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GOLDFISH
GOLDFISH
GOLDFISH
WHAT TO KEEP YOUR GOLDFISH IN
You can probably keep the one Goldfish in the small bowl for a short time. I do have to say that I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS! If you do have to keep your Goldfish in a small bowl for a while the main thing to be concerned about is the ammonia buildup and the oxygen running out. Watch real close for signs that the Goldfish is hanging out up around the top of the water and gulping air. When it does that there is either too much ammonia or not enough oxygen. At that point you need to change the water. NOTE: See "WATER CHANGING" below. It is good idea to put an airstone in your bowl. That will help a great deal in putting oxygen in the bowl.
Fish will only grow as big as their surroundings. The bigger the surroundings the bigger the fish grows. My Goldfish are in an 50 gallon tank and couple of them... the common type... are now about 7 1/2" long and the remainder of them are all about 4-5". Therefore, I STRONGLY recommend that you get at least a small aquarium to house your Goldfish in.
WATER CHANGING
Watch your water closely. Make sure your water doesn't get too dirty and cloudy looking. Goldfish die so quick because of poor quality water than they do from any other thing. A really good thing to acquire would be an ammonia test kit. The test kit I would strongly recommend you getting is Freshwater Ammonia Test Kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It is in a yellow and white box. It is the easiest to use. You use drops instead of pills dissolving. Much better and more accurate as well. They are pretty cheap and you could check your water every couple of days or so to see if it is getting too high of an ammonia content. It would be a good idea... especially for the smaller bowl to keep a gallon jug of water sitting out all the time so you can change it frequently.
The water you put in has to be the same temperature as the water you took out. It can vary by two degrees but you should try not to vary more than that. A sudden water temperature change can be fatal to your fish. Get a fish thermometer. They are only about $1.59 or so. That way you can make sure your water temperature is the same. By leaving a jug of water sitting out you avoid having to put in stuff to take the chlorine out (you can save some money there) and also if it has sat out overnight it is assured of being the same temperature as the bowl.
WATER TEMPERATURE
Goldfish do much better in cooler temperatures. They are really a cold water type of fish. While it does not hurt them to be in warmer temperatures they tend to be healthier and happier in the cooler temperatures. It is best to have your fish in a bowl or tank at room temperature unless you are going to be housing other types of tropical fish with them. NOTE see "OTHER FISH YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR GOLDFISH" below.
LIFE SPAN
My friend's mother has a Goldfish that she has kept in a little tiny fish bowl for over 16 years now. It is healthy and happy as can be. She lives in California and when she does water changes she uses bottled water. The fish has never had a sick day in it's life.
I read in a book once that the oldest living Goldfish was 45 years old. I don't know whether to believe that or not, but that's what it said.
I would say the contributing factor to a Goldfishes long life would be not introducing other fish into the tank for sure. That is a sure way to take a chance of bringing disease in. Not over feeding and making sure you keep the tank clean at all times. And by all means to make sure that you put the water in the tank at the exact same temperature as the water in the tank.
FEEDING
Just about any type of tropical fish food will work for Goldfish. I feed mainly Goldfish food in my tank of Goldfish, however I add the Spirulina Flakes and Algae wafers for the Pleco and the DoJo's though they don't really need it. The more varied the food you feed your fish the better. No one food will supply the total nutrition needed to keep the fish healthy. I have a 50 gallon tank full of GoldFish. They are still my most favorite of all my fish. The healthiest as well. Here's how I feed. Now, many people may not go to the extent that I do as far as feeding my fish and of course it will be your choice what you decide to do, but this is how, what and why I feed the way I do.
I feed a flake food first. Goldfish have a tendency toward getting something called Air Bladder Disease (See below). This is where pelleted type food swells in their tummies/bladder and the fish can't balance properly. They will float to the top of your tank upside down and will have a real hard time swimming naturally. Goldfish are real hogs and if you feed pelleted food first they wolf it down before it has a chance to soak up water and swell. Thus it swells inside of them. This is why I feed flake food first. They pig out on that and when I feed the pelleted food they are already pretty full and don't eat as much.
You will notice that when you feed at first the fish rush around like sharks in a feeding frenzy grabbing all the food in sight. So, I suggest you feed them a good sized pinch full... say about at least a tablespoon or more (This would depend on the size of your fish. You don't say how big they are.). If they are still rushing around after you feed that amount give them a little more. Give them enough so that they have the appearance of not eating so frantically. At this time then give them a large pinch of pelleted food. You can pre-soak your pelleted food for 10 minutes prior to feeding it if you would like. This is not something that I personally do, but others do do this. It is a way to help stop the Air Bladder Disease.
Here is a suggestion that I received from one of the people who visited my web page. Again... this is not something that I have personally done, but it is something that I would like to do sometime in the future.
"Hello. Really like your page. I think that it's pretty neat. Just wanted to make a suggestion about the feeding of goldfish. Did you know that you can also feed them chopped, no-salt added spinach from a can? I used to work in the aquatics section of a pet store when I lived in Texas, and that is what we fed the ornamental goldfish. They don't get dropsy or anything from swallowing too much air when eating, and they love the stuff. Bye."
Another thing Goldfish like is Romaine Lettuce. Make sure though that you only buy organically grown lettuce. That will have no preservatives or chemicals on or in it that could be harmful to your fish. Buy one of the clips and hang it on the side of the tank. Watch it closely so that you remove any floating particles right away. Also remove it when it gets to wilting too badly. That way it won't foul your tank. But the little buggers just love it. :)
The most IMPORTANT thing is that you do not feed your fish so much food that it sinks to the bottom and just lays there uneaten. You want your fish to have all the food eaten within about 5 minutes time. So, start out feeding a certain amount and if it is eaten real quick then give them a little more. You will have to watch and be the judge of the exact amount of food to feed.
It is better to feed a little bit of food several times a day than to feed a whole bunch of food all at once. With my work schedule I am only able to feed at night. On weekends I feed several times during the day. This way the fish are much happier. I know we humans don't like only being able to eat once a day.
Lastly, depending on your budget, I would suggest feeding several different types of Goldfish food. Fish, not just Goldfish, but all fish, do much better on a varied diet. No one food on the market is able to supply all of the nutritional needs of your fish. I feed the following foods.
Wardley Gold Fish Flakes
Wardley Goldfish Ten - Small floating pellets
Tetra Pelleted Food - Sinking pellets
Tetra Dorofin for exotic Goldfish - Sinking mouth size morsels
O.S.I. Ocean Stars - Floating/sinking star shaped Pellets
Tetra Gold Medal Growth Food - Sinking mouth size morsels
Tetra Gold Medal Maintenance Food - Sinking mouth size morsels
Tetra Gold Medal Color Enhancing Food - Sinking mouth size morsels
All of the above foods are Goldfish foods. I buy a bottle of each of the Tetra Gold Medal foods, pour them into a bowl, mix them up thoroughly and then refill the bottles with the mixture. That way, they get a little bit of all three of those at a time. These three foods are excellent for the fish. I alternate between the pelleted/morsel type foods every day. On weekends they get a little of all of it. This way they get a real balanced diet. Some of my Goldfish are 7 1/2" long and 4-5" around. They are just huge. Don't worry about the Tetra Dorofin being just for exotic Goldfish because all the goldfish love it and it won't hurt them one little bit. It is also a color enhancing food.
AIR BLADDER DISEASE
SYMPTOMS:
CAUSE: This is usually caused by any type of pelleted foods. These darn little buggers eat like pigs and hog the food up. The pelleted food swells up inside them causing air.
TREATMENT-CURE: There is no real cure. You can treat them for it with antibiotics or stop feeding any type of pelleted food for about 3 weeks (or until you notice they have improved). After that time, Follow the feeding method above. They may improve slightly but will never get well. They will forever do their little upside down thing. They can live for years this way too.
OTHER FISH YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR GOLDFISH
First off, the thing you need to be the most concerned about is the buildup of ammonia in your tank. Goldfish are known for being high producers of waste, especially ammonia. Ordinary tropical fish can not handle as high of amounts of ammonia as Goldfish can. If you add other tropical fish to your tank, be sure and closely monitor your ammonia levels.
Other fish you can add to your tank. I have Do-Jo Loaches in mine and a Plecostomus. They do just fine in there. Do-Jo's are very playful and fun to watch. I have also housed Platy's in there with no problems. Now that my Goldfish are huge... 5-7 1/2", I have moved the smaller Platy's out so they don't have such a hard time competing for the food. Platy's are very colorful and would make a nice addition to a Goldfish tank. The other plus for you is that they are not very large. They only get about an inch or so.
I received a message the other day from a young man that keeps other fish with his Goldfish. I thought I would pass the information on to you. Though I have not tried to keep any of these fish with my Goldfish, this young man seems to have had good success with it.
"I started to rear fish when I was 6 years old. Now I am already 13 years old. My Goldfish didn't harass the Swordtails at all. But I observed that one of my female Swordtails (only one of them) peck at my goldfish every time they are feeding (only when they are feeding). But that does no harm to my goldfish (not at all). Probably it just wants to get some food for herself because the goldfish eat them all before she could get a munch. So, I scatter the food all over my 10 gallon aquarium so everyone gets their share. And she does no more pecking. When I am in my hometown in Sibu, Malaysia, I even rear four of my goldfish with my Angelfish (4), Zebra Danio (3) and Sailfin Molly (2). All of them got along VERY well. I didn't use any heater. No death has ever occurred in my aquarium."
If you do add other tropical fish to your tank, you should have a heater in there. Platy's and most tropical fish require constant temperatures of around 77+. Goldfish do much better in lower water temperatures, so that is one thing to consider. The Do-Jo's and the Plecostomus don't mind the cooler temperatures though.
i have my gold fish in my aquarium with my other fish and he is fine amd the water is about 28-30(76-82)and when feeding your fish pellets i would reccomend putting in a pail of water for about 10 min. |
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Fungus = Spots that start out small and grow rapidly. They are usually white or light gray in color. They look like patches of mold that you get on vegetables if they are left in the refrigerator too long or fur on the fish. They are raised, not flat like Ick is. If the fish turn you can actually see it sticking out from the body.
Fin and Tail Rot = Usually the first thing you notice is that the tail starts getting ragged looking. Sorta like a plate that has a chip or 2 out of it or it looks like some one has taken a few bites out of it. As time goes on more and more of the tail and fins will rot off. Usually there will be the starts of Fungus on the torn ends. Again, as time goes on this will increase as well.
Bala Sharks are one of the species that Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot will kill rapidly. Other types of fish seem to be able to handle it quite well and can be almost 100% covered and still survive.
The treatment for Fungus and Fin and Tail Rot are the same as they are both caused by a bacteria. Be sure and treat for 10 days at least. Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot is particurally hard to get rid of.
There is some new strain of Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot out there that seems to be almost impossible to get rid of. It is resistant to many of the standard treatments. So if you don't notice that the Fungus/Fin and Tail Rot starting to decrease in 5 days, let me know and I will tell you about an alternative treatment.
TREATMENT
The first medication I suggest is CopperSafe by Mardel Laboratories. If you use nothing else use CopperSafe. It is a very good all around treatment and can be kept in there for a month. I like it a lot and have had good success with it. CopperSafe treats for the following diseases: Ick, Flukes, Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan Diseases and other freshwater parasites. In addition to treating these diseases it also aids in stimulating the appetite in sick fish.
I strongly recommend that you use CopperSafe for the full 30 days. Many times when a fish is sick it will pick up a parasite because of his weakened condition. Parasites are ALWAYS present in your tank. I have heard that some fish hobbyist keep CopperSafe in their tank all the time as a preventative measure. I would not recommend doing this however. The parasites will build up a resistance to CopperSafe and it will not be effective against them in the future.
The second medication I recommend is Maroxy also by Mardel. I had a Lace Catfish that got a Fungus and Fin and Tail Rot and lost all of her skin and fins and tails. I treated with all the medications that I have mentioned above and below and she survived and is now 3 times the size she was.
Whenever I treat for any disease I ALWAYS treat with an antibiotic. I use either or both Maracyn and Maracyn 2. Though the names may make you think that these are the same medications they are really quite different. One treats gram POSITIVE bacteria and the other treats gram NEGATIVE bacteria. As in humans fish can get either type of bacterial infection.
I ALWAYS use all of these products for at least 7 days even if the appear to be cured. This is very important! I relate this to our own medications that the doctor gives us. A doctor rarely gives you medicine for less than 7 days and most often 10 days. It takes that long to get every last little bit of the bacteria that lingers on. I also used to be on a farm and raised many different kinds of animals. The same held true there. Always give a medication for a minimum of 7 days and I recommend 10 days. By giving a medicine for less you can end up having a bacteria that becomes resistant to the drug you are using and it will no longer work for you. If you are still experiencing deaths, continue on for a full 14 days.
I keep salt in all my tanks at all times. Ick does not like salt. Thus the salt works as an excellent preventative. I don't buy salt at the pet store because it is way too expensive. I buy regular table salt at the grocery store. Make sure you use only NON-IODIZED or PLAIN salt. The iodine will kill the fish. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. The salt also aids in the repair of damaged fins, etc. It is a really good thing to use. Your fish do not have to be salt water fish to use this. Regular tropical fish are just fine with it. It does not hurt them at all.
A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT ADDING SALT TO YOUR TANK
DO NOT dump the salt right into your tank if you have fish in it. We did something that almost killed our Tire Tread Eel, Mic. Mic tends to burrow under the gravel and since he's a brownish color he is very hard to see. We did a water change in our 50 gallon tank and I was adding the chemicals and the salt to it while my fiancee was filling it with water. I started dumping the salt in and never noticed that Mic was right under the gravel where I was dumping the salt until it was too late. All the salt landed right on top of him. He was getting burnt. He went into convulsions and curled all up. I thought I killed him. We directed the water right on top of him and after a bit he started moving around and swimming erratically. That was about a year ago and he is back to normal now. So it is very IMPORTANT the you either dissolve the salt in water before you pour it in or wait until the tank is full before you add it and make sure no fish are in the vicinity.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
You can use ALL Mardel products along with the others with no ill effects. They were designed to be used together. They also do NOT destroy your natural biological filter.
I will mention this however, your water will turn cloudy and change color. The medications tend to change the color of the water as well as make bubbles on the top, depending on how much agitation you have in your water. Once you are done treating and clean it out, it will go away. You will probably still have a wee bit of discoloration until you change the water the next 2 times or so, then it should get back to clear.
Remove the charcoal filters from your tank or the charcoal will remove the medication. When your treatment is done remove as much water as you safely can and put your charcoal filters back in to remove the last remnants of the medicine.
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ICK/ICH INFORMATION
I have encountered a lot of Ick/Ich during the time I've had the fish. I would have to say that Ick/Ich seems to be the most predominant of all the different diseases that fish get.
CAUSE
Ick/Ich is always present in your tank, in your fish. Stress is the main cause of Ick/Ich. Your fish can get stressed as a result of many things. I have found that Ick/Ich seems to show up most often when I add new fish to the tank. Almost every time I bring a fish home from the store and add them to a tank within a few days not only does the new fish develop Ick/Ich, but several of the other fish as well. Very frustrating.
Fish purchased at the store have had a large amount of stress. They have left their happy home, been transported to a new environment, then you buy them, transport them again and put them in another new environment, all within usually a matter of a few days. At first I was very worried when this occurred, but after all this time I have come to expect it and watch new fish very, very carefully.
Another way that stresses your fish is moving your fish from tank to tank. I, with 8 tanks, tend to do this on a fairly regular basis for a variety of reasons; compatibility issues, Cichlids getting so large that the smaller fish are in danger, fish getting larger and outgrowing a smaller tank, etc. Most of the time I don't encounter much of an Ick/Ich problem doing this, but it does happen upon occasion. The third reason would be dirty water. When the water gets cloudy or contains too much ammonia or nitrates this will stress the fish out a lot thus causing Ick/Ich.
TREATMENT
I use a product called Quick Cure by Aquarium Products with very good success. This seems to have worked the best for me. I tried Rid Ich once and had no luck with it.
I always use this for a full 14 days. Usually it does not take that long to cure it though. It is very important that you treat with the Ick/Ich medication for a full 14 days. The bottle says that it can cure Ick/Ich in 2 days, but it is best to continue the treatment for the 14 days. Ick/Ich is a parasite. The parasite lays eggs in your tank continually. The eggs that are laid will continue to hatch out for a full 14 days. By using Quick Cure for the full 14 days you will kill any of the newly hatched Ick/Ich parasites. This is the only real way to cure the Ick/Ich for good. NOTE: If you have any fish in the Tetra group you use one half (1/2) the dosage of this medication.
The second medication I suggest is CopperSafe by Mardel Laboratories. If you use no other medication in addition to the Quick Cure use CopperSafe. It is a very good all around treatment and can be kept in there for a month. I like it a lot and have had good success with it. CopperSafe treats for the following diseases: Ick/Ich, Flukes, Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan Diseases and other freshwater parasites. In addition to treating these diseases it also aids in stimulating the appetite in sick fish.
I strongly recommend that you use CopperSafe for the full 30 days. This will also aid in eradicating the last of the hatching parasites. I have heard that some fish hobbyist keep CopperSafe in their tank all the time as a preventative measure. I would not recommend doing this however. The parasites will build up a resistance to CopperSafe and it will not be effective against them in the future.
The third medication I use is Maracide by Mardel Laboratories. Maracide can be used for a full 10 days. I always leave it in the tank for those full 10 days. Maracide treats Ick/Ich and other common parasites in Fresh Water Fish. In addition it treats Chilodonella, Trichodina and Velvet/Protozoan Diseases.
SECONDARY BACTERIAL INFECTIONS
Ich, Fungus, Parasites, etc can also result in bacterial infections. The body resistance to disease is naturally down when they get ill in other ways. Whenever I treat for a parasite I ALWAYS treat with an antibiotic. When you fish is in a stressed or weakened condition from the Ick/Ich, many times he will pick up a secondary bacterial infection as well. This can end up killing him even though he no longer has Ick/Ich. In the beginning I would only treat for the Ick/Ich, but found I would still lose the fish. Since using antibiotics as the same time, I have not lost any fish.
I use either or both Maracyn and Maracyn-Two by Mardel Laboratories. Though the names may make you think that these are the same medications they are really quite different. Maracyn treats GRAM-POSITIVE bacteria and Maracyn-Two treats GRAM-NEGATIVE bacteria. As in humans fish can get either type of bacterial infection.
I ALWAYS use the antibiotic for at least 7 days. This is very important! I relate this to our own medications that the doctor gives us. A doctor rarely gives you medicine for less than 7 days and most often 10 days. It takes that long to get every last little bit of the bacteria that lingers on. I used to have a farm and raised many different kinds of animals. The same held true there. Always give a medication for a minimum of 7 days and I recommend 10 days. By giving a medicine for less you can end up having a bacteria that becomes resistant to the drug you are using and it will no longer work for you. If you experience deaths and all signs of Ick/Ich are gone, continue on for a full 14 days.
You can use ALL Mardel products along with the others with no ill effects. They were designed to be used together. They also do NOT destroy your natural biological filter.
I will mention this however, your water will turn cloudy and change color. The medications tend to change the color of the water as well as make bubbles on the top, depending on how much agitation you have in your water. Once you are done treating and clean it out, it will go away. You will probably still have a wee bit of discoloration until you change the water the next 2 times or so, then it should get back to clear.
Remove the charcoal filters from your tank or the charcoal will remove the medication. When your initial treatment with the Quick Cure and the antibiotic is done remove as much water as you safely can. Add enough CopperSafe to bring the level back up to full strength. Do NOT put the charcoal filters back in your tank.
After the 30 days is up, again remove as much water as you safely can and put your charcoal filters back in to remove the last remnants of the CopperSafe.
OTHER PRODUCTS TO USE
There are a lot of products out there on the market you can try. If one product does not seem to be working, get another product and try it. However, don't give up too easily. It can take the full 10 days at times to cure it. If it does not work in that length of time, then the particular strain of Ick/Ich you are encountering could be resistant to that particular drug. BE SURE AND CHECK the ingredients of the Ick/Ich medicine you buy. See what it contains. For instance: Quick Cure contains Formaldehyde and Malachite Green. Maracide contains Tris Aminomethane, Aniline Green and Dibromohydroxymercurifluorescein. You want to make sure that if you use 2 or more products in conjunction with the other that you don't use two products that contain the same ingredients or you will be doubling the dose of the medicine and thus over dosing your fish.
QUARANTINE
If at all possible, it is a good idea to have a hospital or quarantine tank. Remove any fish showing signs into the quarantine tank. I try to keep an empty 10 gallon tank available for this purpose. It is also advisable to quarantine any new fish brought home. If I do have an empty tank I put all new fish in there for a week to 10 days before introducing them into a tank full of fish. My quarantine tank always has CopperSafe and salt (See below) in it. If the new fish show signs of Ick/Ich, then I treat as explained above.
PREVENTION
I keep salt in all my tanks at all times. Ick does not like salt. Thus the salt works as an excellent preventative. I don't buy salt at the pet store because it is way too expensive. I buy regular table salt at the grocery store. Make sure you use only NON-IODIZED or PLAIN salt. The iodine will kill the fish. I use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. The salt also aids in repair damaged fins, etc. It is a really good thing to use. Your fish do not have to be salt water fish to use this. Regular tropical fish are just fine with it. It does not hurt them at all. Since using salt for over a year now, I have had only one case of Ick and it was cured in 2 days, though I treated for the full 5 days.
A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT ADDING SALT TO YOUR TANK
DO NOT dump the salt right into your tank if you have fish in it. We did something that almost killed our Tire Tread Eel, Mic. Mic tends to burrow under the gravel and since he's a brownish color he is very hard to see. We did a water change in our 50 gallon tank and I was adding the chemicals and the salt to it while my fiancee was filling it with water. I started dumping the salt in and never noticed that Mic was right under the gravel where I was dumping the salt until it was too late. All the salt landed right on top of him. He was getting burnt. He went into convulsions and curled all up. I thought I killed him. We directed the water right on top of him and after a bit he started moving around and swimming erratically. That was about a year ago and he is back to normal now. So it is very IMPORTANT the you either dissolve the salt in water before you pour it in or wait until the tank is full before you add it and make sure no fish are in the vicinity. You can sure bet I'm going to be more careful in the future.
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