How To Take Care Of A Goldfish

Goldfish is one of the first fishes to be considered as an aquatic pet and is most common of the fishes kept in aquarium. Goldfish comes in various sizes, shapes and colors. As the name suggests, the fish boasts of a golden hue and is very easily available in the market than any other fish. Though goldfish can easily survive in the cold water and at the temperature in which human being lives, sudden changes in the temperature of water can be harmful for these aquatic creatures. Also, goldfish makes the water toxic very soon with the large quantity of waste in their faeces and harmful chemicals released by their gills, thus increasing the level of ammonia and acid in the water. The lifespan of a goldfish depends on how much care is provided to it. If the goldfish is nicely kept with good care, it can survive for over 10 years or more. In the below lines, we have provided information on how to take care of a goldfish.

One should never keep goldfish in a bowl. Instead, use a large tank. This would increase the longevity or life span of the goldfish. The top of the tank should be open enough to provide proper oxygen to the goldfish. In a bowl, due to less space, the amount of oxygen is also less. Also, goldfish have a decent growth rate, which means that with time, your marine friend would grow large in size and therefore excrete more and need a larger space to swim. Small aquarium or bowl fails to fulfill the space requirement. Hence a large aquarium is necessary so as to make their life comfortable and long lasting. The floor of the tank must be gravel in nature. This type of floor supports bacteria cultivation.

 

One can fill the tank with the tap water that has a neutral pH level. Goldfish can easily survive in the tap water throughout their life cycle. However, remember to change the water regularly, in order to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene. If the pH of the water is not neutral, purchase a buffer from a nearby store to measure the same. Every time you change the water of the tank, fill the water in a container and keep it for some hours in order to make it chlorine-free. Heat or cool it to achieve the desired temperature of the aquarium and then pour it to the aquarium.

 

Goldfish produces a lot of waste resulting in increased amount of ammonia in the water. For this, filtration system of the tank must be accurate and should be changed every month. Apart from cleaning the water regularly, you can also develop bacteria within the filtration system to make the water clean. These bacteria kill the ammonia content in the water. Use the testing kit to measure the amount of ammonia and nitrite level in the water.

 

Stick to the packed special food for goldfish. Do not feed a large amount of food at once as uneaten food increases the amount of ammonia in the water. Feed a smaller quantity of food several times in a day. Occasionally, provide your nautical friend with supplementary food. The supplementary food includes insects, worms and peas. Dry food may develop pain in the digestive system of the fish. As such, make sure that you soak the food before feeding the goldfish.

Put a hood on the top of the aquarium as the goldfish jumps a lot. Provide almost 10 hours lighting to the fish. Fluorescent lighting is the preferred choice. You can buy air stones to decorate the tank. These increase the water current and help in better oxygenation. However, do not go for much decoration as it may harm goldfish. Goldfish enjoys swimming into a bubble stream.