Celestial Eye

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses of "Celestial", see Celestial (disambiguation).
Celestial eye goldfish
Country of originChina or Korea
TypeFantailed
Classification
AGA[1]
BAS[2]

Celestial eye goldfish or Choutengan

fry hatch, the eyes of young Celestials are normal but gradually protrude sideways, as in the telescope eye goldfish, but unlike the telescope, which has eyes facing outwards on each side, the eyes of the celestial eye turns strictly upwards within a period of six months of development.[3] This process is entirely governed by genetics, though early sources perpetuated the myth that the fish were bred and kept in narrow-necked clay jars and the eyes turned upwards seeking the limited source of light.[4]

Origins

Celestials first appeared as a direct

People's Republic of China
.

Group of Celestial Goldfish

Description

The Celestial is a goldfish that has an elongated egg-shaped body similar to the

caudal may be half as long, to as long as, the body. They are most commonly seen with metallic
scales colored shades of orange (called 'red' by fanciers), white, or red and white. Celestials with nacreous scales are known but rarely seen.

Despite their limited vision and their lack of a dorsal fin, they are active and agile swimmers. They do require some special attention since, in addition to having easily damaged upward-oriented eyes (and, as a result, having limited vision), they are sensitive to cold water temperatures. They are unable to compete with more vigorous goldfish for food. Sharp ornaments and objects in the aquarium are inadvisable. They are best kept with other limited-vision breeds (e.g. the Bubble Eye) or in a tank of their own.[2][5]

Variants

The original Celestial breed, described above, is still bred and exported by Chinese and Japanese breeders and is commercially available to fanciers, though they are not as commonly stocked by aquarium shops and dealers as some other goldfish varieties. It is this 240+ year old form that is described in the American standard adopted by the American Goldfish Association and the Goldfish Society of America. British fanciers prefer their Celestials to have deeper bodies and shorter fins, and have selectively bred for these features as required by the British standard. Standard Celestials are ugly, but the Chinese have crossed Celestials with several other breeds, most commonly Lionheads, Ranchus and Pompoms, producing much larger fish with short ranchu-like fins and very deep, blocky bodies, often with nasal 'bouquets' (pompoms) and rudimentary head growths.

Some of these crosses tend to be less animated swimmers, especially those that possess a short, sharply downturned, ranchu-like

bubble eye goldfish.[2]

See also

Main article: Goldfish

References

  1. ^ ""Fishes in Nature and in the Aquarium" from Nutrafin News Aquatic magazine, Rolf C. Hagen (U.S.A.) Inc. and Rolf C. Hagen Corp. (Montreal, Canada), Issue #4, 2004". Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  2. ^
    ISBN 1-902389-64-6
  3. ^ Free Information Keeping Celestial Eye Goldfish
  4. ^ "The Sacred Fish of Korea," by William T. Innes, Aquarium Highlights, Innes Publishing Co. Philadelphia, 1951
  5. ISBN 0-8348-0448-4
  • Innes, Dr William T.
    "The Sacred Fish of Korea," Aquarium Highlights, Innes Publishing Co. Philadelphia, 1951.
  • Innes, Dr. William T. Goldfish Varieties and Tropical Aquarium Fishes, 9th Edition, Innes Publishing Co, Philadelphia, 1926.
  • Matsui, Dr. Yoshiichi, Goldfish Guide, 2nd Edition, TFH Publications, Inc, Neptune, N.J. 1981
  • Hervey, G.F. & Hems, J. The Goldfish, 1st Edition, Batchworth Press, London, 1948.

External links
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