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 
