How Are Goldfish Doing in the United States?

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It is now accepted everywhere that goldfish originated from China centuries before.
However, they came to America only in the 19th century.
We are not aware about the exact time when they first entered the United States.
However, now goldfish has become part of American lifestyle and culture.
They are considered as great pets for the kids, they are also considered likely for the households and they are a source of pleasure for everyone in the house.
As I said, we are not certain on the exact time when goldfish arrived in United States.
However, there are references available to prove that there were shipments of goldfish arriving in America in 1878 and by that time they were seen as pets in many homes.
They were the first variety of fish brought from outside.
The food for goldfish was sold in pet shops by 1830.
That was an indication that goldfish keeping has started well before that.
People have written about shops selling goldfish at that time.
The first public aquarium was opened in 1856 and since then goldfish started gaining popularity.
People published reports in the newspapers by 1879 that Goldfish was found in Hudson River in New York.
However, it is funny to believe that goldfish was sold as food in the fish markets! There are announcements found in the newspapers of Ohio at that time that goldfish are found swimming in many streams in that area.
Japan was considered to be the leader in breeding varieties of goldfish.
The Japanese people created many varieties of goldfish with a number of experiments.
The official imports of goldfish started from 1878 when their first shipment was imported from Japan and it was inspected by the United States Commission on fisheries.
These imported goldfish were kept in containers specifically prepared for this purpose.
They were considered to be a supplementary source of food for farmers.
These specific containers were installed in Washington, DC.
Once inspected, they were offered for sale to the public.
The government was offering shipment to any part of the country by real or by a truck at a nominal shipping fee of 2 dollars per container of goldfish.
These goldfish could breed very frequently and multiply themselves in huge numbers over a short period of time.
Their requirements for food were simple and their maintenance could be done with little efforts.
There colors were bright and shiny and they could swim gracefully.
This craze sprayed all over the United States in a very short period of time.
Soon, they became a popular cash crop for the fish growers.
The first farm producing goldfish in the United States started in Martinsville, Indiana by 1899.
Today, fisheries in Indiana alone produce around 40-50 million goldfish per year! Around 30 million homes in United States keep pet fish and goldfish is the most common and popular fish amongst them.
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