What do you need to do to keep a goldfish alive?

Answer 1

Goldfish are among the most tolerant Freshwater Fish. They can survive in low water temperatures for weeks. Goldfish have a memory span of up to 3 weeks and can distinguish color, shape, and size.

Answer 2

Goldfish are adapting to your aquarium this very moment. Though we don't notice, our water quality, however many times we clean out the water, is slowly getting not as good as before. The fish in your little aquarium are always adapting to this slow change in water quality quite well. This is why sometimes when people add new fish to their aquarium that has been circulating for a bit, the new fish die, because they are not used to the water quality that wasn't as good as the water quality they had at the petstore.

Answer 3

it all depends on what they are adapting to......... eg, a few years ago I have a salt water aquarium and I got tired of my gold fish dying in the salt water so I took 60 gold fish and I put them in their own tank and I slowly added salt to the water over almost a year and low and behold I had gold fish that could live in the salt water tank for more than 5 mins. but they do adapt very well to all environment's.

Answer 4

A tank. The tank's size will depend on what sort of goldfish you intend to keep. If they are fancy goldfish ( the ones with twinned tails and slightly egg shape bodies) they will need 80 litres for the first fish, and an extra 40 for any additional fish at least for your fish to live without painful stunting from small tanks, dramatically shortening their lifespan.

If you intend to keep slim bodied breeds, for example, comets shubunkins, or the common goldfish (with a single tail) DO NOT keep them in a tank. You can- but they will be so much happier in a large, well filtered pond with plenty of aeration- they can grow to feet long in a pond!

No matter what the people at the pet store say, don't get a bowl or cylindrical shape aquarium. they are no use for goldfish and normally come with an under gravel filter, and they won't cope with the mess goldfish produce. Getting an aquarium, you will need to cycle the tank.

A filter (canisters are always best, but can be pretty pricey, but you will probably be able to find a secondhand one on eBay or somewhere) that cleans at least ten times the volume of the aquarium, for example, in a 150 litre tank, you would need a filter that's hourly output was 1500 litres per hour. If I were you, I would get about two to three filters, as goldfish are very messy fish. The Fluval 'U' series are good if you need an internal filter- I would recommend a Fluval u4 or two, depending on the size of the tank. Remember the earlier mentioned rule of 10 times hourly filtration.

Food! Hikari do excellent foods which you can feed on their own, but goldfish are so much happier with a little variety- boiled organic shelled peas that have not been salted are good for clearing out a goldfish's system, and a goldfish will find them tasty. you can feed them vegetables- Google it for more information. If you fancy giving them a little extra protein, you could feed frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp thawed in tank water. Remember, with ready made foods, get a sinking pellet variety for fancy goldfish.

Water conditioners- Prime are quite good, and so are Nutrafin. Make sure they remove chlorine and chloramine and, if possible, heavy metals as well.

A water testing kit. I would recommend API master test kit- it tests for pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. these are especially vital for cycling a tank, and will come in useful for helping you know when to do a large water change. DO NOT use the strip style test kits, as they are often inaccurate.

For tank maintenance: a large bucket, and jugs- a net too if you intend to do a large water change. A medium size jug is better to catch a fish in though, as with nets, as they thrash around, some of the beautiful scales could get damaged. An algae scrubber sponge is good, and so is a sponge that has never - or ever will be used anywhere apart from in your aquarium to wipe algae from the sides of your tank.

General Tonic: dose your aquarium monthly with the stated dose on the bottle to keep illness at bay. Try Googling things to help with preventing fish illness- it may save a life

Decorations. Never get hollow ornaments, for example, a 'Squidward's house' ornament, as the water inside will go stagnant. Also, only put shells and rocks bought from the pet store that say pH neutral, as real rocks and shells can change your pH. ALWAYS make sure seashells are filled with a aquarium - safe silicone sealant, as mentioned with the 'Spongebob character' type houses and any other hollow ornament that has an opening, the water inside will go stagnant. If you really REALLY want some hollow ornaments, make sure you have an air stone under each one, so the water gets circulated. Also, make sure that a goldfish has a decoration that it can hide behind, as it may start to feel vulnerable without hiding places. Plants look nice in an aquarium I think that live plants are better than plastic-

Keeping goldfish is a expensive hobby. remember, pet shops and some websites say that caring for a goldfish is quite easy, but it is nowhere near as easy as you think. Never get fish from 'Pet Smart' or 'Pet Co.' or -if in the UK - ' Seapets' or ' Pets at home'. chain stores generally will not have the knowledgeable people that independent or very small chain stores ( with up to six shops ) will have, and will not take good care of their fish compared to an independent retailer.

If, after this, you have the time - and a lot of money - and room for a large fish tank, and a independent or very small chain aquatic retailer near you - do your research and consider getting goldfish!!

Also, one extremely important thing to remember: With maintenance equipment especially, make sure they will always only ever be used for your fish, and never been used before around the house etc.

Happy Fish keeping!

If you find yourself the owner of A single goldfish - you can keep him happily alive in a gold fish bowl. You must be willing to clean the bowl regularly and feed him every day.

Wash the bowl well and let the water sit for 24 hours before adding the fish to prevent shock. Gold fish are very hardy and can live for years - folks at your local pet store can explain the finer points.

Answer 5

They have gills to live under water.

They have fins to be able to swim.

They are streamlined to move faster.

Answer 6

they don't
They swim fast and hide.

Answer 7

they wear breathing apparatus

Answer 8

stay healty