Well you would be pretty lucky to buy the BEST goldfish in the world! I mean how do you even tell what a good looking goldfish looks like? When you're down at the pet store next time, how do you decide which fish is worth purchasing and which is not?

What Breed Are You After?

The first thing you have to do is work out what type of goldfish would best suit your circumstances! Are you planning to keep your fish indoors or outdoors? This will play a huge role in your overall decision. There are many breeds that are not suited for life outdoors and at the same time, there are breeds that survive and grow larger in an outdoor pond environment as opposed to living in an aquarium or other kind of tank!

So What Fish Are Suited To What Environments?

When we're trying to think of what fish to place in what environment, the rule to go by is this one - "How big does the breed grow?" Now if you're planning to keep your fish in a pond, you're best to go with a particular breed that grows fairly big, especially in an outdoor environment.

The best outdoor breed is of course the common Koi, which has the capacity to grow to enormous lengths! The other breed that fits the outdoor environment quite well is the comet. The comet has the ability to adapt extremely well to whatever circumstance it finds itself it. It's basically the 'survivor' of the goldfish world!

So What If You Are Planning To Keep Your Fish Indoors?

Well, that's a whole different story! It really depends on what fish you want to keep and the size of the environment you are planning to keep them in. I mean, are you after something a little bit different, extravagant or do you just want a bit of gold in your aquarium? You have the option of getting a breed of fantail, the more extravagant breed that has long butterfly-wing-like tails. Comets can also be kept in tanks too if you just want to have a bit of gold in the tank. Koi usually grow a lot bigger and prefer the larger environment of the garden pond.

When buying from a pet shop you will need to make sure the fish you are looking at, hasn't already contracted certain diseases, parasites or fungus for that matter. One of the easiest things to spot is to see if the fish you are looking at has blood spots anywhere on its body? This is a surefire sign that it has contracted anchor worms, a common parasite that leaches its way usually onto the dorsal fin area of the goldfish.

Secondly check to see if there are any white spots hanging off the tail fins. This usually means, the fish has been infected by Ichtyopthirius(Ick), which can been noticed by checking for white patches on the surface area.