How to Take Care of Goldfish

Release the fish into the tank . Unfortunately, goldfish are cannibals, and smaller fish can become food for their larger counterparts. Therefore, if you keep a lot of fish, the fish should be the same size. If there is one that is smaller or slower than the others, there is no chance for it. You can use a commercial aquarium with a wall to separate the “bully” or weak fish from the rest.

• Goldfish are quite “community” species. However, you also need to consider carefully when choosing a tank mate for them. White cloudfish, zebrafish and glass cleaner fish are good ideas. However : most of these fish live in schools, so you need to buy more than half a dozen. Bottom line: goldfish should be kept with aquarium fish that are similar to them.
  • You will need to keep new fish in isolation for two weeks to monitor their health before releasing them into a stable aquarium.
  • Note: goldfish prefer cold water more than other community fish, so choose tank mates with strong vitality. You can also add goldfish to the same tank as over-breeding fish so that the goldfish eat less of the unwanted fry and you’ll have better control over the fish population.

Clean the aquarium at least once a week. With the naked eye, you may see that the lake is not dirty at all, but the filter cannot completely remove fish waste. If the living environment is clean, the fish can live a healthy and happy life. In fact, a healthy and happy goldfish can live up to several decades! ^[3] In addition, it is not recommended to clean the tank with soap because soap is very toxic to fish and can cause rapid fish death. Another mistake is raising fish with ordinary tap water and drinking water. Ordinary tap water contains too many toxins, and drinking water lacks the minerals necessary for fish. You can treat tap water by purchasing a water stabilizer at a pet store and adding it to the water according to the dosage instructions on the label.

• Avoid catching fish out of the tank when cleaning. Use a gravel cleaner to suck up the residue without affecting the fish’s living habits. If for some reason you need to catch fish, you should use a plastic box instead of a fishing net. The net is easy to damage the fish’s fins, so they are very afraid of the racket and this makes the fish stressed. ^[4]
• Change ¼ of the tank water every week to maintain an adequate water reserve in the tank. Change half of the water every time the nitrate ratio reaches 20. Water changes can get a bit messy, so you’ll need to prepare some rags around the tank. Be careful not to suck in any small fish.

Measure ammonia, nitrite and pH levels. Here’s what to do before releasing your precious little fish into the tank. Ammonia and nitrite should be at 0, and the pH should be between 6.5-8.25. Please maintain the water at those parameters!.

Feed the fish 1-2 times per day. Only feed them for about 1 minute, do not trust the information on the product packaging that feeds the fish too much. It is better to feed the fish less than to overfeed. Overfeeding can cause the goldfish to overeat and die. If you use floating food, it is advisable to soak the seeds in water for a few seconds before placing them in the tank to make the food easier to sink. This will limit the amount of air that the fish swallow when eating, reducing the risk of bladder diseases.

• Just like us, goldfish need a variety of nutrients. Feeding goldfish pellets is the mainstay, occasionally varying it with fresh foods like saltwater shrimp and freeze-dried foods like larvae or worms. For dry food, you must soak it in a cup containing lake water before feeding it so that the food does not expand in the fish’s stomach, making it difficult for the fish to swim.
• Feed the fish what they can within a minute. Then remove the leftovers from the tank. Goldfish are voracious eaters and are more likely to die from overeating than any other fish.
• Feed the fish at the same place in the tank, at the same time every day (once in the morning and once in the evening)

Turn off the lights to put the fish to sleep. Goldfish don’t have eyelids and they don’t actually stop swimming when they sleep, just their bodies go into a state of inactivity. You can see the fish have a change in color and limited activity (they often lean against the wall of the tank when sleeping).

• Goldfish like to “sleep” in the dark. The arrangement of lights for the aquarium is only necessary if you are growing plants or in a dimly lit room. However, even if you do not use aquarium lights, it is still a good idea to practice the energy-saving habit of turning off unnecessary lights.

Let the water temperature change naturally with the seasons. Goldfish do not like environments hotter than 24°C, they grow better when the seasons change and the temperature drops to 15-20°C in winter (in cold countries). However, the fish will stop eating if the temperature drops to 10-14°C.

• Get a good thermometer to keep track of things easier. There are two types of thermometers for you to choose from: indoor and outdoor. The accuracy of both is the same and adequate, so choose the one you like.
• If you don’t want to breed goldfish, the ideal year-round tank temperature is 23°C. If you want to breed them, simulate seasonal aquarium temperatures (goldfish spawn in the spring). Start by lowering the temperature to about 10-12°C to simulate winter. Then, when it comes to breeding season, gradually increase the temperature up to about 20-23°C. This will stimulate the goldfish to lay eggs.

Check the oxygen concentration in the water. If you see goldfish gathering on the surface of the water, it’s likely that the tank is lacking oxygen. The good news is that the oxygen concentration in the aquarium is inversely proportional to the temperature of the tank! Please lower the temperature in the tank, and at the same time avoid sunlight so that the temperature inside and outside does not conflict. Or, you can invest in a jacuzzi and pump to oxygenate the water.

• If you’ve read most of these sites, you already know the common problems – so be proactive about avoiding them! As long as you maintain the right pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and oxygen levels, while not overfeeding the fish and keeping the tank clean, you’ve solved 95. % of possible problems with pets.

Adjust when the tank water is cloudy. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, things just don’t work out. Water can turn yellow, green, or even white. However, if you detect it in time, everything is still under control. Clean the tank now!

• Each watercolor represents a different problem. The cause may be due to algae, bacteria or the decaying process of aquatic plants. Do not worry! The water only needs to be filtered through a few cycles and your fish will be fine.

Observe the strange spots on the fish’s body. One of the common problems in goldfish is white spot disease – small, white spots that appear on the body and fins that make it difficult for the fish to breathe. This is a treatable parasite. You will need to move the fish to a separate tank for a commercial goldfish fungicide treatment.

• It is important that you isolate the fish from the community because the parasite can spread to other plants and animals living in the tank.
• If you see white spots appearing on the gravel or the landscape of the tank, remove the filter chemistry stage and treat the entire tank right away. Keep sick fish separately as they require more medical care than healthy fish.
• You can also use chemical-free methods, such as increasing the water temperature (29°C) or the salt content in the tank (3.8 liters is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of salt). Under these conditions, most mycelium will not survive. ^[5] Raise the temperature (very slowly, no more than 1-2 degrees F per hour) or add salt gradually (1 teaspoon salt/3.8 liters of water every 12 hours). When signs of infection disappear, you need to continue the course of treatment for at least 3 more days before stopping. Next, perform partial water changes more frequently so that the tank water soon returns to equilibrium. During treatment, fish will be affected as well as lose color.

Be careful with worms. Worms are a common parasite. If infected with flukes, fish will show symptoms such as scratching on the body surface, production of an outer mucous membrane, slight redness and abdominal distention.

• As with any parasite (like white spot), you need to isolate sick fish. If you solve the problem in time from the beginning, the fish is likely to survive and soon return to its friends.

Watch for symptoms of fish bubble disease . The fish will swim sideways or even backstroke, so it’s easy to spot. At first glance the fish looks like it’s dying, but luckily it’s not. Bubble diseases are not contagious and are easy to treat.

• In this case, you do not need to isolate the fish because the bubble disorder is not caused by parasites. However, if you are careful then do it.
• This disease also does not require much medicine because it is mainly caused by improper feeding. Just reduce the amount of feed, or preferably stop feeding for about 3 days to give the bacteria in the fish’s guts time to return to normal. If symptoms persist, consider changing to a higher-fiber diet that includes foods like beans, cucumbers, or foods that treat internal infections.