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Pet Goldfish
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Carassius auratus DISTRIBUTION: Originally China but nowadaysdomesticated worldwide HABITAT: Large, still areas of water and slow-moving streamsADULT SIZE: 20 cm (8 in) GENERAL: The common Goldfish is familiar to everybody. It is bredin commercial quantities in the For East and Italy whence it isexported. Sadly, in recent years it has become commonplace tosee Goldfish being given as prizes at fairgrounds. This practice isperfectly legal but if you see it go and complain loudly to the stall-holder, and refuse to patronise his stall. It will only stop whenthere is no demand for prize Goldfish. Quite apart from the lossesand cruelty involved in this trade, the chances of getting a healthyfish in a condition in which it will survive is fairly small. Instead, ifyou want to keep Goldfish, buy your stock from a reputabledealer. But do not keep it in a fish bowl, which is everything ananimal home should not be. Goldfish live for around 25 years and you can either keep them in a large indoor aquarium or a gardenpond. The Goldfish Fancy has developed many varieties of the fish,some of which are scarcely recognisable as the common Goldfish.Some types are far too tender to live outdoors, while others may only do so during the summer months. Goldfish are not born gold,and indeed the original wild form is dull brown. Today they arefound in all sorts of colours - red, blue, purple and black as wellas various oranges and golds. Some varieties have long, flowingfins and tails and others possess grotesque ornamental headgrowths, while the Celestial resembles a bug-eyed monster. FOOD: Goldfish are easy to feed and will take any of the commer-cial fish foods, though it should be noted that their diet shouldhave a high level of carbohydrate. They feed at all levels of thetank. HOUSING: Unlike freshwater tropical fish, Goldfish do not requireheat, but they do need more space than tropicals. They are largefish so a generous tank is essential and it should be equipped withfilters and aerators. Several fish may be kept together if the tank islarge enough. An alternative to the indoor aquarium is the gardenpond which ideally should be pretty large as the water in a smallpond might be continually cloudy, due to the fish churning up thebottom. If you keep Goldfish in your pond, do not expect anyamphibian tadpoles to survive as Goldfish will eat almost anything.One point to watch if you do keep your fish outside is that theydo not end up being eaten by a heron. These magnificent birdssometimes learn to haunt all the ponds in a particular area andthe only effective way of deterring them is to cover the surface ofthe pond with netting. Unfortunately, this can never look anythingbut awful but with a bit of luck the marauding heron will get themessage after a few weeks and go elsewhere. BREEDING: If you have a large pond containing plenty of plantsand no major predators, you will almost certainly find a number ofbaby Goldfish thriving in the water a year or two after your adultshave matured. Breeding Goldfish in an indoor tank is anothermatter altogether and really needs an experienced aquarist's atten-tion to be successful.
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COMMON NAME: Goldfish