2007-02-18 13:23:46 · 10 answers · asked by black moor 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
at lest 20 years if you really take good care of them
2007-02-18 13:31:25 · answer #1 · answered by Karate Gal 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To sum up what everyone else is saying, goldfish are known to live up to 49 years and common goldfish can get to be up to 23 inches long: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish
These are the 'records', however. Most common goldfish grow to be 10-18 inches, fancy varieties are usually 8-10, and they can live for 20+ years with proper care. Most goldfish never see the potential size or age due to being kept in improperly sized tanks and without proper filtration.
Goldfish are not a fish for a small bowl. Despite rumors to the contrary, fish do not only grow to the size of their container. They are messy eaters, poop a lot, and need good filtration and lots of water changes to keep them healthy.
If you have a large tank with a good filter (or better yet, a pond), do not overfeed, and carry out the proper tank maintenance, there is no reason you can't keep a goldfish in an adequately sized aquarium and have it live for a few decades.
Depending on which goldfish you have, some should not be mixed. The common or comets should not be mixed with fancy varieties. Some with "abnormally" shaped eyes (celestial eyes, bubble eyes, telescopes) should not be mixed with other varieties because their poor field of vision doesn't allow them to compete with other goldfish for food.
For more goldfish info, these are websites dedicated to goldfish keeping:
http://kokosgoldfish.com
http://thegab.org/Articles/
http://www.goldfishparadise.com/
2007-02-18 22:46:39 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should allow about 10 or 20 gallons per goldfish, because they are very messy. You should feed once a day and do weekly water changes of 25 to 40 percent.
When well cared for, on average it should live to be 10 (not uncommon), but if you take super good care of it and are lucky it could live up to 40 years.
2007-02-18 22:33:31 · answer #3 · answered by Jake S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the tank is large enough with a good filter and has weekly water changes done they can live 20+ years but usually it is a little shorter like 10-15. The oldest goldfish died at the age of 42 or 43 and was kept in a tank.
2007-02-18 21:29:20 · answer #4 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well cared for you can easily expect 20+ years. There have been many recorded cases of goldfish living past 50 years in zoos and public aquaria.
MM
2007-02-18 21:27:53 · answer #5 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If they are well taken care of, and this means proper water changes and tank cleaning, water testing, proper filtration, no overfeeding and plenty of room to grow in so that they do not get any diseases, they can live 20-40 years.
2007-02-18 21:28:57 · answer #6 · answered by Venice Girl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My brother has 4 goldfish. He has had them for about a year or two.
2007-02-18 21:27:45 · answer #7 · answered by Daniel d 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it just depends. my baby sis has one who is almost a year old and its healthy and it lives in a aquarium. but it mainly depends on the fish and how the pet store treated it and how long its parents lived. hope i helped!!
2007-02-18 22:35:20 · answer #8 · answered by kaylee 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
could be 2 hours- could be 2 years! it depends on the water condition and the fish!
2007-02-18 22:18:37 · answer #9 · answered by Cd 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
it depends how well they are cared for and if they were healthy when you bought them
2007-02-18 21:55:38 · answer #10 · answered by skigrrrrl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋