50 GOLDFISH VARIETIES AND 
become less torn. As these are usually also the young, vigorous males 
they are to be preferred for breeding purposes. Spawning usually 
starts at daybreak and lasts till middle afternoon. It may be repeated 
every few weeks until the first of August, but the first spawn of the 
season is the largest. 
Goldfish deposit their eggs preferably on floating aquatic plants, and 
these should be freely provided (first making sure they contain no snails 
or other enemies to fish eggs). The best are water hyacinths (with as 
large roots as possible) and bunches of myriophyllum. The female will 
swim over the plants and drop the eggs. As they fall the male passes 
over and fertilizes them by an ejection of spermatic fluid. They are of a 
mucilaginous character and adhere to the plants. The eggs are about 
one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter and are of a pale, amber hue. The 
fish drops from ten to twenty eggs at a time, and after short intermis- 
sions repeats the operation. A complete spawning of a medium sized 
female runs from five hundred to one thousand eggs. Large fish not 
infrequently spawn over three thousand. This refers to the first breed- 
ing of the season. As previously remarked, subsequent spawnings are 
considerably smaller. As the plants become covered with eggs they 
should be removed from time to time, allowing a few minutes for the last 
deposit to become fertilized. These plants should be removed to enamel 
trays about 4 inches deep and ‘12 to 20 inches in diameter, containing 
clean water of the same temperature as breeding tank. If more con- 
venient the fish may be removed after spawning and allow the eggs to 
hatch where they have fallen. One of our leading breeders makes an egg- 
trap composed of a number of bunches of myriophyllum, secured together 
in a radiating circle, like the spokes of a wheel. About 10 bunches are 
used. The tinfoil is removed from each and tied again with thread. The 
same thread is carried half an inch to the next bunch and so on until they 
are all arranged on a string, which is then knotted together in the form of 
a circle. The fishes spawn in this with their heads to the centre, and as 
the eggs are discharged in the direction of the rays of plants, the chances 
of the eggs finding a lodging place in them are very good. Such a circle 
need not be removed until well filled with eggs. Some females eat their 
own spawn, so removal of eggs is safer if hyacinths or small bunches of 
myriophyllum are used. No snails should be present, as they eat the 
eggs. However, after the eggs have hatched the snails should be used to 
eat the infertile ones. These appear on the second day to be milky white 
and later become covered with large balls of fungus. The fertile eggs are 
of a pale amber color and are not easily seen. This fact together with the 
marked prominence of the infertile eggs often gives the beginner the idea 
that the eggs are all bad. He is generally surprised, therefore, to see what 
a large number hatch. 
