Nature Bulletin No. 390-A   October 10, 1970
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
George W. Dunne, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:GOLDFISH

One day a big car stopped at Maple Lake in the Palos forest preserves 
and an elderly lady carried a small fish bowl down to the water's edge 
where she emptied it, explaining that she was leaving Chicago and 
wanted to give her pet goldfish "a nice home". One more goldfish in 
Maple Lake did not matter because, for years, there have been hundreds 
of them there -- probably descended from fishermen's bait that escaped.

Little goldfish can live for years in a small aquarium without growing 
much. Turned loose in a large body of water they multiply enormously 
and often reach a foot in length. In a few generations, ordinarily, they 
lose their bright colors and revert to the greenish bronze of their wild 
ancestors.

The goldfish and the carp, both natives of eastern Asia, have become 
naturalized in many other parts of the world and are so closely related 
that they hybridize readily. The goldfish can be distinguished from the 
carp by the fact that is has no barbels or "whiskers" at the corners of its 
mouth. Very hardy, they can endure extremes of temperature and eat 
almost any food, both plant material and animal life. They have the 
same general habits as carp and join them in roiling the water. 
destroying aquatic vegetation, and in crowding out our more desirable 
native fish.

In spring the mature males develop numerous small bumps, called 
"pearl organs", on the head and gill covers; and the females become 
heavy with eggs. The eggs are scattered among aquatic plants where, 
being very sticky, they cling until they hatch a week or two later without 
any further attention by the parents. In several fishing waters of the 
Chicago region, as well as in many other parts of the country, their 
control has become a serious problem.

Goldfish may have reached this country as early as 1850 but, in 1878, 
Rear Admiral Daniel Amen brought a shipment of them to the U. S. 
Fish Commission from Japan. They reached their greatest popularity 
here in the 1920's and 1930's with fancy "show" specimens sometimes 
sold for hundreds of dollars. Goldfish-farming became an important 
industry and the Grassyfork Fisheries of Martinsville, Indiana, for 
example, sold up to 20 million fish a year.

The Chinese began to breed goldfish a thousand years ago. Beginning 
with wild fish that sometimes showed a golden tinge, by selective 
breeding they produced dozens of different varieties with fantastic 
shapes and glorious colors. Since the beginning of the 16th Century, the 
Japanese have developed many other new and strange types. The solid 
colors include yellow-gold, red-gold, red, white, and black, but 
variegated fish with almost any combination of these colors are known.

Fantails, Veiltails, Fringetails and Comets all have greatly enlarged or 
distorted tails. Nymphs have stubby egg-shaped bodies. Telescopes 
have bulging eyes, and Celestials have eyes that look straight up.

Perhaps the most famous goldfish in this country was the red, white and 
blue specimen used in Liberty Loan drives during World War I.