Tiny Town in Arkansas Home to Largest Goldfish Hatchery in U.S.
Did you know a tiny town in Arkansas is home to the largest freshwater hatchery of goldfish in the United States?
Pool Fisheries is a family-owned company in Lonoke, Arkansas 20 miles east of Little Rock has been in business since 1959, the goldfish farm produces 275 million goldfish every year making it not only the largest in the United States but in the world. This multi-generational family-run business started with raising minnows, then goldfish, and now producing more exotic species such as koi, tadpoles, and turtles. More than 1,500 stores in the U.S. and Canada get their goldfish from the Lonoke County Pool Fisheries.
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If you purchase a goldfish in a store that sells them chances are it came from the Pool Fisheries in Arkansas. Some 1.5 million goldfish per week are bought from PetSmart its biggest customer to sell in their stores nationwide.
According to Fun in Arkansas, raising 275 million fish a year is a lot of hard work, there is an incubation period in the Spring then comes transporting them to the outdoor ponds where they feed daily on soybean meal, rice bran, and cottonseed meal, all products made in Arkansas. Hundreds of ponds on 40 acres produce at least 1000 pounds of fish that are then cooled in holding tanks until delivery where they are bagged, scheduled, and shipped out to their destinations across the country. Each truck carries approximately a million fish, mostly goldfish and some minnows at least twice a week.
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Some of the goldfish are delivered to nature centers in Arkansas others may be ares sold as feeder fish or pets. Pool Fisheries use only the best biological solutions and nutrients in raising their fish to be as healthy as possible.
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If you would like to visit the Pool Fisheries you can contact them at 501-676-2191. At least 50 million dollars is pumped into the state's economy each year.
Lonoke. Arkansas is also home to the Remington Arms Ammunition Facility.
Have you ever had a goldfish as a pet?
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