May Bubble Painting

The original painting for the May edition of the Bubble Post. 

This painting is inspired by the classic Goldfish.

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Goldfish have been around for a very long time. Originally bred from the Prussian carp, the goldfish we know today were first domesticated in ancient China over a thousand years ago! Prussian carp, the goldfish ancestor, are traditionally a dull, gray-green hue, but mutations and breeding over the years created goldfish' signature orange, red, and yellow pigments found in various types of the fish today. In these early days, Goldfish were rare and prized animals that only royalty could keep. Unless you were an emperor, you were strictly forbidden to keep yellow goldfish. Luckily, things have changed, and today anyone can go into a pet store and pick up one of these royal fish. 

Unfortunately, Gold fish have become so common in the aquariums industry that anyone can obtain them. The fish are now found in bowls throughout homes, classrooms, and doctor’s offices. They even share a name with a cracker, fondly known as the “snack that smiles back. They require so much more effort than a bowl and have specific needs. They have a tolerance to ammonia in water, which is toxic to other species. However they create a lot of waste in the aquarium water, so much it can harm other types of fish in their same aquarium. These colorful creatures have become a meme for having a short 3-second memory, but they actually have a memory of many months. They are even able to recognize their owner’s face! 

Female goldfish tend to have rounder bodies while males have slimmer, oval-shaped bodies. Wild goldfish often grow bigger than domesticated goldfish because of their richer environment with more resources and space to swim.” Goldfish are polygynandrous, with males and females each having multiple mates in a season. When female goldfish spawn eggs, normally around 2000-4000, they release a pheromone into the water to signal males to produce milt, or sperm. Both sexes will pursue one another by chasing and bumping each other. Then the eggs get fertilized externally with milt from multiple male goldfish. 

Baby goldfish hatch with dark, pigmented scales, but they depigment 2-3 months after hatching. Adult goldfish are a yellow-orange color and possess transparent fins. In captivity, goldfish can come in colors like red, black, and silver due to a variety of factors including diet, light, and illness. If released back into the wild, the goldfish will revert to the yellow-orange color after a couple of generations. 

Goldfish actually have see-through scales and the color you see is on the skin underneath. They have two sets of paired fins and three sets of single fins. They don’t have barbels, sensory organs other fish, like their cousins the Koi have, that act like taste buds. Goldfish are opportunistic feeders and consume a variety of insects, eggs, plants, and crustaceans. In captivity, goldfish mainly consume commercial fish flakes and small vegetables like peas. They also don’t have teeth and instead crush their food in their throats.

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12 in. x 9 in.

Frame not included. 

Only 1 Available.

Painting shipped through USPS.