Growth and Color Changes 



The rate of growth of goldfish is, within certain limits, largely a matter of food. The size 

 difference between fish on restricted and unrestricted diet may amount to a hundred per cent in a 

 given period. This is most important from a business standpoint, as the profits of goldfish culture 

 consist chiefly in selling the largest possible fish at the earliest possible date. Growth is influenced 

 also by the available pond space provided. The same factors likewise determine when the color 

 changes occur, the brilliancy of the colors, the extent of the development of those special characters 

 for which the breeders strive, and the reproductive capacity of the fish. 



When grown in cement ponds that are fully stocked, the ranchu attains an average length 

 (over all) of 1.8 inches at the end of the first year, 2.4 inches in two years, 3.6 inches in three 

 years, 4.8 inches in four years, and 6 inches in five years. In ponds that are understocked, the 

 fish may become 3 inches long in one year, with a corresponding gain in subsequent years. For 

 more than a year the head is entirely free from the peculiar papillated growth so characteristic 

 of the variety, and it is not until after the second or third year that this feature attains its full 

 development. 



The average size of the oranda at different periods is approximately as follows : One year after 

 hatching, 1.6 to 2 inches, including caudal fin; two years, 2.4 inches; three years, 3.6 to 4.8 inches; 

 four years, 7 inches; five years, 12 inches; six years, 13.5 to 15 inches. The warty growth on the 

 head begins to develop about the second year. 



At the end of the calendar year in which hatched, the ryukin under favorable conditions 

 reaches a length of 3 inches, including the extended caudal fin ; at the end of the second year the 

 average length is 5.5 inches, third year, 6 inches; fourth year, 6.5 inches, and fifth year, 7 inches. 



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