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Goldfish are part of the carp family (cyprinidae). They have been kept as pets since at least 970 AD, first by the Chinese and then the Japanese. You probably saw your first one in a small tank at the dime store or won one at a school fair or carnival. Those goldfish are called comets, the most hardy of the family. They can grow to two inches or two feet, depending on the size of their home and what they are fed.

Goldfish choices
Goldfish come in so many shapes and sizes that it’s difficult to choose the best ones. You can find fancy ones with round globular bodies, long veil tails and bulbous eyes, and some with eyes that look upward. I usually recommend that new pond owners start with goldfish that are known to be hardy and hard to kill, like comets. The various kinds of comets, which include Shubunkins, can swim fast and avoid predators. The Shubunkin goldfish are usually speckled or have a variegated color pattern. They can be many colors including yellow, orange, red, brown, black, blue, purple, gray and white.

The fancier goldfish like fantails and moors have bubble eyes that are so misshapen that they move more slowly and cannot escape raccoons and hungry birds. They are also more prone to disease, again because of their strange shapes and inbred characteristics. I have always found it strange that folks want to have black moors because they are solid black and cannot be seen against the black liner of the pond.

Where should I buy my goldfish?
Always use a local pet or fish store to buy your fish rather than a big box store. The fish-store owner has knowledge of fish and knows how to medicate them if they arrive sick, and many goldfish do. They are shipped hundreds to a box and sometimes the shipping times are longer than is good for the fish. If they arrive less than well, they need to stay in the store and be housed in a quarantined and medicated tank. Usually the new fish stay in the store four to seven days before they are sold. If you shop at a reputable store, you know you are getting a healthy fish. The big box stores do not do quarantine and medicate, so you may be buying sick fish.