Above: Is a gorgeous Lionhead Goldfish, swimming in one of our aquariums, when one of us snapped this picture. 

Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Goldfish like these in any of the live fish stores that we visit.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen.

Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: Goldfish are one of the most colorful and most popular aquarium fish.

Their ancestors originally lived in East Asia, but Goldfish are now found living in aquariums throughout most of the world.

There are many color varieties for sale in this store.

Maximum Size: In aquariums, Goldfish can grow to be about 8" long, including their tails.

Sometimes very old Goldfish are even bigger. Sometimes much bigger.

Behaviors: Most Goldfish are active swimmers but are rarely too aggressive.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include, other varieties of Goldfish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Goldfish can live pretty well from about 60 to 75 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable from about 68 to 72 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when small and Premium Pellet Food when larger.

Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.

Water Conditions: Goldfish seem to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH of about 7 with moderate hardness is best. Most water in the US seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It is probably best to house these fish in at least a 30-gallon tank, and more is better.

Keep at most one Goldfish per 3-gallon, when they're small. Larger Goldfish need up to 10-gallons per Goldfish.

Huge Goldfish need even more water per fish.

Decor: Goldfish do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel.

Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality but will often be eaten by Goldfish.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

A Penguin 200 in an aquarium with 20 to 30-gallons of water is OK, but a Penguin 350 is the right size for a 30 to 50-gallon aquarium.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.

Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Goldfish live for several years and perhaps even many years with good water and good food.

Gender: It's not easy to tell the males from the females even as they mature.

Females are often plumper, but males are plump too! Males get white specs on their gill covers, when they're ready to breed.

Click here for more about determining Goldfish gender.

Breeding: Goldfish scatter a large number of eggs on plants or special breeding mops made of nylon yarn.

Click here for more about breeding Goldfish.

Popularity: For a long-long time Goldfish have been one of the most popular aquarium fish.

Names: All of the many varieties of aquarium Goldfish are the same species,Carassius auratus.

Very ingenious fish farmers have been creating unusual Goldfish varieties for many years.

Variations: There are many-many color and shape varieties that will interbreed to produce even more color varieties.

Click here for a lot more information about keeping and caring for Goldfish, including a picture gallery.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.