40 GOLDFISH VARIETIES AND 



JUDGING GOLDFISH COMPETITIONS 



Among aquarium socieites there is a certain demand for competitive 

 exhibitions of goldfish varieties. The difficulties of making satisfactory 

 awards are considerable, due in part to varying ideas as to what consti- 

 tutes standards of perfection. To reduce this difficulty to a minimum the 

 Aquarium Society of Philadelphia instituted a series of conferences of 

 leading fanciers in order to establish a satisfactory and uniform scale of 

 standards. The diagrams shown herewith represent a composite of the 

 best ideas obtainable. The majority of leading societies have adopted 

 them as a whole. 



The "point system" of judging, as it is called, is too slow and labor- 

 ious for use on an entire large exhibition. The two or three best fish, 

 selected on general appearances should be set aside from the others and 

 judged independently by three judges, on points. The totals are then 

 averaged and awards made. 



In those classes requiring double anal fins the fish is penalized three 

 points for having only one. 



In the fringetail classes the tails must be fully divided to receive con- 

 sideration. 



The longtail or fringetail group is divided into two classes, the 

 veiltail and the ribbontail. These are sometimes called "broad-tail" and 

 "swallow-tail" or "cut-out-tail." In the veiltail the centre of each tail is 

 indented or forked less than one-third of its total length. The swallow- 

 tail is cut in to one-third or more. The diagram on page 43 will plainly 

 show this. 



The making of these classes has caused some confusion. The author 

 believes that fishes of these two types and those on the difficult dividing 

 line should all take their chances together. The division was undoubtedly 

 made as an expediency in order to make more awards and thereby please 

 as many people as possible. So far as can be determined, no such divi- 

 sions of fin shape have ever been recognized in China or Japan, and the 

 same was true here until the period of 1910-12, when it became a con- 

 spicuous fact that nearly all winners of competitions were of the broad- 

 tail type. Those not possessing stock of this style became dissatisfied, 

 and in order to appease them, a class of the old-style fish was definitely 

 established. While the veiltail is the more difficult to handle and to 

 breed, it is accepted as the standard to be striven for. The word "veil- 

 tail" is adapted from the German Schleierschwanz, and is more truly 



