CHAPTER FIFTEEN 





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The breeding of fancy goldfishes is one of the most fascinating of 

 diversions. Also it is one of the most instructive. It should be said 

 that, on the whole, the breeding of the goldfish is not difficult, and may be 

 undertaken by beginners with reasonable prospects of success. It is the 

 production and maintenance of the finer and more exacting requirements 

 of the fancy varieties which present the real difficulties. Goldfish, possibly 

 more than any other creatures, draw their characteristics from far-re- 

 moved ancestors. Or again they may become a counterpart of either 

 parent. This makes a considerable element of uncertainty, since the 

 characteristics of their preceding stock have for the most part contained 

 a great deal of variety, due, no doubt, to experimental crosses. This 

 produces a most interesting and sometimes annoying variation in a lot of 

 young goldfish. As the fish gets beyond the small fry stage the breeder 

 becomes intensely absorbed in daily observation of points of form, color 

 and size as they appear. 



The percentage of fancy fish coming true to type is usually small. 

 Ten per cent, of fish to pass the critical inspection of the fanciers' eye 

 is not considered bad. Besides these, about fifty per cent, of the hatch 

 will come true, but will be qualified by slight defects. The balance may 

 be anything at all, single-tail and web-tail fish from double-tail parents 

 being the principal disappointment. These percentages are averaged 

 from general breeding, but are liable to wide variation. Sometimes there 

 is no fish in a hatching to approach the quality of either parent ; some- 

 times a large percentage is better than both parents. If a strain is care- 

 fully watched for several generations and no fish varying from the de- 

 sired type is allowed to breed, the percentage of young coming true can 

 be kept very high. 



Considering the other great variations of points in fancy goldfishes, 

 it is remarkable how well-fixed we find the telescopic eyes. From well- 

 developed telescopic stock there will probably be not over two per cent, 

 of young which do not sooner or later show this peculiarity. 



