Jolene Prichard., age 9, of Garden Grove, Calif., for her question:
Where were goldfish first found?
Every young person should have a pet. But some families are short of space and a sizable pet would be out of place. Goldie the goldfish is small enough to fit into a crowded city apartment. She is easy to tend and always adds a touch of beauty to the home of her foster parents.
If you find a bright orange goldfish in a stream, you may be sure he has escaped from someone's aquarium. For the pretty creatures do not live in the wild state. When a batch of shiny goldfish are dumped in a river, they may have children. But the children will not be as gaudy as their parents. The grandchildren will be dull bronze or muddy green. After a few generations, the children of the escaped goldfish will wear drab, dull colors like their ancient ancestors who once lived wild in the streams.
The story of the gaudy, golden goldfish started a thousand years ago. It began in China where small, dull colored carp fish swam in the streams and creeks. The Chinese noticed that a few of the small swimmers had a slight golden sheen in their fishy scales. These odd fish were adopted and taken home to live in aquariums.
Children tend to look like their parents, and so do goldfish. The young, tame Goldfish had a slight golden sheen like his parents. The Chinese picked out the Brightest fish and let them have children. These children too were like their parents.
Each generation, the most golden of the goldfish were picked. And each generation, The fish were a little brighter than their parents and grandparents.
Later, the Japanese adopted goldfish. They also chose the brightest fishes, and the breed of goldfish became brighter and brighter. Other breeds were deve1oped from black goldfish, from goldfish with fringed tails and goldfish with bulging eyes.
Nowadays, we have a breed of almost white goldfish, and another breed with bulging eyes looks like a cute little bug eyed monster. Goldie the pet goldfish needs a glass bowl or an oblong aquarium with glass walls. She is happier if her watery home has a floor of soil and sand for the roots of growing water plants. You feed her fragments of proper goldfish food once each day. Give her as much as she can eat in five minutes and no more. Once a week, scoop her gently into a basin of clear water while you change the water and perhaps clean the sides of her aquarium.