On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 17:29:46 EDT, "D Kat"
wrote:

I started my pond with feeder fish. Over the years the hardy have survived
and reproduced giving every kind of goldfish imaginable. The colors range
from gold - orange - Chinese red - black - white and mixtures of those
colors. I just assumed those feeder fish were common comet. Apparently
not.

I had a similar experience with shubunkin. Apparently they retain the
genes of all their ancestors and uncontrolled breeding allows many
colors to appear. I once read that it is a practice of some breeders
to milk the fish of their eggs and sperm and mix manually, so there is
no chance of multiple parents in a batch of fry.

I don't have room for such controlled conditions, even if I knew what
I was doing, so I've made the adjustment to enjoy whatever appears in
my pond. On that note I have a most interesting "trash" fish that has
reverted to solid color like the original wild carp, except she (I
think), has blue in the color as well as the dark back, viewed from
above. Since last July when I moved her to the hot tub pond,
it has been a very timid fish until the past few days and she has
begun to dart from just below the lily pads and grab a bit of food
while I stand watching instead of waiting until I leave. I hope you
enjoy your many colors too.
--
Hal Middle Georgia, Zone 8
http://tinyurl.com/2fxzcb