What type of Fish is a shubunkins?

[Ted Bellows]

Where can you get them? are they OK with Koi?

[B Brown]

www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Pond,%20Shubunkin.htm

Goldfish originally came from China. Fanciers took them to Japan and then to England where they developed a calico version called the shubunkin (or poor man’s koi). Many U.S.-grown shubunkins get shipped to the U.K. -- at least the best ones go there.
Shubunkin Types. Standard shubunkins look like regular goldfish with a calico overlay. “Calico” involves a mixture of blue, white, black, red, and orange colors in willy-nilly splotches. Butterfly shubunkins develop a tail often as long as their body (like what the comet is supposed to look like). Bristol shubunkins grow a much more developed tail with rounded lobes. We never see these here. We get the long torpedo-shaped guys.
Sparkly Scales. Tiny shiny scales mixed in with the colored scales complete the ensemble. These “nacreous” scales resemble the lining of a pearl oyster shell. They carry this trait in common with the gin-rin koi. We netted several seinesful of these sparkly guys from an Iowa farm pond west of Des Moines years ago. How they got into this isolated pond, we’ll never know.

Shubunkins Like Salt. Why add salt? They need salt -- especially in new tanks or ponds. Salt decreases the harmful effects of nitrites in the water. Salt also helps shubunkins build their slime layer (their first defense against diseases) and decreases osmotic pressures.

Slime. Goldfish crank out much more slime than other fishes. However, you want to add more slime with a good water conditioner every time you add new shubunkins to your aquarium or pond.

Ammonia Neutralizer. New tanks and ponds with inadequate filter systems also generate enough ammonia to stress shubunkins. Ammonia comes from the digested food the fishes process and from any uneaten food that spoils on the bottom. If your fish look a little wilty, use an ammonia neutralizer before their gills burn out.
Overfeeding. If you overfeed your always hungry-acting shubunkins, you cause stress problems. Solution? Add trapdoor snails. Mystery snails will often drown in ponds because they breathe air. Trapdoor snails eat whatever’s on the bottom, no matter how gross. This means fewer water changes and healthier fish for you.

Clean Water. Frequent water changes prevent many shubunkin problems. Water changes dilute any toxins and reduce the number of parasites in the water. Filters remove many toxic substances. Filters with built-in fountains or waterfalls also aerate the water.

Cool Water. Shubunkins do not need a heater. We call them “cold water fishes” because they can live under the ice. You can crowd the heck out of them if you keep them in cool water. Cold water holds more oxygen. Tropical fish cannot stand these temperature extremes.