4 Amazing Goldfish World Records

Goldfish are amazing pets for so many reasons. They’re fun, easy to care for, they’re peaceful, beautiful, and the list goes on. They’re also capable of some impressive things! Today, we’re talking about some of the most amazing goldfish that made world records!
These fish have amazed not only their owners but the entire world! If you want to learn more about the oldest, heaviest, largest, and smartest goldfish in the world, keep reading! You’ll be surprised!
World Record for Goldfish Lifespan
Starting strong with a very impressive record, we’ve got a goldfish that lived a little over four decades. According to this BBC News article, Tish holds the Guinness world record for the longest-lived goldfish. This 4.5-inch fish reached a mind-blowing 43 years of age.
For the sake of comparison, most goldfish live up to 15-20 years on average. And there’s even more about this story that will make you go “wow!”. Tish came to his loving family in 1956 after he was won as a prize at a funfair in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
He died peacefully in 1999, after a short illness. According to his owners, the secret to Tish’s longevity was eating smaller portions and getting a little bit of direct sun exposure every once in a while. I should also mention that Tish lived in a bowl, which makes his longevity all the more surprising!
World Record for Goldfish Weight
The officially recognized record for the heaviest goldfish belongs to Paul Schafer’s fantail and comet goldfish. This was recorded in 1997. According to this dedicated page in the Guinness World Records, the two goldfish specimens both weighed around 2 pounds each.
Those are certainly the largest goldfish recorded in captivity. For the record, an average goldfish weighs around 1 ounce or 0.06 pounds. But there are even larger goldfish still. The largest goldfish ever recorded was caught in the wild. However, this record is not recognized by Guinness.
According to this article, this incredible goldfish was discovered in 2017 in Kent, England, and it weighed 5.25 pounds. It was caught by the then 10-year-old Lois Chilvers, while she was on a fishing trip with her father. It is believed that this huge goldfish might have been a former pet that grew too large to be kept in captivity.
World Record for Goldfish Size
The largest goldfish recorded belongs to Joris Gijsbers from Hapert, the Netherlands. The fish was officially recognized by Guinness on March 24th, 2003. According to Guinness, the deep orange goldfish measures a whopping 18.7 inches from snout to tail-fin end. You can find its dedicated page here.
This is quite impressive, considering that most goldfish kept in captivity only grow up to 1-2 inches on average. Goldfish kept in larger aquariums may reach up to 6 inches, while goldfish living in ponds might reach 14 inches at most.
World Record for Goldfish Tricks
The world record for the fish with the largest repertoire of tricks goes to a sweet calico fantail goldfish from Gibsonia, USA. Fittingly named Albert Einstein, this fish can perform six awesome tricks, which have earned it a rightful place in the Guinness Book of World Records on October 25th, 2005. You can check the record here.
Some of the tamest tricks include eating from hand, swimming through a tunnel, and swimming through a hoop, sideways! If you’re not yet impressed, there’s more! Albert has some more neat tricks up his figurative sleeve. He can also do the limbo! Yes, you read that right.
He can gracefully do the limbo under a bar that’s no higher than his own body width above the ground. That’s more impressive than most people, wouldn’t you think? Albert Einstein can also play football. There are multiple videos like this one on the owner’s YouTube channel.
Here, you can see Albert making his way with the ball towards a goal line. Finally, Albert can also play catch! He will retrieve any small ball dropped into the tank. He does this by nudging the object with his head up and towards the surface. This goldfish sure is fun at parties.
Conclusion
The average goldfish is an impressive pet as it is. Goldfish can grow quite large, and their beautiful colors can turn any aquarium into the center of attention in any room! But now we know that there’s so much more potential in these fish than previously thought.
From longevity to size and intelligence, goldfish never cease to amaze us by surpassing our expectations. Who knows, maybe goldfish will make or break even more world records in the future! What do you think about these exceptional pets and their amazing feats?