Post by Natalie on Sept 9, 2010 15:16:22 GMT -5
Goldfish are some of the messiest and most popular fish on the market today. A common rumor is that a Goldfish can live in a bowl but this is absolutely untrue: Goldfish are carp fish and given proper living conditions can reach 1 foot long.
The first thing to know is that they are extremely messy so ammonia and nitrite levels will be very high if the tank is not acclimated when the fish go into it. So before hand buy a heavy-duty carbon filter.
Tank sizing should be a bare minimum of 20 long gallons for a single fish, especially if you are getting a Common or Comet, the most popular goldfish. If you are interested in getting some smaller fish look into Fancy's or Fantails. These can live in 30 gallons.
Next you should know that Goldfish are community fish and therefore do best with other fish. Comets and Fancys are an option but please take notice Fantails/Fancy's are not that fast so you may want to feed sinking.
Suit the fish with pebbles and decorations. Goldfish are extremey curious. A ligh is not neccesary because Goldfish are coldwater fish and light also makes it more stressful in the tank. Give them a filter and a lid. Algae will be a problem if the tank is outside. Snails are too slow so I would reccomend a Rubbernose or a Bristlenose Plecostomus but never a common since Common Plecostomus's get big and like to suck on a Golfish's slime coat (which can be damaging). You can also use an algae-killer but cleaning fish make the tank more colorful and intersting. You could also try Cory Catfish but make sure they are in shoals and not alone. 3 Cories is a minimum.
Get a water test kit and a de-chlorinator. De-chlorinators take all the chlorine out of the water which is very very deadly to fish and it takes it out fast. The chlorine should never ever be higher than 1 and 1 is dangerous as well. Ammonia should be 0 and the same with nitrite. Nitrate should only be as high as 0.75-1. Hard water is fine for Goldfish.
Variety is the spice of life: give your fishies other treats once and a while beside just food. They like brine shrimp, plankton and krill as meats. For veggies, feed romaine lettuce, the inner part of frozen and thawed peas, cucumber, grapes and for some protein they can eat little bits of scrambled/hard boiled egg.
If the Goldfish appears stressed (back fin clamped and is gulping air) the most common thing is that the water is not right. If you don't have a test strip do daily water changes of 50%. As long as you don't change too much water and match the temperatures the fish will not stress.
Otherwise change it completely once a month.
If the fish is stressed than it is prone to the dread Ich disease. It looks like this: cichlidresearch.com/gifs/disease/Astatheros_longimanus_with_ich_DSC_9878.jpg All of those white spots are Ich. Luckily Ich is common and easily treated with empson salt, but do your research before treating your water!!
One of the most common questions is "What kind of Goldfish is mine?"
Here are a few types of the most common Goldfish:
Common
Comet
Fancy
Fantail
Oranda
Ryukin
Lionhead
Black Moor
Enjoy ;D
The first thing to know is that they are extremely messy so ammonia and nitrite levels will be very high if the tank is not acclimated when the fish go into it. So before hand buy a heavy-duty carbon filter.
Tank sizing should be a bare minimum of 20 long gallons for a single fish, especially if you are getting a Common or Comet, the most popular goldfish. If you are interested in getting some smaller fish look into Fancy's or Fantails. These can live in 30 gallons.
Next you should know that Goldfish are community fish and therefore do best with other fish. Comets and Fancys are an option but please take notice Fantails/Fancy's are not that fast so you may want to feed sinking.
Suit the fish with pebbles and decorations. Goldfish are extremey curious. A ligh is not neccesary because Goldfish are coldwater fish and light also makes it more stressful in the tank. Give them a filter and a lid. Algae will be a problem if the tank is outside. Snails are too slow so I would reccomend a Rubbernose or a Bristlenose Plecostomus but never a common since Common Plecostomus's get big and like to suck on a Golfish's slime coat (which can be damaging). You can also use an algae-killer but cleaning fish make the tank more colorful and intersting. You could also try Cory Catfish but make sure they are in shoals and not alone. 3 Cories is a minimum.
Get a water test kit and a de-chlorinator. De-chlorinators take all the chlorine out of the water which is very very deadly to fish and it takes it out fast. The chlorine should never ever be higher than 1 and 1 is dangerous as well. Ammonia should be 0 and the same with nitrite. Nitrate should only be as high as 0.75-1. Hard water is fine for Goldfish.
Variety is the spice of life: give your fishies other treats once and a while beside just food. They like brine shrimp, plankton and krill as meats. For veggies, feed romaine lettuce, the inner part of frozen and thawed peas, cucumber, grapes and for some protein they can eat little bits of scrambled/hard boiled egg.
If the Goldfish appears stressed (back fin clamped and is gulping air) the most common thing is that the water is not right. If you don't have a test strip do daily water changes of 50%. As long as you don't change too much water and match the temperatures the fish will not stress.
Otherwise change it completely once a month.
If the fish is stressed than it is prone to the dread Ich disease. It looks like this: cichlidresearch.com/gifs/disease/Astatheros_longimanus_with_ich_DSC_9878.jpg All of those white spots are Ich. Luckily Ich is common and easily treated with empson salt, but do your research before treating your water!!
One of the most common questions is "What kind of Goldfish is mine?"
Here are a few types of the most common Goldfish:
Common
Comet
Fancy
Fantail
Oranda
Ryukin
Lionhead
Black Moor
Enjoy ;D
