 GOLDFISH CARE & BASICS Including: • Basics • Filtration • Substrate • Conditions • Feeding • Goldfish Disease Prevention • Basic Breeding 
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GOLDFISH CARE & BASICS Including: • Basics • Filtration • Substrate • Conditions • Feeding • Goldfish Disease Prevention • Basic Breeding
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Goldfish Care & Information, Overview; Many goldfish are imported in very cold water, in crowded conditions, making them very susceptible to disease (especially ich). Shubunkins make a better choice than common or comet Goldfish, as they receive better treatment in shipping and are not as "over bred" (and of coarse Ryukins and Orandas are great choices when it comes to their beauty).  Goldfish can sometimes live 20 years, but this is usually in Ponds. In a well maintained aquarium of appropriate size (I recommend 8-10 gallons to start with and 20 + per goldfish for long term health and growth), 15+ years is not uncommon. Here are a few more factors in determining the amount of goldfish you keep in your aquarium: *The amount of surface area relative to the gallons of water the aquarium holds. I have observed many tall narrow aquariums over the years of my maintenance service where the filtration and other factors were equal to comparable sized and stocked rectangular aquariums, that general fish health and longevity were lower. *Filtration, a properly filtered aquarium (good bio filtration, good mechanical filtration, and good circulation) with multiple filters is important. *Maintenance schedule that includes regular efficient water changes *Well maintained water chemistry (including kH and Redox). Goldfish need a kH of at least 80 ppm, but over 160 ppm is better. *New or experienced aquarist; a new aquarist needs to start with a much less crowded aquarium. As for goldfish in bowls, this is not an appropriate place to house any carp, which is the family to which goldfish belong. If a bowl is all you have or can afford, a betta, or even a paradise fish or guppy is a better choice. WATER CONDITIONS: Although goldfish are not very particular about water conditions, they still do better at a ph of 7.2 to 7.8 and a high mineral content (especially calcium and magnesium- KH of 80 ppm or more and a GH of 150 +). For optimum health of goldfish, I recommend keeping an ammonia level of 0, pH of 7.4, kH of 160 ppm and nitrates below 40 ppm. For more about the importance KH, electrolytes and Calcium play in fish heath- especially goldfish health, see this article: "CALCIUM, KH AND MAGENESIUM IN AQUARIUMS; How to maintain a proper KH and why calcium is important"). BASIC FEEDING:  Goldfish also are basically “grazing fish” and need to be fed frequent small amounts of fish food that are not made from animal based products. Goldfish do well on foods high in vegetable based proteins (such as spirulina); they need a high fat content and Vitamins C & E, and carotenoid for color enhancement. DL-methionine is an essential amino acid for producing the “Lionhead” feature in goldfish. High levels of methionine can be found in the vegetable proteins of spinach, green peas, and garlic. DL-methionine can also be found in fish meal. Although you should not resort to feeding only peas as some do, this is not complete and can lead to digestive problems if fed long term. Spirulina Algae, Vegetable protein extracts and Whole fish meal are ingredients to look for in a goldfish food Also being “grazing fish” goldfish like to root around in the gravel. Because of this be careful with left over food in the gravel as this can lodge in a goldfish’ intestinal tract or mouth. I strongly recommend soaking all dry food in water for 5 minutes prior to feeding; this will soften the food and also prevent intestinal gas that can lead to infections.A general rule for feeding goldfish (assuming good water conditions, filtration, ECT.) is two to three times per day what the fish will consume in about 3-5 minutes. Some goldfish aficionados recommend goldfish should be kept in aquariums without gravel to prevent accidental ingestion. Personally with proper feeding technique and good aquatic husbandry I do not think this is generally necessary. Be careful of foods such as TetraFin that are of poor quality as the ingredients will tend to cause excess gas and excess pollution due to many un-digestible ingredients. For more information about proper fish feeding, see this article: "QUALITY FISH FOOD; what ingredients are needed for proper fish nutrition, growth and health"). FILTRATION: Since Goldfish tend to be “dirty” fish, good filtration and water circulation is a must (along with regular proper water changes). Make sure have good surface agitation of the aquarium water whether this is achieved by an air stone of good agitation by an HOB Filter, air diffuser on an Internal Filter, Sponge filter powered by air (or with a Power Head with an air diffuser), or similar. More than one filter is good for all fish however this goes double for goldfish.  Canister filter are great for goldfish, due to there high efficiency and great bio load and mechanical filtration abilities (although make sure to clean them regularly, or they become nitrate factories). Unfortunately they are generally expensive. A combination of “hang on back” filters (such as Via Aqua VitaLife and Aqua Clear) and Sponge Filters are an excellent combination for less money. Another inexpensive filter is the Internal Filter which is especially good as secondary filters do to the fact that these filters add cross circulation. I also recommend two filters if possible for both redundancy and water circulation. Goldfish are very dirty, so good filtration and cleaning is a must (along with a proper electrolytes and kH). Another parameter in filtration for long term health and growth is maintaining a Redox Potential of 300- 400 mV, this is NOT essential, but with dirty fish such as goldfish that normally do much better in ponds where there is natural sunlight and good water flow, this a proven to be large contributor to long term goldfish health in aquariums. For more about the Redox Potential, please read this article: "The Redox Potential in Aquariums and Ponds and how it relates to proper aquatic health" For much more about Filtration, Please read this article: "AQUARIUM FILTRATION; UGF, HOB, Sponge, Internal, Canister, Wet/Dry, Fluidized Bed, Mud, Germicidal, and Protein Skimmer Filters." SUBSTRATE: Many goldfish purists will tell you that goldfish should be kept in bare bottom aquariums for optimum health. They are correct, however I believe with the right size gravel and good aquarium hygiene (cleaning), you can have healthy, long lived goldfish. The reason many do not recommend gravel/sand is that goldfish tend to “root” through the gravel looking for uneaten food. There are three reasons IMO; *What can happen is that the goldfish can (and often do with the wrong size gravel) get gravel caught in their throat. *Another reason is that that goldfish can eat decaying food that then causes intestinal bacterial infections. *Finally, since goldfish are very dirty by nature, gravel can trap a lot of organics causing pollution (which is why Under Gravel Filters are a very poor choice for goldfish) Here is how to get around this and have a beautiful goldfish aquarium WITH gravel and decorations: *Use pea sized gravel; I have not seen (that does not mean it cannot happen) any goldfish in MANY years experience get pea sized gravel stuck in their throat. *Do not over feed, and have good circulation, especially near the bottom. I have improved water conditions in even crowded feeder goldfish tanks with the addition of air stones attached to air pumps placed strategically on the bottom. Do not use sand either as this has a tendency to trap anaerobic bacteria and not allow proper nitrification of organic mulm in gold fish aquarium. *Regular cleanings with a Gravel Vacuum, Python or Aquarium Cleaning Machine. I recommend every two weeks for tanks under 60 gallons (225 liters), or every 4 weeks for larger. Please note that more frequent smaller cleanings are best for ANY size aquarium, such as 20% every week Finally adequate and redundant filtration is a must. CYCLING YOUR AQUARIUM: Goldfish are dirty and it is important to a fully functional bio filtration system running, so it is important to start your aquarium and have it running at least two days before fish introduction. Your aquarium will not be at peak biological filtration for 6 weeks (or more). To start your biological filtration, there are many cycling products available, such “Cycle” by Hagen. My success with these products is not at all good; it is very difficult for the aerobic bacteria that are needed for cycling your aquarium to live in a sealed container kept at room temperature, as they die very quickly without oxygen. I prefer to add gravel and/or used filter sponge or cartridge from another aquarium. This method of adding media is much faster (you still have to take it slow), and provides all the necessary bacteria, the only negative is adding disease pathogens to your aquarium, but I have rarely encountered this problem. If you add plants (many such as hornwort remove nitrogenous waste), you can stock somewhat faster as the plants will remove ammonia too. We used this method for our Aquarium Maintenance route for years and never lost a fish to Ammonia or nitrite poisoning. Another newer method is with Bio Spira, if you use this product, make sure you purchase it from a dealer that keeps it between 34- 40 F otherwise this product is no better than Cycle. My personal experience with this product is limited, however many I trust in the Professional Aquarium maintenance field and elsewhere have reported mixed reviews of this product. For MUCH more information about the cycling and the Nitrogen Cycle (including other fishless cycling methods), please read this article: "NITROGEN CYCLE AND AQUARIUM CYCLING" BASIC CLEANING: Regular water changes are a must. A small 20% change once per week is best (sometimes larger less frequent changes can be performed as per one’s busy schedule). Using a gravel vacuum is the best and easiest way to change water (for more information about aquarium cleaning, see this article: "AQUARIUM CLEANING; Reasons and methods for water changes"). Make sure the water is of similar ph and temperature and has no chlorine or chloramines when you add it to your aquarium. Remember, goldfish are dirty animals, can grow up to 12” (or more), and so house them in an appropriate aquarium for good health and long life. Even if you start out with a ten gallon aquarium, I recommend moving up to a 45-60 gallon aquarium as soon as possible. DISEASE PREVENTION:  I will not go into depth in this article about disease prevention other to say that the old adage of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is very true for goldfish (and all fish). I personally have resisted adding disease charts as these proliferate all over the internet, many are very “cookie cutter” in their descriptions. I feel first understanding prevention methods followed then by a knowledge of antibiotics, chemical treatments, and organic treatments will go much further in treatment and disease prevention than a disease chart that has a one size fits all approach.For Disease Prevention, please read this article: "Aquatic Disease Prevention" For Aquarium Medications/Treatments, please read this article: "How Aquatic Medications/Treatments Work" BASIC BREEDING:  Sexing goldfish is very difficult before they reach sexual maturity. One way to tell is by looking at the shape of the vent. Females may have rounder convex vents while males have thinner concave vents. The pectoral fins of males may be rather thick and stiff (compared to those of female goldfish) and with a more pronounced outer ray. Another way to tell is by male goldfish will developing breeding stars on their gill covers and along the first ray of their pectoral fins when they are ready to breed. Most goldfish are bred in ponds, and that is where my experience (and much success as well) have been. This said goldfish can be bred indoors I would just recommend duplicating pond conditions as much as possible.  With ponds I have had success with regular, shubunkins and other fancies in ponds down to 150 gallons (and smaller may be possible, but I have never attempted this).What is key is the right conditions from temperature to environment. As to temperature the generally accepted prime breeding temperature is 68 F (20 C), although breeding can happen anywhere from 50 to 80 F (10 -26 C). What I feel is more important as to temperature is to slowly lower your pond or aquarium and then bring your aquarium/pond back up to around 68 F (often this works well naturally in the spring as to ponds). The other aspect I feel is important based on my successes (and failures) is an environment with a LOT of plant roots for the goldfish to lay eggs in and the fry to hide in, feed in, and grow in. In ponds I used Water Iris which had a very good root structure and heavy strong growth above the water. These roots also encouraged the growth of many small insect larvae for fish to feed on as well. In an aquarium I would suggest Purple Waffle, Aluminum Plant or Peace Lilies. These plants general grow good root structures indoors as long as proper nutrients are in the water and there is adequate light. SHO, VHO, T2 and many other high output lights that have at least a major out put in the 6400 K range should work (the SHO would be my first choice though). I would recommend reading this article about aquarium plants for more information here: Planted Freshwater Aquariums. Once eggs are laid the temperature of the tank will determine the incubation period generally 5 days at 70 F and 7 days at 65 F. In an aquarium it is probably best to remove them is possible and treat this tank (a ten gallon should work well for this) with Methylene Blue to prevent egg fungus. In ponds I occasionally added Methylene Blue, but I never felt the need to remove the eggs due to very extensive root structures for the eggs. If you can achieve this in an aquarium, this may spare you this exercise as well. Here is a link to another site with further goldfish breeding information: http://thegab.org/Articles/SexingGoldfish.html SUMMARY: Add or subtract many of these points, and your goldfish may have problems. I recommend "Wonder Shells" (For ph and KH control) or "Medicated Wonder Shells" for prevention and/ or treatment of goldfish disease (ich/ fungus), and water conditions. Of course good maintenance, proper feeding, proper filtration, are not replaced by this product. I have used this product on my aquarium maintenance route (27 years experience) with GREAT results. This article is just intended as a very basic over view of goldfish keeping, please read the two articles below for more in depth information about goldfish and fish keeping in general; For much more general Freshwater Information, please see this article:  -Freshwater Aquarium Basics - My FULL article; A growing resource with information from filtration to “smelly water” problemsFor more aquarium information and articles (pond too), please visit this site:   | Basic_Aquarium_Principles | Basic_Saltwater | Aquarium_Disease | Aquarium_Lighting | Goldfish_disease | Aquarium_cleaning | Nitrogen_Cycle | Redox_Potential | Clear-Pond | Aquarium_Filtration | Articles | Testimonials | | Return Home | Downloads | Shipping and Return Policy | Contact Us | Great Links | Aquarium_Information | |
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