how old do goldfish normally live to be?

Question

I won my goldfish at a fair for free almost 6 years ago and she's still alive! she's six inches long and one inch fat
is this normal or is my fish mutated?!?!?
she'll be six years old in may
she has grown bigger then the tank that we have for her (it's a five gallon tank and it's one inch of fish for every gallon)
IS THIS NORMAL????? PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

First off, normal gold fish average live around 8 years, mostly since most people do not care for them properly. If you care for them properly, average is around 20 years.
Your gold fish may be 6" but how long is the tale end since gold fish are not measured with the tail. Each fish grows differently as to their surroundings, however goldfish don't quit growing.

Yep, if they are in a smaller tank, they will grow to a certain size then some then get sick. 5 gallons for a I am going to assume 2" tail is fine for your fish, although you may wan to consider a larger home, depending on the lineage of the fish. When it comes to gold fish and any other fish the 1" per gallon is a BS idea of uneducated fish store people to guess at the amount of water needed for a fish. Gold fish need on average 1 sq ft of surface water per inch of actually to be specific it goes by pounds not tail size not fish length. This equasion is a little closer than 1 "=1 gallon since some koi who are gold fish are 4-6" thick!

Your fish will need a larger home if you want him to stay heathy. As well as lots of dissolved oxygen. Yes they are hearty fish and can live in many conditions and adapt. But for the health of your fish, a larger place and a filter would be fantastic!

If you need more info feel free to email me.

Answer 2

you should get him at least a ten gallon.
we have some in a huge pond and many are over 5-6lbs and around 10 years old. most are only around six inches about 8-9 years old. there dirty fish and stink up your water so u will be cleaning a lot. im working on a 29 gallon tank right now for just two goldfish that i will get from our pond. 6 years is not bad. but mine are only at most 10 and still growing! the record is 43 years. they commonly live to 20 from what ive heard and seen. but most deffinatley get at least a 10 gallon for your friend.

Answer 3

Yes, your fish needs much more room. I would suggest you get her a 15 - 20 gallon tank and the sooner the better. 6 years is still well within normal for goldfish. With proper care they will easily hit 20 years or more. There are records of some in public aquarium and pond living to over 50.

MM

Answer 4

Well, the life expectancy for a fish can vary form different species. But most of the time, they live about 1-10 years. I had a goldfish that lived for 6 years also. ^^ And yes, fish growing to the size of their enclosure is what they do. If u keep getting a bigger tank, the fish will eventually keep growing to fit the tank. I hope this helps! By the way, ur fish is NOT mutated, dont worry! ^_^

Answer 5

Yes it is normal! You dont have a mutated fish. The larger the tank, the bigger the fish. If you get a 50 gallon tank, if your fish lives for 10 more years, she will grow MUCH bigger. Get a 7 gallon and no more. She will stop growing.

Answer 6

yes it is normal I ve heard of an old goldfish that was 8" and the life span of a goldfish is about 20 years I ve only had mine for one year

Answer 7

this is so not normal and a regular goldfish only lives to be about 3 so i think the people at the fair told you some lies but i congratulate you to even be able to keep one alive that long mine died after 2 days because of the way the lady was treating them at the fair.

Answer 8

I think the oldest goldfish was like in it's 50's. and with good care it's not unusual for them to live 10-20yrs. you should find out what kind it is, see link bellow:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/ftypes.html

I'd get your goldfish a 20gallon with a good filter. slim bodied goldfish get to be up to 18inches, and fancies get to be up to 10" plus they produce tons of ammonia, so they need lots of room. not to mention the inch per gallon rule is not a rule, and is actually not true at all, and REALLY doesn't work for goldfish because of all the waste they produce.

just be sure to cycle the tank before adding your goldfish, for more info see link bellow:
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/FishlessCycle.html

Answer 9

they will grow to the size of the tank.she probley wont grow anymore'we have a 1100 gal pond and they can get huge

Answer 10

i had 1 that live to be 10 yrs old once... ture... no lie...it happened