GOLDFISH 



male goldfish may lay 2,000 to 4,000 

 eggs at one time and may spawn 

 several times during the season. 



Food. — Goldfish feed largely on 

 plankton, but will take insects and 

 very small fish. 



Importance. — Many States pro- 

 hibit the use of goldfish for bait 

 because of the danger of intro- 

 ducing them into valuable game- 

 fish waters. Experience in some of 

 these States has shown the goldfish 

 to be as vigorous as carp in destroy 

 ing game-fish habitats. 



The goldfish is a good bait fish 

 to raise in the States where it is 

 legal. It is hardy and lives well 

 in crowded pails even during hot 

 weather. It reproduces in large 

 numbers and grows rapidly. Gold- 

 fish of various sizes can be used as 

 bait for most of the fish-eating game 

 fish. 



PRODUCTION 



In the southeastern United 

 States, where the goldfish is legal 

 bait, it is perhaps the best bait fish 

 to raise. Even in the South, a 

 hatchery operator who plans to 

 propagate goldfish for bait should 

 check the State laws that regulate 

 minnow use and transportation. 



The best type of pond for gold- 

 fish is less than I/2 acre in size and 

 4 or 5 feet deep. Small ponds can 

 be harvested before the water be- 

 comes too warm and the oxygen 

 supply becomes too low for the fish. 

 Production ponds should be filled 

 early in March and fertilized at the 

 rate of 200 pounds of 8-8-6 ferti- 

 lizer per acre. Similar applications 



sliould be repeated at 2- or 3- week 

 intervals until the pond is drained. 



Stocking the pond 



Medium-sized, uncolored goldfish 

 should be used for brood stock, be- 

 cause fish of that size reproduce well 

 and fish of that color are preferred 

 for bait. Brood stock that is over- 

 wintered in crow^ded ponds will not 

 spawn in the holding ponds. Maxi- 

 mum egg production is obtained by 

 keeping the brood fish in the over- 

 wintering pond until after the last 

 spring frost. Then the fish can be 

 put in the production ponds with- 

 out danger of frost damage to eggs 

 or fry. 



The production ponds should be 

 stocked with 200 to 300 adults per 

 water acre. As the males can be rec- 

 ognized by their tubercles, it is pos- 

 sible to stock equal numbers of 

 males and females. 



Spawning 



Spawning is encouraged by plac- 

 ing a row of spawning mats near 

 (he shore of the pond. Spawning 

 mats are wire-bottom frames filled 

 with moss, excelsior, or grass, that 

 fioat on the surface of the pond. 

 The fish lay their eggs on the bot- 

 tom side. When the mats are 

 moved to clean ponds to hatch 

 the eggs, the sides of the spawning 

 pond should be covered with boards 

 so the fish cannot spawn on the 

 grass. If the eggs are allowed to 

 hatch in the ponds where they are 

 laid, the adults will stop spawning 

 when the pond becomes crowded 



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