Goldfish

Where it lives

Goldfish were domesticated in China during the Tang dynasty from the Prussian carp and now occupy ornamental ponds and aquariums worldwide. Released individuals can establish wild populations in warm, vegetated lakes and ponds, sometimes growing surprisingly large.

How to recognise it

A short, deep-bodied carp without barbels. Domestic varieties span an enormous range of shapes — common, comet, fantail, oranda, ranchu, ryukin, telescope-eye, lionhead, and pearlscale — and colors from solid orange and white to calico and black. Wild-form goldfish revert to a drab olive-brown.

Diet & behavior

Goldfish are omnivorous foragers, grazing plants, picking insect larvae, and grubbing detritus from the bottom. They are social, recognize their keepers, and tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Spawning in ponds occurs in spring when temperatures rise.

Fisheries & Conservation

Globally Least Concern as a domesticated form. Feral populations in lakes around the world have become serious invaders, stirring sediment and outcompeting native fish.