The Quaint Fishes of the East - Wonderlul Results of Pisciculture - Varieties of Japanese Goldfish - Their Points - How to Keep Them Successfully - Cost of Good Specimens

At the Anglo-japanese Exhibition at the White City in 1910 a considerable amount of attention and interest was attracted to the many curious products of the natural world which were displayed. Among these marvels were dwarf forest trees over a century old, yet little more than a foot in height, and fantastic goldfish, whose bizarre appearance had been brought about by long and careful selection and breeding.

These fish had been known in Europe for some years, but their presence in a public exhibition led to many inquiries as to where they could be purchased, and to an increased demand for them at the various dealers in live stock.

The Ryukin, one of the quaintest of Japanese goldfish, with an abnormal development of tail and fins

Although originally brought from China, the Japanese have, by careful mating of selected specimens, produced examples with almost globular bodies, double flowing tails and fins, and protruding eyes. Specimens of these fish have been brought to this country, but the very best never leave Japan ; one reason for this - apart from the fact that the Japanese rarely permit the best of any of their products to leave their native land is the great value placed upon them, £30 and £40 of our money being no uncommon price for a pair of perfect goldfish of some special varieties.

The Japanese divide these curious breeds of goldfish into ten classes - viz., the Wakin, the Ryukin, the Ranchu, the Oranda, the Demekin, the Deme-ranchu, the Kinranshi, the Shukin, the Shubunkin, and the Watonai. The " Wakin " is the common goldfish of Japan; it is a much larger fish than the ordinary kind sold by aquaria dealers; it occasionally attains a length of sixteen inches. It varies in colour, as specimens may be either of the normal colour, golden-red, or else silvery-white, black, brown, grey, olive, yellow, or vermilion; and these colours again, in some examples, may be chequered with black or silver. The caudal fin, or tail, is usually of normal type, but in many of the varieties of goldfish the tail is divided into three or four lobes, and it is an extraordinary fact that this division of the caudal fin is not a mere splitting of the superficial parts, but is actually a bilateral separation of the deep-seated bony elements from which the fin arises.

Another variety is the "Ryukin." Owing to its globular-shaped body, this breed has a very distorted appearance. The fins, and especially the tail, are wonderfully developed, and in one now before the writer the tail is larger than the body, and is of the treble variety. The Ryukin is nearly always parti-coloured, red and silver. It is not so large as the Wakin, being only about six or seven inches long when fully grown, of which length from three to three and a half inches forms the tail.

The Ranchu, the variety on which Japanese breeders bestow most care. The head should be covered with a warty growth, pink or white in colour. As i: has no dorsal fin, it often loses its balance and swims upside down

The "Ranchu" is the fish to which almost greater attention is paid by the Japanese than to any other of the varieties. The body is, if anything, more spherical than that of the Ryukin, but the tail is not a flowing one, and the head, in specimens two years old and upwards, is covered with a warty growth, either pink or white in colour. The fish with white papillae are known as " hiraga-shira," or " white-heads," or else as "shiraga-shira," which signifies " flatheads," the growth not being so developed as when red in colour.

The dorsal fin is absent, and this fact sometimes causes the Ranchu to lose its balance, and to swim either in a vertical position (head downwards) or else upside down altogether.

Owing to the difficulty experienced in rearing this breed and its generally delicate nature, it is rarely seen outside Japan.

When fully grown it is about six inches in length, and uniformly coloured examples command the highest prices. In the " shishigashira " the warty excrescence covers the whole head and face as far as the mouth of the fish, but where the growth is confined to the top of the head the variety is known as the "tokin" or " hooded " goldfish.

The " Oranda " was produced by the crossing of the Ranchu and the Ryukin ; it more closely resembles the latter, by reason of the presence of the dorsal fin and the full development of the flowing tail. The warty excrescences may either wholly or partially cover the top and sides of the head. The colour is variable, some fish being quite black, whilst others may be variegated with different tints, such as a red head, a yellow body, and black fins.

The"Demekin" has been well known in Europe for many years, under the name of "telescope-eyed" goldfish, the name having reference to the abnormally protruding eyes which characterise this variety.

It is according to the amount of its eye distortion that the value of the fish is gauged, and the shape and size of the fins are of secondary importance.

The eyes should be large, protruding, and cone-shaped; globular and tubular eyes are not considered perfect types. The eyes ought also to be properly paired, or the value of the specimen is much discounted in the estimation of fanciers.

The Oranda, a species produced by the crossing of the

Ranchu and the Ryukin. It has a wonderfully developed flowing tail and warty excrescences on the head

There are people, especially women, who are always on the look - out for new or fantastic pets. To their notice one may safely recommend Japanese goldfish. Besides, they really are most interesting little creatures.