius auratus

Also known as: Moor, Telescope goldfish, Black telescope

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 16–24°C
• pH: 7–8.4
• Hardness (GH): 89–357 ppm (5–20 dGH)

Values above are general hardness (GH). For carbonate hardness (KH), the buffer that keeps pH stable, see the water parameters guide.

Care Summary

A dramatic, velvety-black fancy goldfish with a rounded body and large, protruding 'telescope' eyes set on stalks, the black moor is one of the most recognisable and popular of all the fancies. Those eyes come at a cost: its vision is genuinely poor, so it feeds slowly and by scent and cannot compete with sharper-eyed fish, which is the single most important thing to understand when choosing its tankmates. It also means the eyes are easily scratched or infected, so smooth decor and clean water matter. Reaching 12 to 18cm and prone, like all round-bodied goldfish, to buoyancy trouble, it needs a roomy, filtered, cool-water aquarium and a sinking, easily-found diet. Kept with other slow, gentle fancies it is a hardy and characterful fish, though the deep black often fades toward bronze or orange with age, which is normal.

Tankmates

A fancy goldfish with protruding telescope eyes and correspondingly poor eyesight, which drives its tankmate choice more than anything else. It should be kept with slow, gentle, equally-sighted fish, ideally other telescope-eyed or slow fancies such as ranchu, pearlscales, and bubble eyes, and never with fast single-tailed goldfish or even quick fancies like ryukins and fantails, which out-see and out-feed it until it starves. Its bulging eyes are also easily scratched or infected, so avoid sharp rocks and decor. Small fish and shrimp are unsuitable. It needs cool, clean, stable water in a spacious, well-filtered aquarium.

Compatible with

• Ranchu
• Pearlscale
• Bubble Eye

Avoid keeping with

• Common Goldfish
• Comet Goldfish
• Shubunkin
• Fantail Goldfish
• Ryukin
• Cherry Shrimp
• Tropical Warm Water Species

Common Problems

• poor eyesight leading to being outcompeted at feeding
• eye injury or infection from sharp decor
• black colour fading with age (normal)
• swim bladder and buoyancy issues

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, fishbase.org · Last updated: 2026-06-20