Goldfish are one of the most favorite fish of all time. Their beauty and exoticness have made them popular and one of the most desired aquarium fish. Readily available, inexpensive, and come in various combinations of white, orange, yellow, red, brown, and black, goldfish are the real delights of aquariums.
Goldfish are common not only among the hobbyists but breeders as well. These shiny and bright creatures are fascinating people for a long time, the result of which is the presence of hundreds of different varieties today. Goldfish make excellent pets for both professional aquarists and beginners.
If you are also a goldfish owner, or willing to have one, the article will be of great use. Here we have discussed every important thing you should know about the goldfish.
An introduction to goldfish
Goldfish is a freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It can be found in most of the aquariums. They are native to East Asia. As per the records, goldfish were first bred in ancient China more than thousands of years ago. Since then, many distinct breeds have been developed that vary in color, size, the shape of the body, configuration of the fin, etc.
Where should you keep the goldfish?
Goldfish can grow up to the size of 18 inches in length. Therefore, the minimum size of the tank should be 40 gallons if you have a single goldfish. In case of more than one goldfish, go for a more than a 55 gallon fish tank. If you are having a pair of fancy goldfish, a tank between 20 to 30 gallons will suffice for them to live happily and flourish.
Secondly, it is advised not to put a goldfish (in fact, any other fish) in the fishbowl. Multiple reasons are supporting the statement. These are-
- Fishbowl is detrimental to health
- Fish growth retard and stunt
- You have to change the water frequently
- They are too small to fit a filtration system
- The round design of fishbowl prevents the adequate exchange of oxygen.
Place the aquarium away from the window to avoid the growth of algae due to high light intensity. If it is the only area where you can place your tank, use a shade cover to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting the tank directly. Make sure the tank is out of the reach of children or pets in the house.
What are the water requirements of goldfish?
We get plenty of options if the fish in the tank are freshwater like goldfish. Tap water treated with a de-chlorinator like API aquarium tap water conditioner is the best to go with. Make sure you never introduce untreated tap water in the aquarium. The presence of pollutants and heavy metals can pose a threat to the life of fish.
Another thing to keep in mind is keeping the fish tank full and leaving only about two inches of space at the top. It has been seen that goldfish try to jump out when the tank is too full. Also, it is recommended to have a cold to slightly warm water for the goldfish. Temperature between 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is best for them. You can use a submersible heater and a thermometer to keep an eye on the water temperature. Choose the thermometer and heater that are suitable for your tank size.
What goldfish eat?
When in their natural habitat, goldfish prefer eating aquatic plants, the larva of fish, fish eggs, and sometimes small size fish. You should not feed the same food to every fish as the nutrient level, as well as the nutrient requirements, differ from fish to fish.
Goldfish food needs to have more carbohydrates than protein. Therefore, their food should always be in the right proportion to different nutrients. Pellets and flakes are two fish foods specially designed for goldfish. As per the experts, if your tank has small goldfish, feed them flakes rather pellets. Pellets, being larger in size, may create difficulty in swallowing for small fish.
Make sure you keep the flaked food in an airtight container as their shelf life is poor, and once opened, the flakes lose their nutritional value. Moreover, it is advised not to feed any random human food to your fish. They should only be fed boiled and finely chopped vegetables like carrot, peas, zucchini, etc. frozen food like brine, shrimp, and blood worms are also good once or twice a week.
How often can you feed the goldfish?
The best thing about goldfish is they can survive without food for straight one week. They are perfect pets for those who are busy traveling for work or leisure. However, it doesn’t mean that you should not feed them for one week. They will not die, but their activity will slow down, and the health can impair. It may lead to other health problems.
Therefore it is recommended to have an automatic fish feeder or feeding blocks for the aquariums. It is useful when you are going for an extended period and for fish that require regular food. At the same time, you should avoid overfeeding your goldfish. Feeding two or three times a day and using small pinches of food is enough. However, the amount depends largely upon the number of fish in your tank. Again, do not overfeed because if you do so, the uneaten food will settle at the bottom of the tank, polluting the water and disturbing its chemistry.
The metabolism rate of goldfish is slow but can speed up if the water temperature is in its favor. If the water temperature is less, your goldfish may not even need food so frequently.
How to know when your goldfish is in distress?
You can easily figure out if your goldfish is in distress by keeping an eye on how it swims. Slow swim indicates that the fish is not hale and hearty. Although there could be other reasons too, this is one of the prominent ones. Fish dwelling at the top of the tank indicates that it is hungry and searching or expecting food.
These are some of the most common assumptions that aquarists have made about goldfish. Although it could not be the condition in most of the cases and you should not jump to the conclusion immediately. However, the chances of these to be correct are high.
Goldfish in bowl
Goldfish look very pretty when kept in a bowl. It also makes the place look aesthetically beautiful. But, at the same time, fish in a small bowl suffer a lot as space becomes the major issue. Therefore, in general, it is advised not to keep your fish in a bowl.
Normal aquariums are equipped with aquarium filters. Still, you have to change its water every 2 to 3 weeks. If you keep fish in a fishbowl that lacks an aquarium filter, you need to change the water more frequently to make it suitable for the pet.
Furthermore, you need to clean the bowl routinely. You can find different types of aquarium cleaning tools in the market. Some have telescopic handles, and some are magnet operate. You should never use soap or detergents when cleaning your goldfish tank and its décor.
Follow the below steps for cleaning the fishbowl-
Remove the décor from the bowl and rinse it thoroughly in warm tap water.
Remove half of the water and clean the sides of the glass with the help of special aquarium cleaning tools.
Eradicate the left and uneaten food particles and gravel or substrate from the bottom with a gravel vacuum.
Do not remove your fish from the bowl while cleaning as a sudden change in the water can cause stress and make the fish sick. At the same time, when you are changing the water, make sure the temperature of the water is the same as it was before topping the fish off.
Goldfish not only look beautiful but are easy to keep and care as well. So if you already have a goldfish or thinking to include it in your tank, keep the above points in mind and be the best and a proud goldfish owner.
Please fill in the form get updates on new articles.
