Can you give me facts about how to care for your typical goldfish please?

Question

I dont even have a gallon of water an dI am only going to get one fish thow and I have wite and blak rocks and sinking pellet food nothing else do you think they will live?

Answer 1

Keep two gallons of water per inch of fish including tail.

Do regular water changes. 30 gallons and under, 10 - 25% water change every week. 30 gallons and more, that much a month.

Do not feed flakes. More chance of bloating, constipation and swim bladder trouble. Go to pellets or crisps.

Do not over feed. If you fish can not eat all the food in 5 minutes, cut back until you find the right level.

Change one piece of filter media a month, rinse the others in aquarium water at the same time.

DO NOT use coloured gravel or fake ornaments. They will poison your fish over time.

Keep a little aquarium salt in the water, about a teaspoon per gallon.

Lights on for 8-10 hours a day.

Always use water conditioner.

Feed them fresh veggies and frozen food at least a few times a month.

Answer 2

If you keep it simple, the fish will last.

1) give the fish space to live and grow. Instead of using a rule of thumb, use common sense. They need a tank, not a bowl, and the bigger the tank the better. To reach full life and growth they really need a massive tank or pond, but a 30 gallon tank will get you through a few years without a problem. Anything less then 10 gallons and I would reconsider the fish altogether (if long term health is important to you).

2) Don't feed the fish too much, overfeeding is the most popular thing to do with fish. These are cold water, cold blooded creatures and go a longer way with less food then people think. Feed the fish no more then it will eat in a couple of minutes, remove any uneaten food. It really doesn't matter health wise whether you go flake or pellet, but pellets do tend to be cleaner on the tank.

3) Do regular water changes - about 20-30% every two weeks, and vacuum a portion of the gravel while you do it. Keeping on a regular maintenance schedule like this will keep the tank nice and clean and you won't need to worry about the filth building up. A little work more often prevents a headache later on.

4) Don't clean or replace the filter media all at once - do it in portions, that way you can be sure not to interrupt the cycle and cause a spike in toxins like ammonia and nitrites that could kill the fish.

That's it. All a goldfish needs for a good life is decent space, a reasonable amount of food, and clean conditions.

Answer 3

Cycle the tank, meaning set up the tank with filter & light and let it run for at least 24 hours, best to wait a week or two, you can also add a bacterial culture such as "eco-start" you could also use a cup of gravel or discarded filter cartridge from an established tank to jump-start the nitrogen cycle."Feed" the tank once per day a tiny bit of goldfish food. This is important to establish your biological filter to help generate a good colony of nitrfying bacteria to convert the ammonia & nitrites from the fish waste into much less toxic nitrates. Test the water weekly, first the ammonia should spike to about 4 ppm then it will drop & the nitrates will spike to about 1 ppm. You dont want to add fish untill the ammonia & nitrites are at 0 ppm. Change 20-30 percent of the water when the nitrates reach 40 ppm, Make sure that you treat the water with a conditioner that removes chlorine & chloramine before you add it to the tank( these chemicals are common in tap water and will kill you bacterial colonies) and your tank is good to go for fish. Goldfish need losts of water, about ten gallons per fish for fancies (fantails, orandas, black moors)and 15-20 gallons per fish for longbodied goldfish (comets-common goldfish, Koi, etc) It may seem like a huge tank for such a little fish to start, but they grow quite rapidly, and can live upwards of 20 years if provided with a healthy environment. Siphon the gravel at least once a month, change the filter cartridge once a month. Feed the goldfish once per day, flake is ok for comets, but for fancies, floating food may contribute to swimbladder disorders. If you must feed flake food to fancies soak it in a bit of tank water so that it sinks to the bottom. Don't overfeed. Feed only what the fish can consume in 5 minutes, the ammount of food is about the size of the fish's eye. Goldfish also love fresh veggies such as cucumber or skinned blanched peas. This should only be given as a treat once a week, and all uneaten veggies should be removed after 10 minutes.

Answer 4

goldfish are pretty hardy and can live in a lot of conditions. For a goldfish to be healthy and live a full life you need about 10 gallons of water per fish (gold fish start off small and get big and messy) they need slowly sinking foods and good filtration. Darker colored gravels are better for the fish. Will your fish live??? Yes, but the length of life doesn't look good.

Answer 5

There is no such thing as a goldfish bowl. They need a tank and filter. Get a guide to keeping goldfish before you buy any fish so you know what to do. To much to put on a space like this.

Answer 6

Honestly one gallon is not enough water for anything other then a Betta and snail.. Please do not put a goldfish in that kind of environment they need at least 2 gallon of water per inch of goldfish because they are a very messy fish. Bettas are beautiful and extremely easy to take care of.

Answer 7

Feed it 2 or 3 times a day change its water every morning thats about its very simple

Answer 8

Feed it and take care of it as much as you can do for it.1# always be a friend to the fish.