They are found in a variety of colors including red, orange, gold, white, black and yellow, and lemon. The Common goldfish differ only in color from their closest relative, the Prussian or Gibel carp. Today, the majority of goldfish breeds originated from China and since it is virtually impossible to list them all, we have chosen some of the main and more popular varieties and listed them below: Selective breeding over the centuries has produced many color variations, body shapes, fin types, and eye configurations that may be hardier or less hardy than the “wild” Prussian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) they were originally bred from. There are currently about 300 recognized breeds of “goldfish” in China. They were not introduced into North America until around 1850 where they quickly became popular with tropical fish keeping enthusiasts. This allowed breeders to selectively breed mutations (such as the fancy tailed goldfish) that would not have been able to survive in outdoor ponds.ĭuring the 1600s, Goldfish were introduced into Japan, Portugal, and other parts of Europe where they were highly regarded as a symbol of good luck and fortune. This is no doubt this is why there are more orange than yellow goldfish, even though yellow goldfish are genetically easier to breed.ĭuring the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) Goldfish began to be raised indoors. Goldfish domestication was firmly established by the Song dynasty (960–1279) and because yellow (gold) was the imperial color, the empress ordered the collection of all the red and gold varieties of goldfish and made it unlawful for the common people to keep goldfish of the yellow variety. Later, during the Tang dynasty (618–907) when it became popular to raise carp in ornamental ponds and water gardens, a yellowish orange (gold) genetic mutation was produced from the normal silver colored variety and people began to selectively breed them instead of the silver variety. Though they may resemble ornamental carp, Goldfish lack the barbels in the mouth area, the markings at the base of the scales, and do not grow as large as carp and Koi.įor thousands of years in ancient China, various species of (Asian) carp were domesticated and reared as food fish.ĭuring the Jin dynasty (265–420), breeders observed that some of these normally gray or silver Asian carp produced red, orange, or yellow color mutations. They were first domesticated over a thousand years ago by the Chinese where several distinct breeds have since been developed. Goldfish are a domesticated version of the less colorful carp species (Carassius auratus) native to east Asia.
Special Pearlscale Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
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