Did You Know Your Pet Goldfish is Probably a Hoosier?
Growing up, my mom had the most beautiful fish pond in our backyard. With white and orange koi and various types of goldfish. The koi survived the winter months by hibernating down as deep as they could get. The goldfish, she brought inside in a tank.
It was a lot of work, but they lived for a long time and got pretty darn big. Now, she has a beautiful old clawfoot tub that she turned into a water feature in the shady part of her garden. At the beginning of the summer, she and my son go pick out goldfish and they enjoy the tub for a few months. When the weather turns cold, she will either bring them inside or rehome them in a friend's much bigger pond.
The Goldfish Capital of the World
Have you ever wondered where your pet goldfish came from? Before you won him at a carnival or fished him out with a pet store net, chances are, he was born in Indiana. Martinsville, The Goldfish Capital of the World, is home to Ozark Fisheries. Once called Grassyfork Fisheries, it has been in the fish breeding business since 1899!
As this video says, "There's gold in them there gills!"
Where is Your Goldfish From?
In 1970, the 4th-generation Missouri Ozark farm purchased the Grassyfork Indiana farm and has been innovating ever since. Swampy land that once started with one pond and two fish, now produces millions of goldfish and koi to be shipped all over the country. Click here to read more about their history in Martinsville.
Today, goldfish and koi – along with fathead minnows and other feeder fish – are raised in 300 1-acre ponds. Instead of lining the ponds with plastic, the fishery takes advantage of the rich Indiana soil.
“When you have good quality soil, you raise a better crop of fish because that soil produces good bloom in the water, and the biomass naturally feeds the fish,” Cleveland says. “The soil in Indiana also has good clay content, so it holds water well.”
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