IKDU JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXL 



The manner in which the embryo is packed in the egg and also the nature 

 of the cuts strongly favours this view. 



N. ANNANDALE. 



IndiajST Museum, Calcutta. 

 May Uth, 1912. 



No. XXXVII.— CHINESE GOLD FmU—CARASSIVS AURATUS. 



I obtained 19 of these gold fish on January 27th, 1912, in the Old 

 Chinese City of Shanghai, where they are bred in large earthenware pans 

 by the Chinese for sale, each pan containing fish of d"ift"erent shapes, sizes 

 and colours, very dirty water and water weeds and they are fed on water 

 insects and rice. In all the gardens of the Chinese houses these fish are 

 kept in little ponds or jars with rocks and ferns round and made pets of by 

 the family, the more ugly the fish the better they are prized and looked 

 after. The various forms are obtained by taking the eggs of the single- 

 tailed variety and shaking or disturbing them, unnatural developments take 

 place and fish with double tails, bulging or goggle eyes, eyes on top of the 

 head-tufted fins and tails, no dorsal fins, &c., are the result; these, if care- 

 fully selected, will breed the same kind again. 



When the female spawns, the eggs are removed from the big pan to a 

 smaller bowl, as the males eat the eggs ; they are then hatched by the heat 

 of the sun. The young fish are nearly black, but gradually become white 

 or red, and later gold, silver or black fish; some attain the large size of 

 2 feet and live to a great age, and a few of these may be seen in the Chinese 

 public gardens of the old city. Chinese gold fish were first brought from 

 Lake Tsau in the Province of Ngan-Kwin, China. 



I placed the 19 fish in two large earthenware jars filled with the dirty 

 water and weeds, with enough water insects for 10 days, food and brought 

 them on board keeping them in a bathroom. On the 3rd day out from 

 Shanghai, I changed them into a marble bath, as the temperature was 

 getting high and the big fish looked sick, giving them fresh cold water 

 which I then changed daily. On February 6th, the first big fish died ; 

 February 7th, 4 died ; February 8th, 4 more died and February 9th, 1 died, 

 I then removed the 9 back to the earthenware jars and gave up hopes of 

 getting any to Bombay ; but from that day to the time of writing, Feb. 14? 

 no more have died. I feel sure that the cause of death was the heat 

 after coming from dead winter and large fish were too fat. 

 , I have two gold fish in my cabin, which I bought in the same place three 

 years ago, and they are quite well and lively, but they have not grown 

 at all. 



P. & O. " Arcadia," F. H. S. STONE. 



Bombay Harbour, January 1912. 



