---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Goldfish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "37 claims from the Common Goldfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/goldfish/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Common Goldfish (*Carassius auratus*)

> 37 claims from the Common Goldfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Goldfish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/goldfish/)

## Huckstorf & Freyhof (2013). Carassius auratus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T166083A1110472.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2013-1.rlts.t166083a1110472.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: assessed 2010; category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |

## Fagernes et al. (2017). Extreme anoxia tolerance in crucian carp and goldfish through neofunctionalization of duplicated genes creating a new ethanol-producing pyruvate decarboxylase pathway. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07385-4

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The pond fish that makes alcohol to survive without oxygen | fish of the genus Carassius (crucian carp and goldfish) have evolved a specialized metabolic system that allows them to survive prolonged periods without oxygen by producing ethanol as their metabolic end-product (note: tagline) |
| Makes ethanol to survive without oxygen, and sees four colors including ultraviolet | survive prolonged periods without oxygen by producing ethanol as their metabolic end-product (note: superpower; colours claimed via ADW above) |
| Without oxygen, most vertebrates die within minutes. | Without oxygen, most vertebrates die within minutes |
| Fish of the genus Carassius, the crucian carp and the goldfish, survive prolonged periods without oxygen by producing ethanol as their metabolic end-product. | fish of the genus Carassius (crucian carp and goldfish) have evolved a specialized metabolic system that allows them to survive prolonged periods without oxygen by producing ethanol as their metabolic end-product |
| The trick rests on a pyruvate decarboxylase, an enzyme (a protein that speeds up a chemical reaction) analogous to the one in brewer's yeast and the first described in vertebrates. | the evolution of a pyruvate decarboxylase, analogous to that in brewer’s yeast and the first described in vertebrates, in addition to a specialized alcohol dehydrogenase |
| It works alongside a specialized alcohol dehydrogenase. | in addition to a specialized alcohol dehydrogenase |

## Walker & Johansen (1977). Anaerobic metabolism in goldfish (Carassius auratus). Canadian Journal of Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1139/z77-170

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| goldfish survived without oxygen for only a few hours at 20 °C, but for several days at 4 °C | At 20 °C goldfish survive anaerobic conditions for only a few hours while at 4 °C survival is extended to several days. |
| Winter goldfish outlasted spring goldfish in the cold, and the study linked that to greater stores of glycogen | The better cold anaerobic survival of winter and hypophysectomized goldfish compared with spring and sham-operated animals was correlated with greater glycogen stores in the livers of the former. |

## Carassius auratus (goldfish). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Carassius_auratus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| sees four colors, ultraviolet included | Goldfish are tetrachromats, meaning they can see four colors. These include red, green, blue, and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. (note: tagline) |
| Slow or still fresh water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and marshes, native to eastern Asia | They tend to live in bodies of water with slow or no movement. This includes rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, marshes, bogs, and swamps. (note: habitat; native range in the body claim) |
| Opportunistic omnivore: insects, eggs, plants, crustaceans and detritus | Goldfish are opportunistic feeders. They are generalist omnivores that eat a variety of insects, eggs, plants, and crustaceans. (note: diet; detritus from the same page: They also consume terrestrial worms like earthworms (suborder Lumbricina) and any detritus they can find in the water.) |
| Goldfish are tetrachromats, meaning they can see four colors: red, green, blue and ultraviolet. | Goldfish are tetrachromats, meaning they can see four colors. These include red, green, blue, and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. |
| the lateral line, a row of sensory organs that helps them detect motion in the water around them | their lateral line which is a line of sensory organs on the sides of their body. It helps them detect motion in the water around them |
| Herons, northern river otters and American bullfrogs can prey on goldfish. | herons (family Ardeidae), bears (family Ursidae), eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi), northern river otters (Lontra canadensis), and American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) can be predators |
| To defend against predators, goldfish form large groups called schools, and they warn each other with chemical signals that predators are nearby. | To defend against predation, goldfish form large groups called schools to evade predators and warn each other with chemical signals that predators are nearby |
| Goldfish originated in eastern Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, and the range of the species expanded to most of the world. | originated in eastern Asia including China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan. From China, the range of this species expanded north to most of the world. |
| They tend to live in bodies of water with slow or no movement: ponds, lakes, rivers and marshes. | They tend to live in bodies of water with slow or no movement. This includes rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, marshes, bogs, and swamps. |
| In captivity, goldfish grow to about 2.5 to 15 centimeters | In captivity, goldfish grow to about 2.5-15cm in length. |
| wild goldfish often grow bigger than domesticated ones because their environment offers more resources and space to swim | Wild goldfish often grow bigger than domesticated goldfish because of their richer environment with more resources and space to swim. |
| They are generalist omnivores that eat insects, eggs, plants and crustaceans. | They are generalist omnivores that eat a variety of insects, eggs, plants, and crustaceans. |
| Young goldfish hatch with dark, pigmented scales, which fade 2 to 3 months later. | Goldfish hatch with dark, pigmented scales, but they depigment 2-3 months after hatching. |
| Females normally spawn 2000 to 4000 eggs at a time, and adult goldfish consume their own offspring. | Female goldfish normally spawn 2000-4000 eggs at a time |
| adult goldfish consume their own offspring | Adult goldfish also consume their own offspring. |
| A study of one Quebec pond found that 45% of the gut contents were plants, 21% were insects such as midges and mosquitoes, and 4% were small crustaceans. | examined gut contents of Stoneycroft Pond goldfish in Quebec and found that 45% of their diet consists of vegetation (e.g., aquatic pondweeds like Potamogeton ). Insects like non-biting midges (family Chironomidae) and mosquitos (family Culicidae) made up 21% of their diet. Small crustaceans like brine shrimp ( Artemia ), water fleas ( Daphnia magna ), and zooplankton made up 4% of diet. |
| Goldfish also eat earthworms and detritus, and pond experiments with caged goldfish suggest they eat amphibian eggs too. | They also consume terrestrial worms like earthworms (suborder Lumbricina) and any detritus they can find in the water. |
| pond experiments with caged goldfish suggest they eat amphibian eggs too | Pond experiments with caged goldfish suggest that they will consume amphibian eggs, too. |
| Four Colors and a Motion Sensor | Goldfish are tetrachromats, meaning they can see four colors. (note: heading) |
| tags: omnivore | They are generalist omnivores that eat a variety of insects, eggs, plants, and crustaceans. (note: #981: insectivore swapped for omnivore; the Quebec gut study in the same account is 45% vegetation) |
| its lateral line senses the currents and vibrations its schoolmates make while swimming | It helps them detect motion in the water around them and communicate with surrounding goldfish by sensing the natural ripples, currents, and vibrations they make while swimming. (note: vibe.reason (#981)) |

## Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758). USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=508

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Goldfish generally reach 15 to 20 centimeters and weigh 100 to 300 grams, though the USGS lists a maximum of 59 centimeters and 3.0 kilograms. | Goldfish may reach 59 cm TL and up to 3.0 kg (IGFA 2001); however, they generally reach only 15-20 cm TL and weigh 100-300 g |
| Lifespan is typically 6 to 7 years, and it has been reported as long as 30 years. | Lifespan is typically 6-7 years, but has been reported as long as 30 years |
| Goldfish feed at the water bottom, where they stir up sediment and increase turbidity | Goldfish feed at the water bottom where they stir up sediment, increasing turbidity |
| adult goldfish can survive water temperatures between 0 and 41 °C | Adults thrive equally well in salinities between 0-6 ppt (Canagartnam 1959), and can survive water temperatures between 0-41 °C |
| The USGS lists goldfish as established or reported in all US states except Alaska | Status: Established or reported in all states except Alaska. |
| says they can outcompete native fishes | outcompeting, replacing, and reducing population sizes of native fishes |
| Bright colors seldom carry on: the surviving offspring of colorful escapees are typically the natural olive-green | the surviving progeny of these colorful individuals typically are the natural, cryptic olive-green coloration |