C O M M O N    G O L D F I S H   

Origin - China
Difficulty - Beginner
Availability - Very Common
Price - Very Cheap
Adult Size - 10 to 15 inches
Scales - Metallic

History & Background

A beautiful example of a show quality common goldfish This is the default appearance of goldfish, and is the closest form to the Gibel Carp ancestor of all goldfish. Despite the name, this breed does compete in shows and there are standards for appearance. But because they reproduce and thrive so easily, they are usually bred as food for other fish.

That being said, most common goldfish sold today (even feeder fish) are still far more brilliantly colored than the first goldfish bred in the 3rd century. Back to Top

Special Care

They require no special care. Common Goldfish are extremely resiliant, and can take a lot of punishment compared to other breeds. They are also very good swimmers, and should not be kept with double-tailed breeds since they will out-compete them for food.

Common Goldfish will live quite well in the open, and are often used as pond fish. They can even survive water being frozen over for brief periods, as long as they have food and enough oxygen, conditions which would kill any of the fancy varieties. Back to Top

Ideal Characteristics

Another show quality common goldfish...note the dense color saturation of the fins Common Goldfish have a "wild" type body, similar to that of a wild carp. Body depth should be 3/8 the length of the body. They have the "wild" type body shape, similar to a normal carp. The mouth should be part of a smooth rounded curve into the back and stomach, without the "snout" seen in truely wild fish.

All fins should be single and slightly rounded except the Pectoral and Pelvic fins. Caudal fin should be rounded, and short (1/3 the length of the body or less). All fins should be stiff.

Medium orange is most common, but they have been bred into almost all colors. Gold/Yellow (shown above) is the most rare despite the fact that it is genetically easier to breed. Some people claim that this is because gold (yellow) was a color reserved for Chinese royalty, so the common people were forbidden to breed goldfish in that color. So orange became the standard color instead.

Colors that saturate the fins are highly desirable in all breeds of goldfish, including the Common, since they tend to be transparent by default. Back to Top

Known Variants

The Common Goldfish has no recognized variants, unless you count Comets and Shubunkins. Back to Top