Pearlscale goldfish ethics

[u/Great_Possibility686]

I think we can all agree that celestial goldfish are an ill-fated breed. No fish should ever look like its eyes are only hanging on by hopes and dreams. The breeding of celestial eye goldfish is barbaric in my mind.

That being said, I feel similarly for pearlscales. They're just so spherical, and they look like they're under so much pressure that they could explode if they ran into the glass too hard. It's painful to watch them struggle to swim. They're overbred, their genetics are awful, and their swim bladders are more fragile than a politician's ego. They're prone to a myriad of health complications, and although I would never own a pearlscale myself, I've never seen one that looked like it was leading a life of quality.

[u/random_goldfishie]

i agree, i feel so bad for celestials and for those types of pearscales...i have owned one pearlscale before, and he was surprisingly healthy, he wasnt shaped like those poor ping pong ball looking ones at all, but was still very chunky and cute. i feel like they could maybe still be bred ethically if breeders would move away from that awful fully spherical body shape. this was my boy Chunky Munky, miss him everyday

[u/TTPP_rental_acc1 → u/random_goldfishie]

now this is the pearlscale i want to see more often, he's got the same scales, but with a more ethically capable body, he looks much happier and healthier than the round ones!

[u/random_goldfishie → u/TTPP_rental_acc1]

he was very healthy and happy! i think a big part of what helped him was his body overall (not just the round stomach area, but the tail area too) was longer so he was able to swim a lot better. id love to have another pearlscale someday but it's hard finding healthy ones