Where do Goldfish come from?

Question

Not the pet store. Like before that, they don't come from the ocean, cause you don't have to put salt water in their bowls. Like origin, where do they come from before breeding, and the pet store?

Answer 1

They were originally found in ponds in China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish

Answer 2

Goldfish were originaly bred by the chinese, from a type of carp.

Answer 3

I agree, then the japanese took it steps farther and bred a lot of different varieties. Goldfish in Japan go for thousands, they are a much loved pet there.

Also koi is a member of the carp family as well

Answer 4

During the Tang Dynasty, it was popular to dam carp in ponds. As the result of a dominant genetic mutation, some of these carp displayed gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. People began to breed the gold variety instead of the silver variety, and began to display them in small containers. The fish were not kept in the containers permanently, but would be kept in a larger body 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.[1]

In 1162, the Empress of the Song Dynasty ordered the construction of a pond to collect the red and gold variety of those carp. By this time, people outside the imperial family were forbidden to keep goldfish of the gold (yellow) variety, yellow being the imperial color. This is probably the reason why there are more orange goldfish than yellow goldfish, even though the latter are genetically easier to breed.[5]

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 developed.

In 1611, goldfish were introduced to Portugal[1] 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.[6]

AKA They aren't naturally found in the wild, only their carp relatives.