HISTORY...
In about 960 A.D. the Mandarin Chinese began breeding Goldfish. They crossed red crucian carp with wild green-brown carp to produce the first fish that was to become a goldfish. From that point they selectively breed the fish for different traits. Any desirable traits were bred back into the line to lock it into the breed. For the next couple of centuries the only changes
were the development of white and black colors in combination with the red. This was the development of Carassuis auratus, the Goldfish. In the early 1500's the more exotic traits were developed and locked into the breeds. At the same ti e the first goldfish were exported to Japan from Korea, where the Koi was to be developed. Meanwhile, The Mandarin Chinese had developed a goldfish with an egg shaped body. This egg shaped fish led to the Lionhead, and, crossed with Ryukin Goldfish, to the Oranda. Goldfish first reached Europe in the mid 1700's, brought there from Japan by Dutch and Venetian traders. Sometime during the Civil War, Goldfish were brought t the U.S.Most of the varieties of Goldfish that can be found today were developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The two main groups are single-tailed and double-tailed. Single tailed goldfish are generally hardier, live longer, and are better swimmers then their double-tailed cousins. Here are brief descriptions of the most common varieties of Goldfish.
COMMON GOLDFISH
These are the closest to Koi, but are lacking the barbells that Koi have. Given space these fish will grow up to 18"-19". The best suited for out-door ponds, Common Goldfish can withstand a wide range of temperatures without problems. These fish are long, slender, and very active. These qualities make them the best suited goldfish for out-door ponds.COMET
These fish were developed in the United States in the late 1800's. They are very close in appearance to the Common Goldfish except that the single tail is longer and comes to a point. These fish are also appropriate for out-door ponds.SHUBUNKINS
The third variety of single-tailed goldfish, the Shubunkin comes in many body colors including any combination of red, blue, black, purple, and lavender. This fish is hardy and active, but much smaller then Comets and Common Goldfish. It isn't as suited for out-door ponds as the above two, because it is smaller, and thus more palatable to water birds, snakes, and frogs.ORANDA
A very decorative and graceful variety of Goldfish. It has a short egg shaped body, and moderate head-growth. Orandas come in orange, red, red and white, gold, and black.FANTAILS
Fantails are very elegant Goldfish. They have long, double tails with short egg shaped bodies. They usually grow to 4" of body, with another 4" of tail. However, I have seen some specimens with a bo y as long as 12", and a 9" tail! Very impressive!TELESCOPE or GLOBE-EYES
The most common example of this fish is the Black Moor, they are often active fish, with terrible eyesight. These fish have a beautiful velvety black color, and a somewhat deep body. Their distinguishing black color can change to another (usually orange) through passage of time or aging.RYUKIN
Beautiful as a mature fish. Veiltails have a egg shaped body with very long satiny fins. It is common for a Veiltail to have digestive problems if it is fed dry food. These variety look very much like pearlscales only that their scales are flat and that they are "hunchbacks."CELESTIALS or BUBBLE-EYES
This fish has no dorsal fin and is a bottom dweller. It's eyes resemble the Globeyed Goldfish, but with the eyes on top of the globes. These fish should not be kept with other varieties of Goldfish as they are slow, and have a hard time finding food and their eyes con burst through collision with other fishes.PEARLSCALES (aka PINGPONG)
Pearlscales are the roundest of goldfish. By the time they are 6 months old, the body is almost perfectly round. They get the name from the fact that they have a small whitish bump in the middle of each scale. Most of Pearlscales grow to about 3" long, or across, and are kind of like swimming baseballs/golfballs. They have small heads,fins and tails, which makes them pretty bad swimmers.LIONHEAD
The Lionhead is one of the most popular Goldfish in China. It has no dorsal fin, and, in good specimens, huge head-growth ( it looks a bit like orange cauliflower ) The body is short and thick. This is another fish that isn't such a great swimmer.JAPANESE RANCHU
Ranchus are often confused with Chinese Lionheads. The differences reflect the cultural differences in taste between Japan and China. The Ranchu's head-growth is not nearly as large as is the Lionheads, and it's back is more arched. ( it also lacks a dorsal fin )