Here at the
I never knew goldfish could be so interesting; watching their behavior over this past year has sparked my curious mind. A couple months ago I noticed the fish chasing each other around for hours and some of the poor fish suffered for it, losing eyes and fins. Finally we had to separate them according to “bully” and “nonbully.” But I immediately go to the question of why? Why would they chase each other and why do some chase and some run? Well, come to find out it’s goldfish mating season and they all want to make babies like there’s no tomorrow.
After some research I decided I needed to set the mood so the goldfish could make the next generation. First 
things first, I put a divider in the tank and put males on one side and females on the other. The biggest difference between the two genders is the presence of little white bumps called tubercles found on the males’ gills and fins. The females do not have these bumps and additionally will have swollen abdomens. After all that tension had built up I let them chase freely. Typically, the male will chase the female around for several hours, nudging her abdomen until she squirts out her eggs. Normally she will lay her eggs on plants, but in this tank I constructed a “spawning mop” made of yarn to encourage the fish to lay their eggs on it so I could remove the eggs easily. A single female can lie up to a thousand eggs and will release them in batches, the first being the most fertile. Then the happy males will spray their sperm called milt on the eggs to fertilize them. The eggs must be removed soon after or else the fish will make a snack out of their progeny.
As an amateur fish breeder (in other words...first timer) this process has been very much a trial and error experience. I started out with putting 3 males and 2 fertile looking females in a smaller tank, but I think the new environment 
discouraged the fish from mating. After a disappointing week I decided to put all the fish back in the big tank with the spawning mop. The next day (Sunday, May 31) I found itty bitty eggs clinging to the yarn! So I pulled out the spawning mop and placed it in the smaller tank for some incubation time. The eggs look very clear which is a good sign of future survival. The eggs will hatch in approximately three days. So if all goes according to plan I’ll have some fish babies by the end of the week. Stay tuned!
Laramie
