Tip of the Day: Keep your goldfish healthy
Keep your goldfish healthy, happy and alive.
Ok, so you've acquired a goldfish, sometimes by choice, sometimes through no fault of your own. But you're determined to keep this guy alive as long as possible!
Goldfish have an image of being a very easy fish to take care of, yet also with a short lifespan, but that's not quite the whole story. It actually takes quite a bit of work to keep a goldfish healthy and alive, but with the right care they can live ten years or more.
Here's what you need to know!
Goldfish need a lot of space: Even though they sell fishbowls with pictures of goldfish on them , you might want to reconsider that. Goldfish need large tanks because they are "dirty" fish, giving off tons of waste. Some experts say 3 gallons of tank per inch of fish is ideal. A town in Italy actually went so far as to outlaw goldfish bowls in 2004.
Goldfish need clean water: If you're using a tank, buy one that has a filter to keep the water clean. If you don't have a filter, you'll need to do tank flushes every couple of days, changing 25% of the tank's water.
Start the nitrogen/bacteria cycle going: The sooner you get the natural bacteria cycle going, the healthier your goldfish will be. Try a bacteria starter product like this one to speed that up.
Testing: You'll want to monitor the ammonia levels closely, every day when you first start up your tank. The presence of ammonia is not good, and you'll want to do tank flushes until the ammonia level drops. pH and nitrites can also be monitored using test strips like these. After the nitrogen cycle gets going, testing weekly for all of these things will probably suffice.
Treat the tap water: Make sure you treat any water that goes into your tank with a de-chlorinator like this one.
Feeding: Feed your goldfish as directed on the package. However, I would also recommend that you use a small cup to remove a bit of water from the tank, swirl the fish food flakes in the water until they are saturated, then pour the water/food mixture back in the tank, where you will see the food sink instead of floating on top. Much healthier for Mr. Goldie.
Ok, so you've acquired a goldfish, sometimes by choice, sometimes through no fault of your own. But you're determined to keep this guy alive as long as possible!
Goldfish have an image of being a very easy fish to take care of, yet also with a short lifespan, but that's not quite the whole story. It actually takes quite a bit of work to keep a goldfish healthy and alive, but with the right care they can live ten years or more.
Here's what you need to know!
Goldfish need a lot of space: Even though they sell fishbowls with pictures of goldfish on them , you might want to reconsider that. Goldfish need large tanks because they are "dirty" fish, giving off tons of waste. Some experts say 3 gallons of tank per inch of fish is ideal. A town in Italy actually went so far as to outlaw goldfish bowls in 2004.
Goldfish need clean water: If you're using a tank, buy one that has a filter to keep the water clean. If you don't have a filter, you'll need to do tank flushes every couple of days, changing 25% of the tank's water.
Start the nitrogen/bacteria cycle going: The sooner you get the natural bacteria cycle going, the healthier your goldfish will be. Try a bacteria starter product like this one to speed that up.
Testing: You'll want to monitor the ammonia levels closely, every day when you first start up your tank. The presence of ammonia is not good, and you'll want to do tank flushes until the ammonia level drops. pH and nitrites can also be monitored using test strips like these. After the nitrogen cycle gets going, testing weekly for all of these things will probably suffice.
Treat the tap water: Make sure you treat any water that goes into your tank with a de-chlorinator like this one.
Feeding: Feed your goldfish as directed on the package. However, I would also recommend that you use a small cup to remove a bit of water from the tank, swirl the fish food flakes in the water until they are saturated, then pour the water/food mixture back in the tank, where you will see the food sink instead of floating on top. Much healthier for Mr. Goldie.
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