Goldfish Care: 5 Things You Must Do to Keep Them Happy
1. Set up your aquarium before you buy any goldfish
Don’t buy goldfish and your home at the pet store on the same day. Instead, set up the tank with gravel, decorations, and a filter in a good spot (one that’s quiet, away from a window or radiator, and close to a power source) and fill it with water, then turn on whatever pump you’re using. . It takes time for the chlorine and other chemicals in tap water that can harm fish to be flushed out.
2. Consider maturing your tank in advance
A new aquarium takes time to ‘mature’; This strange word basically means that the tank filters and gravel are capable of breaking down waste before it contaminates the water. You can buy products to start this process at the fishmonger. This ‘cycling’ usually takes about two weeks and prevents new fish from being exposed to contamination.
3. Fill your tank slowly
Get just two fish at first (goldfish are social animals) and leave them a week or two in the tank before buying more fish. This gives your tank more time to mature and deal with the increase in waste products.
The best thing you can do to keep your goldfish healthy is to regularly change some of the water. Using a siphon tube, remove about a fifth of the water once a week and replace it with fresh water, preferably water that you’ve let sit overnight. Changing the water in this way dilutes the contamination and adds fresh minerals to the tank.
5. Consider buying a filter
Many people keep goldfish in tanks without filters or air pumps. But adding a filter will greatly improve the quality and stability of the water conditions in your tank. Even an air pump will help – bubbling improves the oxygen levels in the water, which goldfish really appreciate.
5 Things You Should Never Do When Taking Care of Goldfish
1. Don’t keep goldfish in a fish tank.
Yes, some people keep their pets alive for years in a bowl, but many more lead short, unhappy lives. Goldfish are curious fish that like to swim and explore. Give them a tank that is at least two feet long. Also, fish tanks are easily contaminated and the design makes it difficult to transfer fresh oxygen to the water.
2. Don’t overfeed your goldfish.
Your fish should eat all the food you add within five to ten minutes. If there is food lying around on the floor of the aquarium, you are overfeeding it. This excess food will rot and contaminate the tank.
3. Don’t Overfill Your Tank
An aquarium can only hold a limited number of fish before it starts to become polluted too quickly or before the oxygen level in the water drops. A three foot long aquarium will happily house about four fully grown goldfish; You can add a couple more if needed, especially if you have an air pump, but it’s not recommended.
4. Don’t Mix Standard Goldfish With Fancy Goldfish
Fantasy goldfish, such as bubble eyes and twin tails, are much more delicate and slower moving than standard goldfish. You will have fewer problems if you keep one or the other type in the same tank.
5. Don’t add a heater
Some people use heaters intended for tropical fish tanks in their goldfish tanks. This is not only unnecessary, but can harm the fish. They will be quite happy at normal living room temperatures, and in fact, would probably prefer it a bit cooler!
