Question:they/were they ever bred or fished for eating?
Answers:
The original stock for both fish are the common carp and are not all that attractive at all. Only through selective breeding did either species become an ornamental fish. Carp are now and have been for centuries a very important food fish in many arts of the world and are bred for that use by billions of people in hundreds of nations. here's a little more on their history:
http://www.koiacres.com/koi-history.html...
MM
Generally they are ornamental, but people have eaten carp...I wouldn't they are 'junk' fish but hey...
Carp were for eating but Koi etc. were purly ornamental. They would be too small to be much good for eating, even at their largest anyway.
Ornamental 100%.
The ancient Chinese cultivated the common carp into the goldfish and koi that we know today. Of course they ate them, and they continue to do that today with koi, carp, mekong catfish, osphronemus gourami, and other large fish.
Obviously, you've never eaten a carp! As Paul Hogan said in his memorable film "Crocodile Dundee" about a lizard he'd roasted, "You can survive on it, but it tastes like s-h-i-t!" Only the truly desperate would eat carp, and there's no reason to breed them because they multiply like rabbits all by themselves. Hope this helps ya kiddo.
they's good eating, and goldfish make the best bait for fishing for other food fish.
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