please answer!?

Question

i always thought you could keep a goldfish in a fish bowl. now, i read that you have to have a filter and stuff. i dont really want to buy all that stuff for a fish! my daughter wants a goldfish but i cant buy all this filter stuff! what do i do?

Answer 1

On the contrary goldfish can be housed in a bowl. the oldest goldfish on record "goldie" lived to be 43 years old and lived in a bowl.

the key to keeping a goldfish in a bowl is to keep the right kind of goldfish in the right kind of bowl. NO HEATER. A large enough bowl will house a fantail or fancy just fine. no filter, no airbubbles etc. The main thing you want to remember is to keep the bowl clean. Changing 1/2 the water in the bowl when you see it is dirty or no less than once per week will keep him healthy and happy. Do not over feed and feed him 3 times per day small amount. If you see fish waste on the bottom of the bowl, use a new turkey baster and suck it out. This will help to keep his bowl clean.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Goldfish are very messy and get pretty big, if you want a very low maintainance fish, get a Betta. It would prefer a filter and a heater and a real tank, but it would be fine in a bowl or large vase, maybe add a live plant like Java Moss. Make sure you only keep 1 Betta in a tank though because they will fight other Bettas to the death. You could keep 3 Glass Shrimp in the bowl too, they will walk around the bottom and eat any food or algae on the gravel/sand.

Answer 3

If the goldfish is going to grow its full size and live a happy healthy life then you are going to need a decent size tank like a 30 gallon tank (depends on how many goldfish). Even though suggested was a 2.5 gallon mini aquarium kit which will become to small for the goldfish so you cannot use that. If your were to buy a Betta it would do great in the 2.5 gallon tank. Do not put a Betta in a bowl unless you can can take time to the clean it about three times a week by doing a water change. If you put the Betta in a 2.5 mini aquarium kit then you will only have to change the water once a week and only have do about 25%. I really suggest you look into the betta unless you want to buy all the needs for a goldfish starting with a good sized tank.

http://www.bettatalk.com/basic_care.htm

http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/5516.asp

http://www.firsttankguide.net/betta.php

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1918&articleid=2340

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Betta.pdf

http://liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=832

Answer 4

Leave the fish in the store for someone that will take care of it properly. While a fish CAN live in a fish bowl, it should be cared for properly and probably will not like being taken out of a nicely filtered, aerated aquarium at the store to be put into a plain ole bowl. If you do get one anyway, please be sure to take care of it as well or dont take on the responsibility. Without a filter, the water needs to be changed and cleaned reguarly (like every few days, if not more often) and you still need to purchase food, chemicals for the water, medications if needed, etc.

Answer 5

If you are committed to getting a fish, have her look at a Beta (also Betta). This is a Labryinth fish, it has rudimentary lungs and does not need extensive filtering or aeration although that is a nice thing to have. This is why you see them so often in little glass cups. About all you have to do is feed it. Beta are also more colorful than Goldfish and do about the same thing: Swim.
For more information, check the web site shown in the source box.

Answer 6

Fish bowls are basically made for stores to make money. Like BUY A BOWL AND GET THE GOLDFISH FREE!!! Then the goldfish dies and bam you need to buy another because it was your first you think you messed up somehow, so you buy another bam it dies. Damn Second time around meh ill buy one more OMG WTF IT DIED AGAIN!!

! www.yahoo.com answers commercial comes on, you go on the website find the pets get the fish then look at KEEP GOLDFISH IN A 20g+ tank!

Answer 7

Goldfish can get well over a foot long and live for 20+ years, so people but them and bowls and they die in a few months. You shouldn't get a pet if youre not willing to do thew best for it

Answer 8

Check with the local pets store n they shld hv those ready oxygen which is in solid form where it can last for 7 weeks in the water,but as goldfish waste is much u might need to remove the waste everyday inorder to keep it clean.

Answer 9

i had my own fishtank and everything with filters and stuff. the fish do live much longer with a filter. you can get different size tanks for the fish and then you need a filter and all that crap but it doesnt really get that expensive. you can just go with a bowl. . . but you may have to do the death speech thing a little earlier that wanted. ;) or you could get a betta/siamese fighting fish.

i would just get this for a gold fish- http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3635102

betta fish- http://ezinearticles.com/?Ten-Tips-for-Caring-for-Your-Betta-Fish&id=54839

this is something you can do with your betta fish. . . a cool arrangment- http://www.gardengate.org/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/LargeBetaFish.jpg

maybe this helped a little???

Answer 10

Get a beta fish- or siamese fighting fish. They don't need much of anything but food. They are quite beautiful and hardy.