Ohio Goldfish Palooza IV: The Largest Stand-Alone Goldfish Show in the United States

The fourth annual Ohio Goldfish Palooza brought goldfish enthusiasts together once again in Sunbury, Ohio, for a weekend dedicated to showing, learning, fellowship, and, of course, some truly outstanding goldfish.

Hosted at Ohio Koi & Goldfish and presented in partnership with The Goldfish Council, Palooza IV reached an exciting milestone this year, becoming the largest stand-alone goldfish show in the United States.

All 50 available show tanks were filled, with 194 goldfish entered. Fish and bloodlines represented origins from around the world, while exhibitors traveled from across the United States and Canada, including Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Illinois, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Toronto, Ontario.

Nearly 200 goldfish under one roof made for an impressive sight and an incredible representation of the modern goldfish hobby in North America.

A Record-Setting Show Takes the Benches

This year’s show was judged by TGC Certified Judge Dan Young of Indiana, with Tim Asbill serving as show writer and apprentice judge.

Competition was strong throughout the show, but nowhere was that more apparent than in the Ranchu class. With more than 55 Ranchu entered, it was by far the largest class of the weekend and demonstrated just how much enthusiasm continues to surround the variety.

Ranchu weren’t alone in drawing impressive entries. The Oranda, Veiltail, and Ryukin/Tamasaba classes were also particularly well represented, giving our judge an impressive field of quality fish to evaluate.

From powerful adult fish in the over-three-inch divisions to promising young fish in the under-three-inch classes, the depth of competition made earning an award at Palooza IV something exhibitors could be proud of.

The Big Winners

Taking the highest honor of the weekend was Joshua McWilliams, whose over-three-inch Tri-Color Oranda was selected as Grand Champion.

The TGC Award went to an over-three-inch Bronze Veiltail exhibited by Bryan Rhodes, while Gary Hater earned Reserve Grand Champion with his over-three-inch Tiger Ranchu.

The younger fish also made their mark. Kelly Dixon swept the two major baby awards, earning Baby Champion with an under-three-inch Tri-Color Oranda and Reserve Baby Champion with an under-three-inch Red & White Tamasaba.

The Founders Award for Best Trio went to Joshua McWilliams with a trio of over-three-inch Red & White Tamasaba.

2026 Ohio Goldfish Palooza IV Major Awards

Grand Champion

Tri-Color Oranda, +3” — Joshua McWilliams

The Goldfish Council Award

Bronze Veiltail, +3” — Bryan Rhodes

Reserve Grand Champion

Tiger Ranchu, +3” — Gary Hater

Baby Champion

Calico Oranda, -3” — Kelly Dixon

Reserve Baby Champion

Red & White Tamasaba, -3” — Kelly Dixon

Founders Award — Best Trio

Red & White Tamasaba, +3” — Joshua McWilliams

Best Oranda

Red & Black Oranda, +3” — Audrey McCarter

Best Ranchu

Tri-Color Ranchu, +3” — Steph Virg

Best Ryukin/Tamasaba

Tri-Color Ryukin, +3” — Joshua McWilliams

Best Veiltail

Bronze Veiltail, -3” — Greg Rau

Best Telescope

Black Moor, -3” — Steph Virg

Best Bristol

Calico Bristol, +3” — Gary Hater

Best Special Variety

Calico Pearlscale, +3” — Joshua McWilliams

Best Double-Tail Pond Fish

Red & White Watonai, +3” — Tri Tran

Best Single-Tail Pond Fish

London Shubunkin, +3” — Bryson Foss

Congratulations to every exhibitor who brought fish to the show. With every available show tank filled and competition running deep across numerous varieties, this year’s exhibitors helped make Palooza IV a milestone event for TGC and the goldfish hobby.

More Than a Goldfish Show

While becoming the largest stand-alone goldfish show in the country is certainly something worth celebrating, Ohio Goldfish Palooza has always been about more than the number of tanks or fish entered.

One of the goals of Palooza is to create something larger than a traditional competition. Showing goldfish is an important part of TGC, but education, fellowship, and bringing hobbyists together are equally important to the long-term health and growth of our hobby.

Sunday shifted the focus from competition to education and appreciation. Ohio Koi & Goldfish hosted its Goldfish Keepers Appreciation Sale, while TGC Certified Judges were available to serve as personal shoppers and help hobbyists evaluate and select quality fish.

Educational programming continued throughout the day, including seminars presented by Gary Hater and Joshua McWilliams. These opportunities allowed experienced keepers, newer hobbyists, breeders, exhibitors, and judges to exchange information in an approachable setting.

That exchange of knowledge is an important part of what The Goldfish Council is about. A show may bring us together around the judging tanks, but the conversations taking place around those tanks are often just as valuable.

The Palooza Bowl Sale

Another popular part of the weekend was the Goldfish Bowl Sale.

We extend a special thank-you to everyone who donated fish to support the sale. The generosity of our hobbyists and breeders helps support events like Palooza while also giving attendees an opportunity to take home new fish and become more involved in the hobby.

Whether someone came to Sunbury as an experienced exhibitor, a breeder, a first-time visitor, or simply someone who loves goldfish, there was something to experience throughout the weekend.

Thank You to Our Sponsors, Supporters, and Hosts

An event of this size simply would not be possible without the generosity of the people, businesses, and volunteers who support The Goldfish Council and the goldfish community.

First and foremost, we extend our sincere appreciation to Ohio Koi & Goldfish, our Host and Diamond Sponsor, and owners Todd and Amy Elliott. Todd and Amy once again opened their incredible Sunbury facility to TGC, our exhibitors, and goldfish enthusiasts from across the United States and Canada. Their hospitality and continued support provide the perfect setting for Ohio Goldfish Palooza and have helped this event grow into the largest stand-alone goldfish show in the country.

We also thank Ultra Fresh Goldfish Food, our Award Sponsor, for supporting this year’s awards and helping us recognize the accomplishments of our exhibitors.

A very special thank-you goes to Sherrie Head for creating the beautiful awards presented to this year’s winners. The time, creativity, and attention to detail she put into them gave our exhibitors something truly special to take home and remember Palooza IV.

We also want to recognize Bao Dang for making sure everyone was well fed throughout a very busy weekend. Bao generously provided dinner Friday evening for the volunteers who spent the day setting up the show and then provided pizza for lunch on Saturday for our participants. After hours of setting tanks, benching fish, judging, volunteering, and talking goldfish, those meals were certainly appreciated.

An Event Powered by Volunteers

Fifty show tanks filled with some of the best goldfish our exhibitors had to offer don’t come together on their own.

Our sincere thanks go to every volunteer who helped with setup, registration, benching, the Bowl Sale, show operations, and teardown. From the people who arrived early Friday to begin setting up to those who stayed until the final pieces of equipment were put away, your willingness to give your time made the entire weekend possible.

We also want to recognize the individuals who took on key roles throughout the weekend:

Judge: Dan Young

Writer & Apprentice Judge: Tim Asbill

Show Chair: Gary Hater

Benching Chairman & Event Coordinator: Joshua McWilliams

A special thank-you also goes to Gary Hater and Joshua McWilliams for presenting Sunday’s educational seminars and sharing their experience and knowledge with fellow goldfish keepers.

And once again, thank you to everyone who donated fish to the Bowl Sale. Those donations help support TGC events while giving fellow hobbyists an opportunity to bring home new fish and become even more involved in the hobby.

A successful goldfish show requires far more than the people standing in front of the awards table. It takes the volunteers filling tanks, moving equipment, checking in exhibitors, benching fish, recording results, helping visitors, tearing everything back down, and handling countless other jobs behind the scenes.

It takes a community to put on a show like this, and we are fortunate to have a pretty incredible one.

Until Palooza V

When the final show tank came down and the educational programming wrapped up on Sunday, Ohio Goldfish Palooza IV had accomplished exactly what we hoped it would—and then some.

Fifty full show tanks. Nearly 200 goldfish. More than 65 Ranchu. Exhibitors from the United States and Canada. Fish and bloodlines from around the world. Education, competition, fellowship, and an entire weekend celebrating the goldfish hobby.

Most importantly, Palooza IV demonstrated just how strong and enthusiastic the goldfish community continues to be. What started as an idea for bringing hobbyists together has grown into the largest stand-alone goldfish show in the United States.

To our exhibitors, judge, apprentice judge, sponsors, volunteers, educators, Bowl Sale donors, Todd and Amy Elliott and the entire Ohio Koi & Goldfish team, and everyone who simply came through the doors to see the fish: thank you.

Every person who participated played a part in making Ohio Goldfish Palooza IV a success.

The Goldfish Council exists to promote the keeping, breeding, showing, and appreciation of goldfish, and weekends like this demonstrate what can happen when our community comes together.

Thank you for making Ohio Goldfish Palooza IV one to remember.

Now the challenge is set: we’ll see what Ohio Goldfish Palooza V can do.