Goldfish, Fancy Goldfish

The Goldfish is a favorite fish for many. How many of us didn't keep one at one time or another? They are usually very hardy fish and can live in temperatures ranging from 40°F - 90°F (4°C - 32°C). It is important to note that Goldfish have an extremely long lifespan if cared for properly, so getting one can become a long term commitment. Many varieties are available with many different markings, fancy varieties and colors including gold, orange, white and black.

The can sometimes come down with swim bladder disease and occasionally freshwater ich. It's very important to provide your fish with frequent water changes and quality, nutritious fish food.

To increase your chance of success with goldfish keeping, try not to keep them in a tiny goldfish bowl. A tiny bowl will become polluted quickly and you'll have to perform maintenance all of the time. Instead get them at least a 20 gallon tank with a good power filter or canister filter. Also, if you want to keep multiples, try for a minimum of 10 gallons per goldfish after the initial 20 gallons for better long term success with this fish.

Care Summary

Allow adequate volumes of water, preferably 20 gallons for one and 10 gallons (38 liters) per additional goldfish.
Perform frequent partial water changes and gravel vacuuming while avoiding wide water quality fluctuations such as temperature, pH, etc.
Avoid keeping them in small goldfish bowls. Most bowls are simply inadequate to properly care for a fish. They only hold a gallon or two, need frequent cleaning, it's hard to use a filter, and provide little to no swimming space for your fish. What a miserable existence this has to be.
Give your fish a high quality and varied diet. Don't get the bulk size containers since fish food does lose nutritional value as it ages and as the top of the container is opened and closed every day. Think really stale potato chips. It's better to buy your fish food in smaller containers in this case.
Learn about the aquarium nitrogen cycle if you don't know about it already.
Don't over clean the filter! Rinse out the filter media in discarded aquarium water and re-use or only replace half the filter media at a time to avoid losing most of the beneficial bacteria needed to keep the water safe for your fish.
Remember that this fish will grow in size and that they can live for quite a long time if cared for properly.

Picture

Goldfish

Freshwater Fish Species Profile and Goldfish Care Information

Scientific Name : Carassius auratus

Common Names : Calico Veiltail, Comet, Black Moor, Bubble eye, Lionhead, Ranchu, Oranda, Pearl Scale, Ryukin, Panda, Fantail, Shubunkin (calico), Tosakin, Orange Fantail, Black Fantail, Pompon, Celestial, Telescope, etc. There are many different varieties of this fish out there with more being developed.

Care Level : Common varieties are easy and good for the freshwater aquarium fish beginner who is willing to perform the frequent water changes required in smaller setups. Some of the fancy varieties can be slightly more difficult to care for and need more stable water conditions and high quality foods. See the summary above.

Size : Usually 3 to 5 inches (8 - 13 cm), but can get bigger

pH : 6 - 7.5

Temperature : 40°F - 80°F (5°C - 27°C)

Water Hardness : 5° to 20° dH,

Lifespan : 10 - 30 years

Origin / Habitat : China originally, then Japan, Asia and the rest of the world.

Temperament / Behavior : Very peaceful

Breeding Goldfish / Mating / Reproduction : Not very common in home aquariums but you can try. Make sure you are ready to deal with the babies before you start your breeding program. Give them a water temperature between 75°F and 80°F. Get them ready by feeding fish food high in protein and make sure that they have good water quality. When they are ready, they will lay their eggs on vegatation on the bottom of the tank. You will have to remove the adult fish to prevent them from eating the eggs which usually hatch within 7 days. Prepare your fry foods such as infusoria and brine shrimp and have it ready in time to feed the baby goldfish.

Tank Size : Preferrably a 20 gallon or larger and 10 gallons for each additional goldfish if kept in groups.

Compatible Tank Mates : Usually do better when kept with other goldfish. Other potential tank mates include white cloud mountian minnows and similar cold water species. Watch closely if you introduce different species to your tank though and be prepared to remove them if it's not working out.

Disease / Illness : Freshwater Fish Disease - Diagnose, Symptoms and Treatment - Unfortunately, they can be quite susceptible to swimbladder problems due to the various types or varieties that have been produced over the years. Ich or white spot disease and fungus problems are also frequently encountered.

Food / Diet : Will gladly accept most fish foods, including flakes, live and freeze dried varieties. There are foods made specifically for goldfish. They are omnivorous, which means that they will eat foods of plant or animal origin.

Tank Region : All over the tank

Gender : Males may have small white spots called tubercles around their gill areas when ready to spawn. Females may be noticeably larger when swelling with eggs and the males may start to chase the females around the tank.

Gallery Photos : Goldfish Photos

Similar Species : Cyprinids

Fish Lore Forum : Goldfish Posts

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The Goldfish Doctor, By Elaine Rushmore

Tips

From: Danielle via email
Can I get information on how to take care of goldfish?

They will do better in a 20 gallon tank with a good filter but you can keep them in a bowl. They just won't live as long in a bowl. No matter what you put them in, here are some suggestions:

Change about 25% of the water each week. Be sure to use a water treatment such as Tetra AquaSafe when adding new tap water. Also be sure to use fresh water that is as close as possible in temperature to the tank water.

Feed your fish a dime sized amount of food 2 times a day.

Use an aquarium vacuum to clean the rocks about once a month.

Enjoy your fish!

From: Marcella
What is the lifespan of a goldfish? I've had a small gold fish for 9 years.

We've heard some crazy things regarding their lifespan. If cared for properly and given frequent water changes, they can live as long as 15 years or more. It sounds like you are doing everything right if you have one that is 9 years old. Good job!

From: AJ
What is the best type of food for them?

For the beginner, we recommend a food made specifically for goldfish. You could try to supplement their diet with some live foods such as Brine Shrimp from time to time. Give the brine shrimp as a treat every once in a while. Your fish will get most of the vitamins and minerals needed from the flake food and the brine shrimp will give your fish some extra protein in their diet.
If live foods are not an option then maybe you could get a freeze dried version. Freeze dried foods are not as messy as the live foods. Also, remember that 2 or 3 small feedings per day are better than one large feeding for your fish.

From: Catrina
I have a 30 gallon tank with 1 betta, 1 gold fish, 1 fantail, 1 black moor, 1 sucker fish, and I was wondering what other fish can I put in there that will do well with those?

Is your betta doing ok with the goldfish? Sometimes bettas become aggressive towards fish with large fins. As far as stocking goes, you should reconsider adding any more tropical fish to the 30 gallon tank. Your sucker fish (common pleco?) will get to be very large, usually 12-18 inches.
If you have a bristlenose pleco, they get to be about 5 inches and you may be ok adding more fish. If you do have a smaller pleco, White cloud mountain minnows or Corydoras could go well with your current tropical fish.

From: Carrie W.
My gold fish stays on the bottom of the tank, is this a normal thing?

I don't think that staying on the bottom would be a common thing for them. Without more information it is hard to diagnose what the problem is. However, your fish may have something called swim bladder disease which is fairly common for goldfish. They can get this from a viral infection or from their diet. Some feel that flake foods contribute to this disease. Here are some things you could try:

No more food for your fish for the next 4 days. Don't worry, fish can go up to 7 or 10 days without food. If your fish recovers in that time period, then you may resume feeding.

Some believe that frozen peas will help in healing swim bladder disease. Chop the peas up into small enough pieces for your fish to consume. I've never tried the peas myself, but you never know.

Check your water parameters (nitrite, nitrate and ammonia) and perform more frequent water changes. Try for 25% water changes every week. This will help remove nitrates and the new water will bring with it some beneficial minerals for your fish.

From: Gold fish Frenzy
I have plastic plants in with mine, however many people have told me real plants are better for them as they oxigenate the water. Do you think I should get some real plants? Thanks.

Live plants are better than plastic plants for many reasons. Check out the Aquarium Plants page for more information. However, live plants and Goldfish usually don't do all that well together because of a variety of factors.

They really seem to enjoy uprooting plants and eating them.

Many don't have adequate lighting levels on their aquarium for live plants.

Many don't have a heater in their aquarium and some live plants require a higher temperature to thrive.

If you still want to give it a go, there are some plants that may survive with your fish. Start out by trying a plant such as the Java Fern or Anubias. These plants are some of the hardier plants available and should grow well in a wide range of water conditions. Many have reported success keeping Java Ferns with fish that love to eat plants. You may also want to try Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) and/or Willow Moss (Fontinalis antipyretica). Thanks for the question.

From: Pam
I really enjoyed reading your comments and learned alot from your questions. I am new at this fish game and I have alot of questions. I want to rearrange my decor in my tank, can I do that at any time and what is the correct way to do this so not to harm my fish? Thanks

You can rearrange your tank but you need to be careful. Remove the filter and keep it in a bowl of tank water while your doing the rearranging. The filter floss or filter media (bio-balls, ceramic rings, etc) will be where the majority of the beneficial bacteria are located that help in the nitrogen cycle. Remove your fish to a separate bowl that is filled with water from the tank. Quickly do your rearranging or redecorating, do a water change while you're at it and then slowly acclimate your fish back into the new water.

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