Ahhh...The Humble Goldfish

Just the other day I was in a petshop and overhead a little girl asking her mom to buy her a goldfish. The mom said no of course. She repeated her request, pointing, in turn, to a tankful of gourami, angelfish, carp, catfish, ciclid, oscar, etc. Right now you're thinking what a little girl's actions have to do with a piece on goldfish history. Well...it's obvious...can't you see? The goldfish was her first choice. Not the gourami...not the oscar...certainly not the catfish. Out of the whole universe of colourful, mostly friendly fish...she chose the goldfish.

The goldfish is the most commonly kept ornamental fish in aquariums and ponds. It’s scientific name is Carassius auratus and is closely related to the Koi family. It was domesticated around the 9th Century AD. It is a domesticated version of a dark-grey/brown carp native to East Asia (first domesticated in China) and was introduced to Europe in the late 17th century. The mutated gene that gave rise to the goldfish, also occurs in Common Carp and Tench. Goldfish may attain a maximum length of 23 inches (59 cm) and weigh close to 9.9 pounds (4.5 kg). However, this is rare as few goldfish will ever reach half that size. In optimal conditions, goldfish may live more than 20 years (the world record is 49 years), but most households goldfish generally live only six to eight years, due to their often being kept in tiny containers without filters.

WHERE ON EARTH DID THEY COME FROM?
During the Tang Dynasty in China (AD 618—907), it was a popular pastime to raise carp in ponds (to watch not to eat). As a result of the genetic mutation, one of these carp developed gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. Soon people began to breed this gold instead of the silver variety, and displayed them in small containers. The fish were kept in a larger pool of water, such as a pond; and only for special occasions at which guests were expected, would they be moved to the much smaller container for display. It is believed that this chain of evolution is similar to that of the Koi family; to which the goldfish is closely related.

In 1162, an Empress of the Song Dynasty ordered the building of a pond to collect the red and gold variety of those carp. By this time, people outside the royal family were forbidden to keep goldfish of the gold (yellow) variety, yellow being the royal color. This could be the reason why there are more orange goldfish than yellow goldfish in existence today, even though the latter are genetically easier to breed.

The occurrence of other colors was first recorded in 1276. The first occurrence of fancy tailed goldfish was recorded in the Ming Dynasty. In 1502, goldfish were introduced to Japan, where the Ryukin and Tosakin varieties were further developed. In 1854, goldfish were introduced to Portugal and from there to other parts of Europe. Goldfish were first introduced to North America around 1850 and quickly became popular in the United States.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page