Aiming4 Goldfish Care

10 Responses to “Do i Absolutely have to have a lid on my goldfish aquarium?”

1. Frank m Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   You do not want to put a glass lid on any fish tank, no matter what kind of livestock. If you have jumpers you can put egg crate on top. It is the stuff they put in commercial lighting fixtures.

   Running a glass lid slows evaporation dramatically, which raises the tank temp quickly. Most fish are pretty forgiving to varying temperatures, they are not forgiving to quick changes in temperature. With the lid and evaporation slowed down you are also limiting the amount of oxygen available to the tank. Most reefkeepers prefer to run complete open top tanks, even suspending the lights from the ceiling. See some nice pics here.
   http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1178405

2. PiePantsss Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   yes. goldfish are jumpers once they get about medium sized. i lost about four like that until i got the idea and just bought a lid. at least you don’t have to wake up to a dried up fishy on the floor. it’s sad.
   good luck.

3. izzyb Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   its not necessary. Goldfish may jump out (why you need a lid) but they aren’t really known for that.

   You can always try freecycle or craiglist to see is someone has an extra lid as I’ve seen them being given away frequently on both sites.

4. Aquarium Guy Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   yea i know, i feel ur pain man. no, actually most people dont because fancies are kinda slow swimmers if u no wat i mean and dont really make an effort to jump out. theres a 25% chance that your goldfish will jump out of the tank. what i would do is have ALOT of cool decorations for the tank, so the fish becomes too addicted to it XD. because he’ll be to focused exploring it instead of trying to jump out of the tank

   in fact, the only reason fish try to jump out is because when people take care of them in bad conditions, like small bowls and leaving them in harmful tap water, as long as u take good care of your goldfish and change their water weekly, and keep their tank nice looking and clean, i doubt your goldfish would even think of jumping out of the tank lol

   heres my site on fish care

   http://aquariumexperts.webs.com/

   take care and bless your fish

5. Marsha Mellow Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   You don’t "absolutely have to", but I’ve tried going without and found two things that really bugged me:

   1) Goldfish stink! You wouldn’t think so, but they really do. I cleaned my bowl, but it only took a few days for it to smell like a sewer again. So, if you get a lid you won’t have to suffer the stench.
   2) Dust collects on top of the water. This means you’ll probably be cleaning it more often than you’d normally have to. Also, it’s kind of gross when you drop the flakes in there, only to see them sit on top of the layer of dust. Your poor fishie will get a mouthful of filth when he goes for the food. haha, well, mine did anyway…

   That’s just my experience of going without a lid. So while you may not need it, it’s more convenient.

6. SaraLinn Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   My tank don’t have a lid on it, but my fishies are pretty peaceful . Depends on the type of fishies you have =)

7. artbaby444 Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   Yes. Your room will smell and dust and dirt will get into your tank. Also - you need a lid to hold your light strip - Goldfish need light and it’s suggested that you keep them on a schedule of 12 hours with the light on, and 12 hours in darkness.You also need a filter and an air pump. I hope you have, at a minimum, these items to keep your goldfish happy & healthy.

8. Elizabeth K Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   I’m going to say yes.

   1. Airborne oils and dusts will settle on the surface of your water.
   2. Things that don’t belong in the tank may fall into it.
   3. Too much evaporation will occur.
   4. The fish may jump out and die.

   ~If you don’t want to invest in the full aquarium hood set up, than just buy a simple glass cover.

9. 4eversweet Says:
   September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

   i just put a book over the top of my fish bowl (but if you have an aquarium you should probably use a lid. they jump.. ive lost a couple to them jumping and landing.. not in their bowl. but you dont absolutely have to. they might not jump.. but i would just to be safe.

10. like legit.. Says:
    September 29th, 2009 at 09:36

    Just get a plastic or a wooden board that’s slightly bigger than the tank so that you can cover it up. I dont understand how ppl get attached to a gold fish….. :/