Four secrets your goldfish is hiding from you

 

Published:  29 October 2014

Source:  Jason G. Goldman, BBC

Link: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141017-four-secrets-goldfish-are-hiding

Science field: Earth, the truth about animals.

Summary

The goldfish didn't start out as a pet, it was kept for meat. Modern goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) are a domesticated version of a wild carp from East Asia. Their wild ancestor was silver-grey. It was known as "chi", the most common fish eaten in China.

A genetic change produced a fish that was a brilliant red, yellow, or orange. In the wild, these fishes were quickly hunted by predators, so in the ninth century Chinese people, especially Buddhists, began to keep them in ponds, where they were safe.

According to the legend, Governor Ting Yen-tsan discovered both golden and yellow in a pond in Jiaxing. This pond became the "pond of mercy".

In the Buddhist tradition, it is a good to set an animal free, especially if it is rare. This is the reason why “chi” were released into ponds. By around 1240 CE, goldfish were domesticated and distinct from their chi ancestors, so it became easier for their keepers to crossbreed fishes, to make new with desired appearances. Between then and the 1500s, it became popular to keep goldfish in bowls.

 

 

 

"They were captives exploited for religious purposes," according to E. K. Balon of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

 

 

Glossary

-          Presumably: one presumes or supposes that: presumably he won't see you, if you're leaving tomorrow.

-          Cuddles: to hold (another person or thing) close or (of two people, etc) to hold each other close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth; embrace; hug.

-          Carp: a freshwater teleost food fish, Cyprinus carpio, having a body covered with cycloid scales, a naked head, one long dorsal fin, and two barbels on each side of the mouth: family Cyprinidae.

-          Pond: a pool of still water, often artificially created.

-          Vessels: any object used as a container, especially for a liquid.

 

Review

The modifications that have been made to goldfish don't help them survive in the wild. According to Tomoyoshi Komiyama of the Tokai University School of Medicine in Isehara, Japan their ornate tail fins are "fancy but uncontrollable" and their bodies are "unfittingly fat".

One study in the UK has found at least five invasive varieties in ponds: golden, fairground, brown, shubunkin, and lionhead. Another study found that goldfish eat the eggs and larvae of the long-toed salamander, something that they do not normally do, but they are fast learners.

To end up, goldfish help us understand our eyesight, and booze. They can perceive the same colours we do. They are also particularly useful for understanding the effects of alcohol in our brain and body. That's because of the concentration of alcohol in their blood approximates the concentration of alcohol in the water in which they swim, which means you can measure the inebriation of a goldfish by knowing how much alcohol is in their fishbowl.

 

 

Written by Alba Pazos