Goldfish – beautiful underwater creature

The goldfish is a popular fish to keep as a pet in aquariums and ponds. It also lives in the wild, in rivers and lakes. The goldfish is a member of the carp family. Carassius auratus is its scientific name.
There are more than 125 breeds of goldfish found throughout the world. They can be of different colors: gold, red, orange, white, black, but naturally they are greenish brown or gray. That is because 1,000 years ago people in China began breeding goldfish to create more colorful varieties.
Wild goldfish eat mostly plants and small animals.
A female goldfish can produce thousands of eggs during each breeding season.
Some fish live as long as 25 years.

There is evidence that people were engaged in breeding in ancient Egypt more than four thousand years ago. In Mesopotamia fish were kept in ponds. Until now historians argue when and where fish farming appeared originally. But they agreed that goldfish come from China. In the late 17th century they came to Europe from China.
The first European, who saw and described the fish of great beauty, was the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo.
In 1745 the King of France Louis XV presented Marquise de Pompadour with goldfish.

In large tanks or artificial ponds goldfish can grow up to 15-20 cm, depending on the breed. However, according to publications in the media, sometimes goldfish grow to absolutely epic sizes. For example, in 2010 the media reported about the unusual catch of a French fisherman. And if you believe the sources, the weight of the fish was about 15 kilograms. The fisherman took a picture of his prey and then put it back into the pond.
Shortly before that, the British media reported on the biggest goldfish caught in the UK. It was 40 centimeters long and weighed 2.5 kg. The fish was caught by 16-year-old Nick Richards.