Keeping Goldfish

- The Basics -

So you decided to get a goldfish. Maybe someone gave him to you, your kid wanted a pet, or whatever. You got the nice swimming fellow, found a bowl, some food, and maybe a plant for him. You go home, set-up the bowl, place your finnie friend inside, feed him and wander away.

A few days pass.

Then one morning you get up and go to feed your finnie friend and find the poor fellow floating belly-up on the surface. The water sinks and is yellowish. You cry and say a prayer over him, then flush him into the great beyond.

Now, are you gonna send another poor fish to the Great Beyond, or….

Do you want to learn how to keep him alive and happy for many years to come?

Yes?

First ask yourself ”What did I do wrong?” Many things, but we shall forgive you this time. There’s a lot involved with keeping any pet, including fish! Most people think if they give it a bowl with water, it will be happy. Wrong!

First, goldfish can grow to be VERY LARGE! Depending on the type of goldie (more on this later) you got, they may reach up to 12” or more! Most places will tell you to get a tank/bowl that allows 1 gallon of water per inch of fish. For tropical fish, this works ok (up to a point).

Not for goldfish! Common goldfish should have 20 gallons per fish, fancy goldfish at least 10 gallons per fish. Even if it is only an inch or two big when you buy it. They grow fast and will quickly out grow a small tank or bowl, leaving you with a very sick fish if you’re not careful. Plus, ignore them when they say it will only grow as large as the container you place it in. Goldfish never had anybody tell them this so they just keep growing with little concern they will outgrow their homes. If you plan on housing 2 goldfish, then start with nothing smaller than a 20 gallon, preferable a 29/30 gallon. If you get a 20 gallon tank, I would recommend a 20 gallon long over high. We will get into the reasoning in a little bit, but trust me. Longer is better for goldfish.

Now, remember, water is heavy. A gallon weighs around 8-10 pounds, more if it’s saltwater. A 20 gallon tank weights between 160-200 pounds and that’s just the water! You haven’t even added the fish, gravel, plants, a filter, airstones, lid, lamps, or anything else you might need. Make sure you have a stable, flat surface that can support at least 350 pounds to place the tank. If you don’t have a sturdy piece of furniture, buy a stand for the tank. Most come with a second shelf that can house supplies and maybe later, a second tank. It shouldn’t be in the middle of the room, in a hallway, under a heater or A/C, or in direct sunlight. All of these places have problems and will cause major headaches if you place them there. Also, consider any existing pets you might have. Dogs could knock into it and cats will want to play/watch them too!

When you buy your tank, depending on where you got it, it may or may not have come with a cover and light. I personally don’t like the plastic covers. They will get salt/water deposits on them and start to look nasty. Plus, I’ve had mine break and fall into the water on me. I recommend buying a glass-top, which is just two plates of glass, hinged together, so your light can rest on top. They are much easier to clean, plus the back may be completely open (if you didn’t install that plastic liner strip) so you can install any number of filters, airstones, etc.

Now, did it come with a light? You need a light. Goldfish more so than you expect. They can (and will) lose their color if you keep them in the dark all the time. They need about 6 hours (no more than 12) of light a day. BUT, don’t just leave the light on all the time either. It will lead to problems: stressed fish and algae.

Just remember, you like it dark when you sleep, right? Well, your poor goldfish don’t have any eyelids to close, so if you don’t make it dark for them to sleep, they will start to get stressed out and may make themselves sick. Another thing, algae will start to grow inside your tank. This can be a double-edged sword. Some algae is good, it helps keep the water good and the fish can snack on it. But too much will start to make the water bad as it dies and fouls the water. If your water ever turns green, you need LESS light. A real good way to regulate the light is to buy a cheap timer, program it for the time of day you’ll be home the most, and plug the lamp in. They’ll get light, you don’t have to remember to turn it off, and it might help keep burglars away from the house too.

(PS: don’t buy any plecos, algae eaters, apple snails, or Chinese catfish – they can be more of a danger to your goldfish than they ever will do good! If your goldies can’t eat enough algae, you need to work on other issues instead of buying a “cheap” fix.)

Next thing to get is a filter. Let’s take a second to discuss why you need a good filter for your fish. There are three main ways of filtration for a fish tank. Mechanical, chemicals, and bio-logical. First would be mechanical; a pad of floss that is used to remove large water borne particles suspended in the water. They could be food, plant matter, mulm kicked up when the fish dug around in the gravel. All this crud is in the water and needs to removed to keep the water clear and prevent the fish from clogging up their gills. The pad will become clogged fast with goldfish, due to the fact that they produce LARGE amounts of waste. Plus, this pad will allow the good bacteria you need inside the tank to grow, but when clogged, it will not allow enough oxygen to reach the bacteria and they will die.

The second type of filtration is chemical; a material that removes unseen items, such as wastes in the water, ammonia, nitrite, and other products. This type of filtration is done with a material which absorbs the wastes, like carbon, zeolight, special phosphorus/nitrite absorbing media. This type of filtration is good when starting up a tank, as it will assist with water quality, but later when the tank is fully cycled (or if you have planted the tank) it is not needed.

The last type is the most important, biological. The filter pad will provide a home to the bacteria that your tank’s needs to establish a Cycle (much more on this later). This bacterium needs access to oxygen and also needs to be keep in the water to live. These bacteria consume the wastes produced by your fish and convert it into less toxic materials. Some filters supplement the filter pad with a special media to allow the bacteria the most surface area to grow. Bio-wheels, bio-balls, ceramic rings, and lava rocks are some of the choices. These items will remain inside the filter the longest, so when replacing the filter floss pad, it will allow the bacteria to re-grow faster.

Now, on to the filter types. The first type to discuss is undergravel filters (a plate that sits under the gravel with uplift tubes), which are great for bio-filtration, but they have some cons to take into consideration. Undergravels need power heads to move enough water to prevent the bacteria (which is in every fish tank, but lives under the UG plate in this type) from dying and poisoning the whole tank. The gravel covering the UG plate must be cleaned weekly to prevent an excess of debris, which will cut-back on the oxygen levels the bacteria living under the plate need. This will allow the wrong type of bacteria to thrive and start to produce toxic gases, which will harm your fish. In addition, the UG must be cleaned-out every 6 months (hooking a vacuum to the uplift tube, reversing the flow on the power head, or removing the plate and a 100% cleaning) to remove dead bacteria/mulm or it will start to harm the whole tank.

Next type is the power filter, HOT or HOB style. HOT means Hang On Tank, HOB is Hang On Back. This filter is an enclosed system, where water is drawn from the tank into a box, passed through a filter pad/medium and returned to the tank. Whisper filters are good starter filters, but make sure to OVER size the filter for goldfish. A filter for a 20 gallon tank can not support 2-3 goldfish in that tank (unless you watch the water quality like a hawk). You’ll need a filter for a 55 gallon tank at least, 75 would be better. If you want a healthier system, then I recommend the Penguin Bio-Wheel (170 or 330) filters or Emperor Bio-Wheel (400) systems. These filters have a wheel for the ‘good’ bacteria to grow on that will get exposure to both water and air. The bacterium removes the ammonia from the water and converts it into nitrite. I’ll explain this shortly in more detail. You will develop a Bio-filter inside the tank after a month or two, but this type of filter will give it more space to grow and makes for switching tanks (to help cycle them) easier.

Now, if you want to go more Gun-ho, then I recommend the AquaClear series from Hagen. They are a HOB style missing the Wheel from the Peguins, but have a large basket for medium. Plus, instead of the water just passing thru the filter media from front to back, in an AC, it passes from beneath, flowing up and out. This is great because of the sponges that system uses, plus any type of biological growth media you can place in. I myself have a 200 & 300 (50 &70 new names). I place a bag of lava rock on the bottom of the basket, followed by the sponge, then a small phosphorus pad (to help control nI & nA and polish of the returning water). The flow rate is great, it keeps the water clear, and does a great job of “pre-starting” a new sponge for new tanks.

(PLUS, the sponges for the AC’s can be used for a great many different things; from replacing the floss pads in the Whisper’s to sticking on the uptake tubes to cut back on large items from entering the filter body – like floating plants or very small fish.)

If you want to start totally Gun-ho, then I say go for the canister type filter. I myself am in the process of acquiring one, so I will have to fill in this section more as I start using one myself. I do know that they are the best type of filtration for indoor aquariums; they turn over a lot of water, are the best thing for biological filtration (hold large amounts of bio-growth media), and also help ‘polish’ (meaning it removes suspended organic material from the water) the water, which fish will thank you for. They may be a little pricy to start-up (the price of the filter plus the media), but they prove themselves when the matanince time needed to keep your fish happy and healthy is lowered.

Next, you need some gravel. Or you can go with river rocks too. Stay away from epoxy coated gravel/rocks. Why? Goldfish are diggers. They will root through the gravel and suck it into their mouths. If it is coated, the coating may come off and they will eat it. It could make them very sick. Plus make sure whatever you get isn’t sharp, it might cut up their mouths, which can lead to serious problems or death.

Because goldfish will pick up gravel in their mouths, you must be careful with the size you get. It either needs to be too small or too large to fit. At least 1/8” - 1/4” or over ¾” and between 1” to 2” inches of depth is a good amount. More is not needed and will cause problems. Gravel allows the ‘good’ bacteria to grow in the tank, helping convert the deadly ammonia to nitrite, which in turn gets converted to nitrate. But…just like a Undergravel filter, you need to clean it regularly or it will turn anaerobic (bacteria that can not live in oxygen and will produce toxic gases that harm your fish) The best way to do this is a special vacuum used for siphoning off water, while rooting thru the gravel to remove debris that settled into it. There is another option, a bare-bottom tank. It allows for easy cleaning, but you won’t have the extra bacteria growth space and it makes for keeping plants a little harder (not impossible, just harder – that’s why there are potted plants!)

Confused a little about all this talk about bacteria? The bacteria relate to something called the “CYCLE” of a tank. This has to take place for the fish to live in a closed system like an aquarium. If this cycle doesn’t work or gets broken, your fish will get sick and die, fast. Gravel (or rocks), filter pads, and bio-media gives the bacteria surface area to live on and complete this important function.

Now for a little info on this strange CYCLE that the tank will go through. Fish produce waste, or in the case of goldfish, a LOT of waste. Goldfish are considerably dirty fish. Plus, if you overfeed them, extra food rots inside the tank too. Both of these cause ammonia levels to rise in the tank. Ammonia can (and will at high enough levels) kill your fish. It burns their gills, making it almost impossible for them to ‘breathe’. If they can’t breathe, they will die. Now, there is a bunch of bacteria that will settle into a tank if something living (or once living) is placed in there. These bacteria (bugs) eat the ammonia in the water and produce nitrite as their waste product. That is the first part of the cycle.

Now, nitrite isn’t that good for your fish either. It can also lead to their death, because it will make their blood not be able to carry oxygen. The next part of the cycle is when the next set of bugs kick in and eat up the nitrite, thus producing nitrate as their waste. Nitrate is safer for the fish, but since the system they are living in is closed, there is no natural way to remove the nitrate. Nitrate has to be removed because at high levels, it will suppress your fish’s immune system and thus allowing them to get sick. This is where you come in; to remove the nitrates, you perform water changes on a regular schedule.

Water changes are a necessary part of owning fish. If you don’t want to take the time and effort of doing them, then you should consider getting a different type of pet. A standard water change involves removing 25% to 50% of the tank’s water, cleaning the gravel (they make special vacuums to do this – Python is a great system for any tank owner to invest in), cleaning or replacing the filter pads, and finally replacing the water with fresh treated water.

Now note, I said “treated” water. Not bottled water. You can use plain old tap water, but since we humans drink it, they have placed chlorine and other chemicals into the water to make it safe for you. These chemicals are NOT good for your fish. Chlorine will burn their gills and chloramines decompose into ammonia and chlorine, doubling the damage that will be done. A simple de-chlorinator will remove them and make the water safe for your fishes. (Brands like Aquasafe and Prime, are very good – if you aren’t sure if your water has chloramines, then make sure to use one of these or ask the pet people).

Now, while we are on the topic of water (and you are heading out to get de-chlorinator) we need to address a few more things for your water. Salt won’t harm the fish (even though goldfish are classified as fresh water fish) and in fact can help them re-build their slime coat. Yes, you read right….SLIME COAT! This coating allows the fish to live in the water with all those bugs (bacteria) and not be harmed by them. It also can kill some parasites that your fish might pick-up somewhere. (Salt will be addressed in the Medicine section in more detail) DO NOT USE standard table salt! It has iodine, which is bad for your fish. Sea salt, ice cream salt, aquarium salt are all good choices. Any salt you buy, read the back and make sure it doesn’t have any additives like iodine or yellow Prussiate of Soda.

One more thing to pick up at the store is a set of test kits. Test kits? Are my fish going to school? Nope, but you will need to test your water. Remember when I told you that the bugs convert things and make other things? You need to know how much of what is inside your tank, so you can correct for it and keep your fish alive. The most basic tests you need are: PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Other tests that may help are; KH, GH, salt, and O2. KH and GH tests will help if your water is “hard” or soft, such as well water or R/O water. Salt tests are used more for salt-water fish, but since goldfish can be treated with salt, a good hydrometer may be a good investment. For inside aquariums, the O2 tests may not be needed, unless you think there is an issue. Try to get the type of test that uses a glass vial and liquid drops. They are more accurate than the paper strip types. I’ll get into the testing later, just buy them now and save some running around later (and heart-ache if the stores are closed and something happens).

Ok, now back to getting your tank ready for your fish. You have the tank, the light, the filter, the gravel (or not), de-chlorinator, and salt. Now, what else you ask. Goldfish are a coldwater species and as such, don’t really need a heater unless their tank water falls below 65 degrees F. Normally, inside you’ll never have to worry about this, so you can skip buying a heater. But in order to tell what temperature the water is, you’ll need a thermometer. The best type to get is the ones that stick to the outside of the tank. The floating types can be broken if they are knocked into the glass by the water current or the fish.

Now, your tank may look kind plain and boring. Add some plants! If you are a first time fish keeper, I don’t recommend live plants at first. They need special requirements (light, CO2, food) and with goldfish, you’ll probably waste your money as they will EAT them (or uproot them every blinking day!). They do sell nice Silk plants out there that look just like real plants. Now, they won’t help with the water qualities, but they will offer that bacteria I was talking about some extra space to grow on. The best rule of thumb for how many to put in a tank is that the fish must be able to swim freely, you can see the gravel (to clean it), and always place the tallest ones to the back.

Because you are planning on keeping goldfish in this tank, and certain species of goldfish can be quiet delicate, I don’t recommend getting anything fancy to put into the tank. Sorry, no skulls, roman ruins, divers, and so on. Your goldfish will swim everywhere it can and they aren’t the most aware of their surroundings. They might cut, tear, impale, or do worse to themselves just swimming around. Keep all the fancy stuff, including fake logs and big rocks, out of the tank. You’ll thank me later.

Now, another thing about goldfish. They need massive amounts of O2 in the water. Much more than your standard tropical fish. Part of this has to do with the fact that they like higher PH levels than most fish, ranging into the 8’s. The other factors include warm water and their size. High PH water, with warmer temps, make the amount of dissolved O2 in the water lower than normal. If you can keep your water around 70 F, you’ll do better, but my personal tank never drops below 76 F.

How do I put more O2 in the water. If your filter doesn’t create enough of a disturbance on the surface of the water, then an airstone or wand and may help increase the surface disturbance. O2 is replaced when the surface is broken up to allow CO2 to be released. Multiple airstones or a power head w/ a ventri attachment would work great.

One note on water current, certain types of fancy goldfish like Moors, Bubble-Heads, and Lionheads may not be able to swim or find food in a high current tank. Some of these fish lack the Dorsal fin (the large sail-like fin on their backs) thus don’t have the stabilizing ability in the water. This fish will not like a lot of water current (so extra power heads may not be good), but you will still have to place one or two small airstones inside the tank to keep the surface moving so the water is aerated enough for them to healthy.

This is where buying the longer tank is more helpful than a tall tank. The more surface area a fish tank has for the water to touch the air, the better the transfer rate of CO2 to O2 will be. Long tanks have a great surface area for the same size than tall tanks. Now, this is not saying that you can’t buy tall tanks; you just need to increase the amount aeration/surface disturbance to make up for the lesser surface area. So instead of just placing a single air wand or stone, place three. I have a 45 gallon tank, which is 24” tall, 36” long, and 12” deep. Thus my surface area is somewhat small. To compensate, I have two 8” air wands and my filters produce enough current to keep the surface in constant movement. (My plants don’t like it, but my goldies do.)

While on the topic of air stones and pumps, try to locate a battery powered air pump. Why? If you lose power, your filter, air stones, and powerheads will stop working. For a few minutes, this will be ok, but more than a half hour, you are courting trouble. Goldfish can suffocate in the water once they have used up all the O2 dissolved in it. A battery-operated air pump will allow you to hook up your air stones to keep them alive. Plus, it will help remove some of the ammonia that will starting to build up without your filter running. If you don’t know when your power is going to come back on, a good thing to do is place the filter pads (and bio-wheel) inside the tank. Just remember, if your power is off for over 3 hours, the good bugs will have died and if the filter kicks back on, it will dump all that dead matter into the tank and hurt your fish if you haven’t removed your filter pads. Also, do a 45% water change and put in some salt to help relive any stress the power outage put on your fish.

OK, so now you have everything to set-up your tank to get your little fishes alive.

NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BUY FISH!

Remember that cycle thing? If you set-up your tank and throw in your fish, the tank hasn’t had enough time to cycle and the water will turn bad very, very fast. Even when people buy all the right stuff, set it all up right, they still end up killing their fish because they have no patience. The tank must cycle before you can load it up.

The best way to do this is buy one of those 7-cent feeder fish. Most of the time, they are what is known as “Common Goldfish”. Commons are the hardiest of all the goldfish species and can out live almost all other types. If you want to keep goldies and this is your first time, buy 1 common and place him in the tank. Leave him in there all but his lonesome for about 2-4 weeks. Please, leave him in there at least 2 weeks if you can’t stand the wait. You’ll be happier in the long run if the cycle is up and running before you put in more fish.

Now, one thing about your Common….since they ARE the hardiest, there is a real good chance your fish will survive the cycling process. This now means you have your first goldfish. Remember what I told you about the tanks sizes? If this guy is in a 20 gallon, then he will probably be best if left on his own. If, you just can’t stand to leave him alone, or don’t want the poor fellow (…..why not?), they you’ll have to find him a good home or a good petstore to take him. DON’T YOU DARE kill him or flush him.

If you are in a rush, say some one dumped a load of goldies on you, and thus you must rush your cycle, don’t fret yet!

You can buy a “cycler” to add to the tank to speed up the process a bit. Bio-Spira is the best one to try, but it has been hard to get hold of recently. Also, try to find someone with a cycled tank, who is willing to give you several cups of gravel or a used filter pad. That will help speed things along, but you risk getting any diseases they might have, so try to get it from a healthy tank.

The third way is to fishless cycle the tank. This works great, but you CAN NOT have fish in there. Adding ammonia to the tank to start feeding the bacteria does a fishless cycle. You’ll need those water tests I talked about, because you have to monitor how much ammonia to add, when to do water changes, and when the whole thing is complete. More info on this method of cycling can be found online, since I have not tried it yet.

For the most part, if you follow the guidelines here, you should be on your way to keeping happy and healthy goldfishes.

The next section will cover things like which types to try first, how to test the water (and what to do if it isn’t good), what to feed, and so one. The section after that will cover the health problems you may encounter while housing your fish.