174 THE GOLDFISH 



Another important peculiarity of this type is that they never go 

 through the period of being silverfish, but at the age of about six weeks 

 commence to develop their permanent colors. The first color is white, 

 sprinkled with small black specks. A good idea of the final color may 

 be had in ten weeks, although as elsewhere remarked, the very finest of 

 the calico colors are not fully apparent under two or three years. ' ' Scale- 

 less" fish have a charm of refinement distinctly their own and make most 

 interesting inmates of the aquarium. So transparently scaled are some 

 specimens that at the breeding season it is often possible to tell females 

 by seeing the eggs through the translucent walls of the abdomen. The 

 main objection to the transparently scaled fish is that the ribs or rays 

 of the fins are rather weak. Soon after the fins have attained a high de- 

 gree of development the fish is no longer able to hold them in a position 

 where they will show to advantage. In the majority of instances the 

 dorsal and caudal fins (the latter hereafter popularly referred to as 

 "tails") commence to droop and sag in from two to three years, while 

 the scaled fish often maintains an admirable stiffness of fins for years. 



Length of Life. Although millions of common goldfish die annually 

 at an early age under outrageously crowded conditions in miniature fish 

 globes, they are endowed by Nature for a long life. Under fair condi- 

 tions and proper management, they should live from ten to twenty years 

 in an aquarium. In ponds where not subjected to severe winter condi- 

 tions they will live at least thirty years, if not caught by enemies. The 

 Fish Commission at Washington had a number of specimens over thirty 

 years of age. Questions are frequently asked regarding the length of life 

 of fancy goldfish, but these are always difficult to answer satisfactorily. 

 A large proportion die under the age of 6 weeks. Of the remainder there 

 are quite a few which do not develop rapidly, always remaining "runts." 

 A few of these drop off from time to time during the winter, but in the 

 early spring months they, and all other weak fishes, go rapidly, so that 

 very few of the undersized are left by the first of May. Those passing 

 this period are generally good for a few months more, when the death 

 toll is rather heavy again. To answer the question in a general way, it 

 might be said young fancy goldfish with a body length of not over 1 inch 

 in October (no matter when hatched) are quite unlikely to live a year. 

 Those from 2 to iy 2 inches will average about three to four years under 

 good conditions. Anywhere from six to twelve years can be considered a 

 long life for a fancy goldfish, although well authenticated instances ex- 

 ceeding this are known. 



Development of Fancy Breeds. In breeding single-tail fish together 

 in which there is no known double-tail stock, one will sometimes find a 

 fish with the lower lobe of the tail double, making it a reasonable suppo- 



