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The globe eye is comparatively rare in UK. It is now the only long-finned twintail for which the standard calls for a forked tail, as the oranda standard now calls for an unforked tail (as in the veiltail). The UK colour standard for metallic fish is self-coloured black, although self-coloured metallic and calico fish are popular in other parts of the world and are increasingly seen in UK. The other colour group seen is calico fish, as illustrated below. The UK standard calls for eyes that are truncated cones, whereas in the Far East and America the eyes are spherical, as in the moor and the butterfly.
Globe eyes are called dragon eyes in the Far East, and first appeared around 1592. They are called telescope eyes in USA.
The globe eye standard is as follows:
The fish should be bright and alert. The body should be short and rounded with a smooth outline. The dorsal fin should be carried high and erect, with the caudal fin forked and well divided. The eyes should be prominent with good development and well matched. Note: these eyes are not the same as on the broadtail moor and the butterfly; they should be truncated cones not spherical.
Metallic fish should be self-coloured black only, without a trace of brown or silver, and with the pigmentation extending throughout the finnage giving a velvety appearance. Quality fish will have high colour intensity extending into the fins giving a velvety appearance.
Calico fish should have a blue background with patches of violet, red, orange, yellow, brown and white, spotted with black. Quality fish should have a high intensity of colour evenly distributed over the body, with colour, especially black, extending into the fins.
Ideal profiles are illustrated below:
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Young adult red metallic globe eye with very fine self-colouration (BAS 2003).
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Left: young calico globe eyes (breeder's team of four, BAS 1999). Right: large, mature adult variegated red-white metallic globe eye (BAS 2002).
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Chinese red-white metallic globe eyes: young fish on the left with jikin-style colouration and large, broad-finned adult on the right. (Photographed in Hong Kong, 2003).
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This fish was shown at BAS 2001; it is a fine shape but ideally could have more colouration on the body and particularly on the head.
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Chinese calico globe eyes with nice, rounded finnage, very similar in size and shape to the British fish above. (The British standard calls for a taller dorsal and longer, more pointed pectoral, pelvic and anal fins as in the veiltail). (Hong Kong, 2003).