by Dr D. M. Ford ISHKEEPING is a fascinating hobby and freight for the German National Airlines because of the variety of forms it can in the I930S included 20,000 tropical Neon take. The equipment is readily available to tetras in its cargo. set up in the home anything from just a The gestation time of fish is short; they goldfish bowl to a complete coral reef in produce many progeny and genetic changes miniature. A garden can include a simple are frequent. In the wild, such "sports" soon pool for a few goldfish or a complex system fall prey to predators, but breeders of tropical of waterfalls and fountains with underwater fish are able to isolate and interbreed the lighting. The pond may be part of a complete mutations. Hence the change of fishes from water garden or a formal design that main- wild to domestic species has been rapid and tains clear water for viewing the magnifi- often dramatic .. The globe-eyed and veil- cent colors of koi. tailed Shubunkin bears no resemblance to Fish may be bred for fun or profit, in a sim- the wild goldfish, and the brilliantly colored ple aquarium or a multi-tank fish house. double spear-tailed guppy would never be ~ These fish may be displayed for prizes at fish recognized as the "Mosquito fish," its wil shows, developed into new varieties, or just ancestor. kept for the proven therapeutic value of watching them. Fish make excellent pets- Goldfish they do not make a noise or a mess, they The goldfish is a member of the famil are cheap to maintain and can be left at Cyprinidae and is closely related to the Co - holiday times. mon carp (Cyprinus carpio) and the Cruci ............. The earliest reference to domesticated fish carp iCarassius carassiusi. The fish have bee is by the Sumerians, who stocked ponds bred into numerous varieties. Many mode with food fish in 2500BC. The domestication pet fish are as far removed from their wi of carp by the Chinese was recorded 2,000 origins as a Chihuahua and Great Dan years ago. Keeping fish as "pets" rather from the wolf. However there is no anato - O:I0'( "l'''~'' rW]I:n....za than farming them for food is almost as old. ical evidence that the goldfish was bred fro.......... " ~f..._live""A Records show that fancy goldfish and col- the Common or Crucian carp and hence . ored carp were kept in porcelain vessels dur- is not regarded as a variety of these specie . ing the Sung dynasty (AD960-I278). The Records show that red fish were foun Romans penned seawater fish for marine among the olive-colored fish of the rivers 0 farming, but some were kept as pets, eg the southern China in the 4th century AD. W..·..._ Moray eel. The Romans also coined the goldfish (not gold or red, but a dull oli 1 word "Aquarium," to name the water color) can be found in Chinese waters an trough used by cattle. Modern usage of the are still sold as a food fish in markets. A re word can be traced to 1807 in England. or gold version of the wild goldfish may ha 7 The Annals and Magazine of Natural History attracted the attention of early fisherme of 10 September 1852 published a notice by and been kept as a pet. Over the hundred P.H. Gosse on aquarium keeping. He des- of years since then, the goldfish has bee cribed the tank of water holding plants and developed into many exotic forms. fish as a vivaria and aquarium. Although Goldfish spread to the west from Japar • Gosse may not have been the first person to rather than China. Chinese goldfish becam coin the phrase "aquarium" to mean a tank firmly established as a pet fish in Japanes of fish and plants, he certainly was the first water gardens around the r sth century. to recognize the potential of the system as Trading ships brought the fish from [apa a hobby in Victorian England, with his best to Europe in the I700S and to the Unite selling book The Aquarium in 1854. He also States in the I800s. persuaded the London Zoological Gardens to The Common goldfish must now be the set up tanks of fish for visitors, and so the world's most numerous pet. Millions are ....Aquarium gold. Cold-water species such as world's first public aquarium started in bred annually in fish farms in Italy and the the goldfish. with a temperature range of 50- 1853. (It was called the "Aquavivarium"!) United States. It is a hardy fish, long-lived 600P (ro-r8°C). have a high rate of oxygen The growth of the home aquarium is tied and undemanding, and very cheap because uptake. In warmer water or overcrowded to the growth of international travel. The of the commercial breeding of the variety. conditions. the available oxygen may be first transportation of tropical fish is Like other fish, goldfish have a lateral line inadequate. especially'in the traditional fish bowl, whose shape creates a very low surface acknowledged to be the journey by M. 'for sensing low frequency vibrations in the area compared to water volume when the bowl Simon who in 1868 brought the Paradise water, and also a well-developed sense of is filled.Aquarium plants such as pond weed. fish (Macropodus opercularis) from China to smell. These sense organs are essential fo hornwort and willow weed help to oxygenate .Paris. There the fish were successfully bred the carp family of fish which often live in the water. in 1869 and specimens were taken to the muddy waters with poor light penetration. United States in 1876. Records show that There lies the reason for the hardiness of the the airship Hindenburq flying passengers Common goldfish, with its ability to survive GOLDFISH 147 -- • • • Aquaria and Endangered Fish in the murky waters of the poorly main- tained aquarium! One of the criticisms of the aquarium trade is because of gem mining in its natural habitat. that so many of the most exotic fish are ' The fish remains popular and numerous in Fancy Goldfish selectively fished from tropical waters, that captivity with considerable literature on its Over the many centuries of Chinese and the species become endangered, even extinct. care and breeding. Japanese fishkeeping some 126 recorded Certainly in the early days of the hobby, when Also in Sri Lanka, the Cherry barb (Barbus only wild fish were available, this criticism titteya) is now vulnerable because of varieties of fancy goldfish have been devel- was sound. Today however, with so many deforestation in its habitat of small streams in oped. Since World War II European and exotic fish farms, zoo aquaria and hobbyist the foothills of the country's southwestern American goldfish fanciers have imported breeders producing the most popular species, region. Large numbers of the fish are bred in the Asiatic varieties and even developed the aquarium trade may even save some Singapore for aquariums. varieties of their own. A classic example is species from extinction. Skiffia jrancesae is endangered in Mexico the Shubunkin. This multicolored variety of Species classified as vulnerable, rare or because the more prolific Red platy goldfish was developed by the Japanese endangered remain common in the aquarium (Xiphophorus maculatus ) was introduced into hobby, but the greatest threat to such tropical its natural waters. Probably it will be the around 1900 and imported into England species is industrialization, deforestation and private aquarist breeder who will save this where two famous mutations were bred: the pesticides. In some cases the IUCN's species from extinction. London Shubunkin, with a predominant conservation recommendations include The colorful cichlids, on the other hand, do blue color, and the Bristol Shubunkin. also designating the aquarium trade as a formal not breed well in captivity. To them, the bluish but with longer fins. fishery. aquarium trade poses a threat of Goldfish societies have produced stan- Examples are the combtail (Belontia signata) overcollection in their wild habitat, mainly from Sri Lanka, which is catalogued as rare lakes in the Rift Valley of Africa. dards to identify fancy goldfish varieties. This has brought a degree of control over 148 GOLDFISH the proliferation of forms and reduces the tendency to breed "mongrels" by casual hobbyists. The goldfish is an annual breeder produc- ing several hundred eggs during the "drive" < ~ -( ~ as a male (or males) chase and bump a , " < e- ! ~ <, '_ ~''" female' swollen with eggs. To control the '-.t. _ r ~ t - /i<<ij....:,·· . '~"", t :oi; ',¢ • ". .~ '$;". breeding, experienced hobbyists strip the - \' '~. :.;ii.t):'-" eggs and milt (sperm) by hand in the same way commercial fish farmers breed salmon and trout. It is common for many of the pro- gency to be malformed. This has made it easy to breed selectively for monsters, and many bizarre goldfish have been developed, . particularly in 'Asia. Intervention by gold- •• fish societies has weeded-out these monstrosities and line breeding' (pairing brothers with sisters and offspring with parents) has concentrated on the most ,• • beautiful varieties. The universally agreed system for identi- fying fancy goldfish is based mainly on color rather than shape. Three groups are the Metallic, the Nacreous and the Matt accord- ing to the number of iridocytes (clusters of white, reflective crystals) in the skin of the fish. Fin shape is the next key to identifica- tion, eg fantail, a tail deeply cleft to give four 6 lobes and held up like a fan, or veiltail, a tail • •• v completely divided and so long that it hangs' • down in a veil.