care instructions for goldfish...... aquarium or bowl.....?

Answer 1

every goldfish needs around 2-3 gallons of water per every inch of their body to compensate for the amount of waste they produce. Measurements go from head to tail. Most basic comets can grow up to 8 inches, shubunkins 14 inches, sarassa comets 12 inches, fancy tailed varietys 8-10 inches. Koi which is not a goldfish, but usually lumped into this catagory get up to 24 inches and they would be the ones needed 50 gallons of water per fish. They are Omnivores and need a 50/50 diet of pellet/flake ratio to plant/veggies. THey are coldwater species and do not require a heater in tank, but also if home stays warm their water will stay warm and it is possible to still have problems with the fish getting sick from this. Warm water will cause goldfish to have more fungal infections. Goldfish will not stop growing in a smaller tank, they will just grow slower, however it is possible to stunt the growth. for example a fancytailed ryukin goldfish gets around 10 inches at full size might stop at 7 inches in a overcrowded or to small tank. That fish will still require 14-21 gallons of water depending on if you want to give it 2-3 gallons of water per inch. Lifespan on goldfish in proper water conditions and with proper diets is 8-15 years.

Answer 2

Better with an aquarium with a good filter. They are pretty dirty fish.

Rule of thumb:

-every inch of goldfish needs at least 2 gallons of water.

But also take into acount how big each one will get.


Let say you decide to get a 10 gallon starter goldfish kit at a petstore (they sell for around $40 and have everything needed except decor).

First you would get everything up and running, add your decor.
The kit comes with something called Water Conditioner. This is very important for your fish's health! Tap water has chlorine in it and can kill your fish. So this water conditioner takes the chlorine out and makes it safe for your fish.

So add your water, add the conditioner, add yoru gravel and decor, get the filter running and let it sit for at least 24 hours.

Also make sure not to place the tank by a window. They water can become very hot and algea growth can get out of hand.

After the water had sat for 24 hours you may now add your fish.

technically you could put 4 small goldfish in this tank - but they will grow and in a few months 4 will be too big for your tank.

The best thing for a 10 gallon is to only add one goldfish. Start off with a small fancy one. Orandas are very pretty.

Ok lets assume you decide to have one goldfish in there. You can add one or 2 large mystery snails (they do not reproduce like the little ones), or an algea eater. I don't reccommend a plecostomus because they get big really fast. I would go with a regular algea eater or one that stays small.

For cleaning:

Clean once a month. Change the filter pad in the filter once a month as well. Never change all the water at once! This will cause shock to the fish. Once a month take 25% of the water out with a gravel vaccum (inexpensive tool that works great and makes cleaning easy). after you take the 25% out add more water and water condintioner.



Only feed a little. There stomach is the size of their eye, but they LOVE food so they will beg to be fed all the time. Once a day is fine, or twice if you like.

Answer 3

Definitely an aquarium and I agree with one of the posters above that no fish should be in a bowl. If you would like to find out everything you need to know about how to keep a goldfish happy and healthy visit this site, http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/.

Answer 4

Aquarium without doubt, larger the better. And add a filter, a light with 12 hour timer to simulate day & night, some 2-3" of gravel and plants. Read some articles from Howard Norfoks Aquarticles site below.

Answer 5

goldfish get very large and live for a long time, sometimes up to or over 20yrs. it's best to keep goldfish in a aquarium because they need a lot of room. they need a air pump, filter, and heater. the air pump should push out a lot of bubbles because goldfish have a hard time moving in the tank and need all the air they can get.

Answer 6

I've been talking with fish experts lately, when I restarted my old aquarium hobby.

Come to find out, no fish should be in a bowl. Goldfish especially. They need about 50gallons per fish, due to the fact they grow to be HUGE, pollute their water so rapidly, and live for so long.

Answer 7

DO NOT USE TAP WATER UNLESS TREATED! It has various chemicals in it such as chlorine which can kill a fish in hours. You do really need to change the water however. When a fish is moved in a bag they become stressed and go to the toilet a lot in the water. There will be too much waste in the pet shop water which can cause high toxins and kill him within hours too. You need water conditioner, which is mixed with tap water to rid the water of toxins. If you have none of this your fish may well die overnight in old dirty water. You also have no source of oxygen for him in the baking bowl so he may become stressed overnight. All of these factors may make a fish die from shock. He should be okay roomwise in the baking bowl as long as he is unable to get out and has room to swim happily, as he is a goldfish and not tropical he does not need heating. You may also want to leave him in darkness for a while so he can calm down and get used to his temporarily new surroundings.

Answer 8

No fish should be in a bowl. Put the fish i an aquarium with a filter.

Answer 9

You MUST get an aquarium for fancies. If you want to keep commons or koi, invest in an outdoor pond, they grow well over 2 feet. Fancies need about 15 gallons of water per fish. and are best of in a minimum tank size of 29 gallons. You should cycle the tank i would reshearch fishless here http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861&hl= Also here http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/ is good for general info.

Answer 10

Please put your goldfish in an aquarium.

So many times we watch and read about cruelty to animals. There should be something about cruelty to fish as well. Many fish are housed in conditions that are bad. Dirty smelly water and these people think that if the fish are alive they are fine.

Big fish that have their growth stunted because of small living conditions and cannot show their full potential.

Once again, please put your fish in an aquarium.