Goldfish
Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The goldfish (Carassius auratus) is a bony fish in the family Cyprinidae, subfamily Cyprininae. It belongs to the genus Carassius in the order Cypriniformes and class Teleostei, and was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Quick facts about the goldfish
Other English names for it include Carassin, Gold carp, Gibel carp and Prussian carp. On the IUCN Red List it is assessed globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the goldfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the goldfish live?
Not recorded
What is the goldfish?
The goldfish (Carassius auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have become an invasive pest in parts of North America and Australia.
Native to China, the goldfish is a relatively small member of the genus Carassius (which also includes the Prussian carp and the crucian carp). It was first selectively bred for color in imperial China more than 1,000 years ago, where several distinct breeds were developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration, and coloration. Various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known.
From the Wikipedia article “Goldfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goldfish&oldid=1384505717), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the goldfish endangered?
The goldfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the goldfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae
- genusCarassius
- SpeciesCarassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Carasius auratus, Carassius auratus, Carassius auratus argenteaphthalmus, Carassius auratus argenteaphthalmus, Carassius auratus ater, Carassius auratus auratus, Carassius auratus buergeri, Carassius auratus burgeri, Carassius auratus cantonensis, Carassius auratus cantonensis, Carassius auratus coeruleus, Carassius auratus discolor, Carassius auratus elegans, Carassius auratus grandoculis, Carassius auratus gyrantes, Carassius auratus italianus, Carassius auratus longicaudatus, Carassius auratus macrophthalmos, Carassius auratus magnificus, Carassius auratus ovatus, Carassius auratus ploetzia, Carassius auratus quadricolor, Carassius auratus ruber, Carassius auratus uranoscopus, Carassius auratus var. americanus, Carassius auratus var. cantonensis, Carassius auratus var. europensis, Carassius auratus var. oviformis, Carassius auratus var. simplex, Carassius auratus var. uranoscopus, Carassius auratus var. wui, Carassius auratus wui, Carassius auratus wui, Carassius buergeri, Carassius buergeri grandoculis, Carassius burgeri, Carassius carassius, Carassius carassius auratus, Carassius chinensis, Carassius coeruleus, Carassius discolor, Carassius encobia, Carassius grandoculis, Carassius japonicus, Carassius orientalis, Carassius pekinensis, Cyprinopsis aurata, Cyprinus abbreviatus, Cyprinus auratus, Cyprinus auratus kinyu, Cyprinus chinensis, Cyprinus coeruleus, Cyprinus gibelioides, Cyprinus gibelipides, Cyprinus langsdorfii, Cyprinus maillardi, Cyprinus mauritianus, Cyprinus nigrescens, Cyprinus pekinensis, Cyprinus quadrilobatus, Cyprinus telescopus, Cyprinus thoracatus, Leuciscus auratus, Neocarassius ventricosus
Other names and names in other languages (82)
- CarassinEnglish
- Gibel carpEnglish
- Gold carpEnglish
- Gold carpEnglish
- Prussian carpEnglish
- سمك ذهبيArabic
- carpín doráuAsturian
- Qızılı balıqcıqAzerbaijani
- ШлаерBulgarian
- Pesk-aourBreton
- Zlatna ribicaBosnian
- Carpí dauratCatalan
- carpí vermellCatalan
- Hohtâhé-noma'heCheyenne
- karas stříbřitýCzech
- Pysgod AurWelsh
- pysgodyn aurWelsh
- guldfiskDanish
- SølvkarusseDanish
- GiebelGerman
- GoldfischGerman
- SilberkarauscheGerman
- ΧρυσόψαροGreek
- ΚοκκινόψαροGreek
- OrfiŝoEsperanto
- carpa doradaSpanish
- Carpín doradoSpanish
- KuldkalaEstonian
- Urre-arrainBasque
- ماهی قرمزPersian
- kultakalaFinnish
- gibèleFrench
- carassinFrench
- cyprin doréFrench
- Poisson rougeFrench
- Iasc órgaIrish
- Òr-iasgScottish Gaelic
- ગોલ્ડફિશGujarati
- דג זהבHebrew
- सुनहरी मछली (गोल्डफिश)Hindi
- AranyhalHungarian
- GullfiskurIcelandic
- キンギョJapanese
- キンブナJapanese
- ოქროს თევზიGeorgian
- ಗೋಲ್ಡ್ ಫಿಷ್ (ಹೊಮ್ಮೀನು)Kannada
- 금붕어Korean
- 붕 어Korean
- Auksinė žuvelėLithuanian
- Zelta zivtiņaLatvian
- златна рипкаMacedonian
- സ്വർണ്ണമത്സ്യംMalayalam
- Ikan masMalay
- Kim-hîMin Nan Chinese
- gullfiskNorwegian Bokmål
- sølvkarussNorwegian Bokmål
- giebelDutch
- goudvisDutch
- steenkarperDutch
- gullfiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- Rouche-pichonPicard
- karaś złocistyPolish
- Pess rossPiedmontese
- Caras auriuRomanian
- Золотая рыбкаRussian
- Karas striebristýSlovak
- peshku i kuqAlbanian
- karasi i artëAlbanian
- Златни карашSerbian
- గోల్డ్ ఫిష్Telugu
- Моҳии зарринTajik
- ปลาทองThai
- ปลาเงินปลาทองThai
- Japon baligiTurkish
- Japon balığıTurkish
- Карась китайськийUkrainian
- Cá vàngVietnamese
- גאלדפישYiddish
- 土鲫Chinese
- 金鱼Chinese
- 鲫仔Chinese
- 鲫鱼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the goldfish
Other species in the same genus Carassius.
Crucian carp
Carassius carassius
Prussian carp
Carassius gibelio
Herabuna
Carassius cuvieri
Ginbuna
Carassius langsdorfii
Dwarf goldfish
Carassius praecipuus
CompareGoldfish vs Crucian carpGoldfish vs Prussian carpGoldfish vs HerabunaGoldfish vs Ginbuna
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the goldfish?
The goldfish is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Cyprinidae in the order Cypriniformes.
What is the scientific name of the goldfish?
The scientific name of the goldfish is Carassius auratus. It is placed in the genus Carassius.
Who named the goldfish and when?
The goldfish's scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Is the goldfish endangered?
No. The goldfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the goldfish have?
Other English names for the goldfish are Carassin, Gold carp, Gibel carp and Prussian carp.
What family does the goldfish belong to?
The goldfish belongs to the family Cyprinidae, subfamily Cyprininae.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Goldfish (Carassius auratus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldfish
“Goldfish (Carassius auratus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldfish.
@misc{goldfish_2026,
title = {Goldfish (Carassius auratus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/goldfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}