Goldfish: Most Basic Care Sheet

GOLDFISH CARE SHEET

BOWL When choosing a bowl (only for temporary short-term use (a day or two at most)... w/o space and filtration your goldfish will not live very long, or well) or tank, get one that is as large as possible. Make sure it is clean by rinsing it out with fresh water - if there is any residue on the sides, clean this off with a salt or a cleaner from our store. Never use soap or detergent as they will poison your fish. Position the container away from sunny windows and doors where the temperature will change a lot. Know that these fishes live a long time (a few decades) and achieve large sizes (comets grow to more than a foot ultimately) if kept properly, and will need much larger quarters in time. A good gauge is 15-20 gallons per individual ultimately.

 

DECORATIONS Plants, rocks, and lighting are nice but not necessary. Avoid putting things in the water which will scratch your fish or poison them, like shells and coral.

 

FISH First of all, be sure not to put too many fish in the container. We recommend at most one fish per half gallon of water and only when the fish are quite small (1/2-1"). When putting your new fish in the container, it is best to float the fish in the bag they came in for about ten minutes. This equalizes the temperature of the water in the bag to the temperature in the container. Your fish will be less stressed by doing this. After floating, remove the fish from the bag and put only the fish into the container, none of the old water.

 

FEEDING Just like you, your fish need to eat everyday. It is better to feed them twice a day, but only a little. Goldfish should eat all of their food within one minute of being fed. There should never be any left over food on the bottom. Be careful not to overfeed.

 

CLEANING It's a good idea to change your water about every week. When cleaning, place your fish in a suitable container with some of the water they were already in. To clean, rinse the bowl out with clean tap water and wipe it out with a paper towel. Refill with fresh tap water. Be sure to add the chemical to remove tapwater sanitizer and follow the directions on the label. When returning the fish to the bowl, use the same procedure as when receiving a new fish.

OTHER Please call us if you have any questions or run into any problems, we're here to help.

 

Magnus, WWM, goldfish info.  Hi Bob, Just wanted to say that I'm enjoying helping out with your Great site. I have learned a great deal from your site in the past, and must say that I'm still learning so much. With helping all these people I have really sharpened the knowledge of the fishie world. <For me as well> I didn't realize you receive so many emails a day! Glad I can be of assistance to you. <There is soon to be quite a jump in traffic...> the reason for this email isn't just to say thanks for welcoming me into the fold, but to state that I do have a bit of concerns with a few aspects of you site. I've been answering an email or two dealing with Goldfish. I've kept them for many many years (in fact the first fish I ever owned, which is a goldfish, is still alive and kicking). But, I really have a bit of a problem with a few facts that are on the start of the goldfish page on WWM. <Outstanding... I encourage you to write this area in sections/articles, and want to offer to pay you for same, as we will run them in the new online zine in installments as well. The "goldfish" portion of the FW subweb is undeveloped, to put it mildly... If you would address the basic issues... feeding/nutrition, disease, general husbandry... that would be most appreciated> I don't mean to speak bad, but I think a few of the facts are a bit antiquated, and it's not advice that I feel WWM should be offering. <No worries voicing your opinions... much of the site IS very dated... mostly a/the nature of the beast... the several hundred articles posted were written since 1981 on... many never updated.> Examples. The first mention of goldfish states "Bowls". I've tried for many years to have people realize that goldfish are far to messy to be kept in bowls. I know it does say that it's best to get the biggest possible, but I would love to have it not even mention bowls. Push the idea that tanks are what is needed. Leave the bowls to Bettas that need something larger than the stupid cup that is given to them. <Agreed> second: You state that "We recommend about one fish per half gallon of water." Which, in my opinion is way to small amount with fish as messy as goldfish. If I were to read that and not know I would think I could have 5 goldfish in 2.5 gallons of water! These fish need about 10 gallons of water for one fish just to help with the dispersal of fish waste. These fish are massive ammonia producers, and the need lots of water in order to stay healthy. <Yes... you may benefit from understanding where the "Goldfish Care Sheet" posted originated. This was a free flyer we handed out in concert with our stores supplying "prizes" for schools, churches for their "fairs"... I/we found that "meeting the consumer" about where the "Sheet" is was about right... proscribing that they go out immediately and spend tens of dollars on suitable quarters... not productive... would likely have resulted in many more animals being flushed> Other than that, there are some weird typos on the opening goldfish page also "Be sure to add the chemical to remove to remove chlorine... ". I would like to help out and make sure the goldfish area is updated and offering correct information. If you would like I can find some of my old articles I had written describing general goldfish and goldfish care. Just simple bulleted paragraphs giving generalized info on goldfish I figure. If not, my girlfriend (who is the real expect on the goldfish) can possibly give you some really nice paragraphs to go on the intro goldfish page. She would be more than willing to help, and if you gave her a credit line like "written by" she would probably die of happiness. hehe. <Please do ask her to do so... that is, write... not die!> I hope you don't mind this random email to you stating problems, but I didn't want to just sit on the side lines when I thought a few things needed a bit of changing. <You are making my week, perhaps month> Thanks again for letting me join your team. I promise to give you the best I can. Magnus

New Print and eBook on Amazon Goldfish Success What it takes to keep goldfish healthy long-term by Robert (Bob) Fenner