Plain, fancy, eye-types, tail-types, American, Japanese, Chinese, British and more. There are fish that have had almost all of their scales plucked, there are those that look like swimming baseballs, and some who are described as "wiggle butts" because of the way they move through the water. Being "different' depends on how you look at it. The question is how do you look at it?

Goldfish shows are  where startling differences appear in they way fish are viewed. In an American show there are rows of glass fish tanks to view all the fish from the side, some high on shelves. In Japanese goldfish shows for Ranchu and Tosakin there are rows of white porcelain bowls, down low. The qualities, including pattern, of the fish are judged from the top on these breeds. My conversations with a top Japanese judge led to disbelief when I told him that in America, the ranchu were judged in glass tanks from the side. To him it would be like judging koi in an aquarium. I must say though, I have seen a respected American judge on his tip-toes trying to view fish from above prior to making his final selections.

American Goldfish Show Photo © Rich Street	Japanese Ranchu Show Photo: http://www.urban.ne.jp/home/koistaff/eindex.html

Shopping for goldfish can also be an enlightening experience. Here in the northwest you can shop on line, go to your local dealers, or maybe catch a fish for sale from a traveling salesman who makes the show circuit, but the fish are in glass tanks or pictured from the side. In Japan, you can go to a dealer, but you will see rows of bowls low to the ground to view the tosakin and ranchu. I did, however, see ryukin and other breeds in glass tanks at Japanese dealers. At least we have some things in common.