What The Differences Top View N Side Ranchu Options

[ranchu]

Hi,
I'm new here. I like to commemt that this is a very resourceful site.
Lots of info and technique to learn from.
I have two ranchus, in a 4 ft thank. Claim to be from Thailand when bought.

After looking for more ranchu. I understand that there are two types of Ranchu.
Top View and Side View.
What are the differences?

Regards
Thanks

[CP]

The main difference is the price.

I too am new to this hobby,taken up slightly more than a year ago.As their name suggests,topview(TV) is appreciated from top whereas sideview(SV) from side.

Main sources of SV are Malaysia, China and Thai with Thai fishes leading in terms of quality but of course more pricey.

TV are from Thai and Japan.Japanese only appreciate ranchus from top,like koi,and sideviews from Japan are unheard of (for me anyway).Of course, Japanese TV is more expensive than Thai.

As a begineer,I am presently keeping only SVs ( I currently have 11 Thais) as I find that it is easier to tell one good SV from another.The art of appreciating TV,in my opinion,is not an easy skill to be mastered and may take years to learn.Why do I say so?Well,if I walk into a LFS and see a SV without its price tag,I can roughly guess how much the fish is selling for and when the owner quotes me the price it will be not very far off.As for TVs,I probably cant tell the difference between a $200 and $1,000 fish.

There are forumers here who have honed the skills to the extent that they know or can roughly guess from which breeders the TV is from from the look of the fish.
I am not discouraging you from 'playing' TVs,to me that is the pinnacle of Ranchu appreciation which I will someday start,but my advice (begineer's advice) is to be patient,learn more before parting with your hard earned money.

I have heard that some unscroupolous dealers are passing off Thai TVs as Japs,and some are marketed as bloodlines (Thai fish with Japan origin) so do read up more and shop around before buying.

Another thing.Even with SVs,my advice is BE PATIENT!When I first started I was so exicted I keep buying fishes and my tank was full in no time.Naturally I keep upgrading my fishes and giving away the older ones and trust me, it is not cheap!

I started with fishes costing a few bucks,then 20 bucks,then 50 then 100 then 200.I think I spent more than 2k already in one year.And,never ever tell your wife
the true cost of the fish! My guideline is 25%.

Enjoy.

[HappyBuddha]

Thank you for writing, cpiw2002. Well put! With some minor correction this could end up becoming a pinned FAQ.

TV are from Thai and Japan.Japanese only appreciate ranchus from top,like koi,and sideviews from Japan are unheard of (for me anyway).Of course, Japanese TV is more expensive than Thai.

Although majority of ranchu keepers in Japan appreciate ranchus from the top, there are sideview ranchu fanatics in Japan. Don't forget that, all ranchus originated from Japan. But let's not make this a public knowledge or silly LFSs will start marketing sideview ranchus "with Japan bloodline" and jack up the prices.