How to keep goldfish alive?
I have a goldfish and I’m pretty much obsessed with marine life in general. But every goldfish I’ve had before it has died. I live in Florida so it’s humid, I’m not sure if that makes a difference. How do I keep it alive?
Tags: Goldfish
January 2nd, 2010 at 09:55
Keeping the water clean and the aquarium stable is the main thing that will keep goldfish alive.
The ideal temperature is 72F to 85F. Goldfish can tolerate colder water, but water consistently over 90F will probably kill them. I know that in Colorado, aquarium temps can get over 90F in the summer fairly easy without any heater in the tank…just from normal (un-air-conditioned) room temperature. So you would probably have this issue in Florida too. The only long term solution is to keep them in an air conditioned environment indoors.
Make sure your tank is cycled. Make sure you are doing water changes a couple times a month after your tank is cycled. Water changes will be necessary no matter how filtered your tank is.
Make sure you are not overfeeding…people have a tendency to overfeed goldfish because goldfish always seem hungry and they feel sorry for them. Don’t. Goldfish are perpetually hungry, and will eat until they explode if you let them. If you see poop ropes in the tank, you are overfeeding.
Goldfish can tolerate salt (and actually like it) but not to marine levels. Make sure you are using normal aquarium salt and not Marine salt, and only the amounts listed on the box.
January 2nd, 2010 at 09:55
How to Make a Goldfish Live for Decades
Believe it or not, a goldfish should live for 10 to 25 years or longer if it’s given the proper care. The Guinness Book of World Records cites a goldfish named Tish that lived 43 years after being won at a fair in England in 1956! Here’s how to help your scaly companion survive into the "golden years."
Steps
Purchase the largest possible tank for your goldfish. While using a 2.5 gallon tank instead of a small bowl will increase longevity, albeit not by much, 10 gallons per fish or more is necessary. Choose a tank with a large surface area to increase the amount of oxygen in contact with the surface of the water (i.e. wider is better than taller).
Set up the tank prior to the purchase of fish. Getting it ready may take two or more weeks. It is necessary to build up enough good bacteria to break down the fish’s wastes. To do this, do the "Fishless Cycle" (see external links below). Once completed, your Goldfish aquarium will have more than enough bacteria to break down the wastes your fish will produce. Failure to cycle a tank will result in ammonia poisoning.
Provide mental and physical stimulation for the fish. Decorate the tank with gravel, bridges, plants, etc. Gravel provides a place for good bacteria to grow, and goldfish like to hide and swim through little buildings and bridges. Rearrange the bridges and plants on a monthly basis to offer the goldfish "new" areas to explore.
Add a filter. Either a large internal or an external is best, as goldfish are very messy creatures. Without a filter, smaller tanks will foul and become deadly in just a day or two. Keep in mind that having a filter doesn’t mean you can avoid cleaning the tank. Even with a filter, change 20% to 50% of the water about once every week.
Add some equipment to increase oxygen diffusion into the water. A powerhead is best, although some fancies will not like the current. If this is the case, a large air pump and air stone is sufficient.
Clean the tank regularly. This is essential. How often you do this will depend on the size of your tank, the number of fish, and the effectiveness of the filter.
When you add/change water, use a dechlorinator that also removes chloramine and heavy metals as per instructions.
Frequently test for ammonia and nitrite. A pH test is also handy to ensure your goldfish’s water is not too alkaline or acidic. This can be purchased at any pet store. Do not modify the fish’s water, however, unless it is significantly different from neutral. Goldfish can tolerate a wide pH range, and pH modifying chemicals are not a lasting solution without more consistent monitoring than most people will do. A range of pH 6.5-8.25 is fine. Many municipal water supplies buffer their water up to around 7.5, and goldfish will live very happily in this range.
Do not remove the goldfish during a water change. Using a gravel vacuum to suck debris out of the gravel can be done with the fish in the tank. Frequent partial water changes are better than full (and stressful) water changes.
If you do need to catch your fish, consider using a plastic container rather than a net, as the fish can injure its fins and scales while thrashing around. This also increases stress! If a net is the only option, soak it prior to use. Dry nets are much more likely to cause injury than wet ones.
Allow the water temperature to change as the seasons change. While goldfish don’t like temperatures over 75°F (24°C), they do seem to like seasonal variations where the temperature falls to the high 50s or 60s (15-20°c) in the winter. Fancier goldfish are an exception and cannot easily tolerate temperatures below about 60°F (16°c). Be aware that goldfish will not eat below 50-55°F (10-14°c).
Feed the goldfish once or twice daily with food specifically designed for goldfish. If you choose to feed them twice, then reduce the size of the meals. Give them only as much as they can eat in a few minutes, and clean any leftovers immediately.
Tips
Be sure to regularly clean leftover food and waste from the gravel.
If the air pump is too strong for the size of the tank, you may place a clip or commercially available valve on the tubing and reduce the amount of bubbles.
Never use a tank under ten gallons unless it is temporary (ie, less than a week). Anything smaller will stunt the fish leading to many health problems, and can be considered cruel.
Carbon is arguably unnecessary. It will mask a lot of problems, and eventually it will leak all toxins back into the water.
Goldfish can grow to be over 12 inches long if put in tanks or ponds that are large enough!
Test your water for pH, hardness, and alkalinity initially. If your water is soft, adding some oyster shells to a mesh bag is good as it can help raise the hardness and buffer the water. Goldfish like water with a pH of 7 to 8 and moderate hardness.
Goldfish also like aquarium salt. This is different from salt used in oceanic tanks. It is a freshwater sal
January 2nd, 2010 at 09:55
What kind of Goldfish do you have? If it is a Fancy Goldfish, it needs a minimum of 20 gallons of filtered water. Make sure you have a filter that is made for tanks twice as large, just because Goldfish produce a lot of ammonia and having a strong filter ensures that there is the least amount of ammonia possible.
Make sure you cycle the tank first! Keep your tank running with no livestock (plants, fish, snails, etc) for at least five days. You should be dropping flakes or pellets in the tank (just a pinch - as if you are feeding your fish) to make sure the bacteria levels in the tank grow.
Make sure you also buy pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate testers so that everyday when your tank is cycling, you can test them. Look up online what the specific levels should be for each.
When your tank is cycled, then you can add your fish, live plants, and snails. You should be checking your water everyday for another week, to make sure the levels of your water are maintaining the right amounts.
By this point, you should be doing 25% water changes weekly. So get yourself a siphon (aquarium vacuum) and scoop up all the waste from the gravel, since it sinks to the bottom, and remove ONLY 25%, making sure you don’t disturb the bacteria levels too much. Replace it with new, cool water since Goldfish are cold-water fish, and treat it by adding a cap of water conditioner (or however much is said on the bottle.)
Your fish should be fine like this. One more thing to remember, do not remove your fish when you do water changes, as it upsets them too much.
Don’t place your tank near direct sunlight, or you’ll have an algae breakout!
Good luck!