Among the most common fish in the aquarium hobby, goldfish belong to the Family Cyprinidae and are native to Eastern Asia. They are not the same, but related to carp, and were first domesticated from food fish in China over 1,000 years ago. Goldfish can be distinguished from koi and common carp by the absence of barbels or “whiskers” in the corners of their mouth. Through selective breeding, many “fancy” goldfish strains sporting different body shapes, colors and fin types are available today. They include comets, shubunkins, fantails, orandas, ryukins, moors, telescope eyes, celestial eyes, bubble eyes, butterfly tails, pearlscales, wakins, lionheads, ranchus and many more. Orandas, lionheads and ranchus develop a crown of fatty tissue, called hood growth, over their heads that in mature fish may completely cover their eyes!