Female goldfish were acclimated to an 8 h light photoperiod and 14–15°C, and, in separate experiments, injected daily for 18 and 14 days with low doses of a partially purified salmon gonadotropin (sGtH) or a highly purified carp gonadotropin (cGtH), respectively at either the onset of light, or 4 or 8 h after the onset of light. The response to GtH injection was measured by the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and by histoiogical analyses of oocy te development. There was a response to sGtH injected at 8 h and to cGtH at 4 h and 8 h after the onset of light. Female goldfish acclimated to a 16 h light photoperiodand injected with low doses of cGtH at either the onset of light or at 4, 8, 12 or 16 h after the onset of light for 14 days had an increased GSI in response to the cGtH injected at 12 h after the onset of light. These results demonstrate that there is a daily variation in responsiveness of the ovary of goldfish to GtH.