GOLDFISH
I have already said that the Shetland pony is the ideal pet. That is true still, but I should have said "for out of doors." Of all the candidates for the office of ideal indoor pet, I believe goldfish would get the most votes.
They are peaceful and innocent, their needs are few, and their manners engaging. They are attractive in colour, shape, and movements and never get under foot. Above all they have no bad habits. They neither squawk nor whistle, bark, sing, nor howl. They never stay out late nights, nor make trouble with the neighbours. They require a minimum of attention and a minimum of expense both for quarters and for food. For developing a sense of responsibility in children they serve a good purpose, and they can even be taught. It is very evident that they have memory as well as sight, hearing, sense of smell, touch, and taste. They easily learn, if patiently taught, to know their master's voice and to come when he signals. They will learn their feeding time and place and seem to enjoy attention.
Just as with horses, dogs, or elephants, the first essential in teaching goldfish is to gain their confidence. This can only be done by patience and gentleness. A restless, nervous goldfish rushing from one side of the tank to another when any one approaches tells its own story. Teased, frightened, neglected, and unhappy they are indeed in a sorry plight, for they are, even more than some other pets, utterly at the mercy of their owners. The sooner they die and pass into oblivion, the better!
But what a pretty sight it is to see a well-balanced aquarium, water plants spreading their delicate fronds, a clean, pebbly bottom, and bright-coloured, healthy, happy, care-free goldfish glancing in and out in the sunshine.
China is the greatest place for goldfish. Rearing them there has been reduced to a science. We find them running wild in our waters, but they are not native to America. Under ideal natural conditions they are said to live to be a hundred years old. Many are known to have lived to the age of ten years in one aquarium.
Goldfish are hardy, live in sluggish streams or ponds, and eat all sorts of vegetable matter. They also eat soft-bodied insects, worms, and small fish, even their own spawn and young.
For directions for keeping goldfish happy and healthy in an aquarium in the living room of your home, I must refer you to various books and articles on aquaria and on how to make and maintain them.
Raising goldfish for profit is "a horse of quite another colour." Goldfish are sold by the thousand in department stores as well as in shops which deal wholly in pets. Some fish are imported, but the bulk of them are grown in this country. One of the most scientific growers in this country is Mr. Hugo Mulertt, whose book on the subject is quite enough to make its readers enthusiastic fish culturists. The best markets are in cities, and transportation is difficult and expensive. Fancy varieties would not be in demand except in large cities.
One can begin goldfish growing in a small way at very small expense. Four tanks or reservoirs are required. Any boy who can make a hotbed frame can make these. They should be in a series: No. 1, spawning pond; No. 2, rearing pond; No. 3, storage pond; No. 4, winter pond.
Whether one makes artificial tanks or utilizes a natural valley, separated by little dams, it is essential that the four ponds should be so fitted that they can be emptied at will. They should be sheltered from cold winds and from direct summer sun.
The spawning pond should be built first, and furnished with water plants as much like nature as possible. Female fish ready to spawn can be bought from growers. These men are reliable and know how to advise you. It is to their advantage to increase the interest in goldfish.
While building tank No. 2, keep watch for eggs in the spawning tank. Laying begins late in April or early in May outdoors. The egg is no bigger than a pinhead, yellow, or cream-coloured. Look for them on the plants. Snip the twigs off with great care and transfer the eggs, twigs and all, into large candy jars in clean water; one hundred eggs is enough for a gallon jar. Be careful that the water is of the same temperature in the jar as in the tank. Eggs should be kept not lower than sixty degrees Fahr., and not higher than ninety degrees Fahr. They hatch in two or three days or at most in less than a week. Do not disturb the water. Sudden changes of temperature will kill the young fish.
When the fish are three days old, they are pretty lively and will soon begin to need other food than that supplied by the egg. To transfer them from the "incubator" to the rearing tank is a delicate operation. Mr. Mulertt advises putting the tiny fish into a small, shallow, "nursery" tank first to make the change more gradual. The jar can be emptied very gently, fish and all, into this tank.
Prepare the rearing tank, taking every precaution against enemies. It should be covered with a screen to keep the dragon flies from laying their eggs in the tank. Dragon fly nymphs are death on new-hatched goldfish. If the fish get a good start they will hold their own. Let me warn you again to take great precaution against chilling the fish. A few degrees difference may be fatal. When the fish are a week to ten days old, they should be about a half-inch long, darting swiftly about in the nursery tank. Be sure the temperature of the water is right, then set a wide-mouthed pail or jar full of water down in the tank with the fish, and dip the biggest one at a time with a little hand net of soft material. Do not crowd the fish in the transfer pail, but rather make more frequent trips. Extremely delicate handling is absolutely necessary. Do not dip the fish out of the jar, but put it down in the water deep enough so they can swim out of their own accord. They are to stay a long time in the rearing pond so must not be crowded. In a tank covering an area of one hundred and sixty square feet, two hundred to three hundred fish can be reared. When they are only one half an inch long, the tank looks thinly settled, but they soon grow.
The young are silver-gray at first. They usually get their permanent colour before reaching the age of two months. In warm ponds, in sunny weather, goldfish may grow to be six inches long in the first summer, but between two and three inches is more normal.
Goldfish in outdoor rearing ponds do not require artificial feeding. Nature supplies them with their natural food.
The storage tank is simply to keep the fish in while awaiting purchasers. It should be divided by partitions into small compartments. It is convenient to sort the fish taken from the rearing tank, so that those of one size or colour or variety can be separated and buyers can readily see the stock. It is easier to catch them in the small tank also. In the storage tank some feeding is usually needed. Fresh, dry bread crumbs are recommended by most fish growers; feed small amounts until they get used to it and until you know just how much they require.
The winter pond costs the most to build. It should be three feet or more deep, lined with boards or cement, and located so that water will be moving through it, in and out slowly all winter, to prevent freezing. It should be covered during storms. Growers plan to get rid of their stock except breeders before winter sets in. One can dispense entirely with a winter tank if he can establish a house aquarium successfully for wintering the fish from which he expects to obtain spawn the following spring.
As might be expected of animals which have for so many centuries been associated with man, goldfish have a good many diseases. Their ill-health can almost invariably be traced to neglect or ignorance on the part of the person upon whom they are dependent. The signs of ill-health are usually quite noticeable. They are: Faded colours, bloody streaks, coated or inflamed fins, and swollen gill covers. Most of the troubles have to do with air supply. When a fish loses colour and appetite, has a slimy coating, and acts weak and dejected, it should be put into a "hospital" aquarium where plenty of plants are flourishing, at a temperature of seventy to eighty degrees Fahr. One teaspoonful of salt to each gallon of water will be good for the fish, but no food should be offered for several days. This remedy will usually restore the fish if its trouble is asphyxia or itch and has not gone too far. In the open water conditions right themselves more readily, but fish acting queerly should be taken out from among the others.
The greatest harm may result from hail storms and heavy rains on unprotected tanks. The natural enemies of goldfish inhabit the same ponds and to succeed one must daily wage war against crayfish, tadpoles, salamanders, snakes, fish-eating birds, muskrats, and aquatic insects. Toad and frog spawn found in goldfish ponds should be removed to some other pond to mature. These creatures are useful as destroyers of insects but you can dispense with them in goldfish tanks.