ABOUT THIS WEBSITE

This website is a direct descendant of the Bristol Aquarists' Society (BAS) website; it contains the same information about goldfish types and goldfish care, but the information about the Society has been removed. The BAS website was launched in January 2001 and closed in December 2024. This site, www.goldfish-types.info, has been created to make available the categorized photographs and descriptions of the different goldfish varieties found in the former BAS site. However, this site will not be routinely updated.

BAS as a traditional goldfish organization was an enthusiasts' society founded in Bristol in 1929 specializing in fancy goldfish. Its aims were to advance the study and enjoyment of goldfish and all coldwater life, to keep and breed the various strains of fancy goldfish, and to exhibit them at shows. The future of BAS is uncertain; the Society may perhaps survive in online form to commemorate its 100th anniversary in 2029.

The state of traditional goldfish keeping in the UK

December 2024

In the last few years, the traditional goldfish keeping hobby has been in decline; there are fewer and fewer members attending the monthly meetings of the goldfish societies or breeders exhibiting at the goldfish shows. This is true of the Bristol Aquarists' Society, the Association of Midland Goldfish Keepers (AMGK) and the Northern Goldfish and Pondkeepers Society (NGPS); and the North East Goldfish Society (NEGS) has ceased to operate.

Without active members, it is not proving possible to hold the annual shows at which breeders show their fish; in 2024 the number of entries at the AMGK show was down, the NGPS show was very poorly supported and the BAS show was cancelled. The Nationwide show (jointly presented by all the societies in October) took place in 2024 and may continue for the next few years with the societies 'consolidating' into just the Nationwide show each year.

The Goldfish Society of Great Britain (GSGB) have meanwhile taken a different route: their first new style annual event was in 2023, and the next will be in 2025; breeders do not show their fish at this event, but there are many fish on display and for sale. The GSGB are building more of an online community.

Without the traditional annual shows, there are no British-bred goldfish to photograph to provide content for maintaining the BAS website; this was always, uniquely, a site about the fish rather than about the members. There is no point in the website author (me, Peter Brokenshire) updating the BAS site with pictures from other goldfish websites that are not British goldfish bred in the UK; further, the BAS site has always featured original photographs, not copies (except very rarely). In short, I have run out of material to keep the BAS website updated.

The goldfish keeping hobby will be carried forward by younger folk in blogs, etc; and for some years more, you can very usefully go to the GSGB website.

Frequently Asked Questions

See the Goldfish Information pages about the history of goldfish, colour, finnage, show standards and much more, including:

• General FAQ about goldfish keeping
• Golden Rules for keeping goldfish
• Stocking levels - how many goldfish can you keep in an aquarium?
• Breeding goldfish
• Sexing goldfish - how to tell males from females during the breeding season (with photographs).
• Goldfish colour types
• Diseases