Bettachris
07-17-2006, 06:45 PM
Specific name: Carassius auratus, Cyprinus carpio
Common name: goldfish, golden tooth carp
Origin: China
Family: Cyprinidae
Intro: When shopping at a local fish store(LFS) they unfort. dont tell you about a goldfish when you buy it. While goldfish at the store may be small, and it will look so good in a goldfish bowl the fact is that is really bad for their health. while different goldfish types have different sizes, they are all way to big for a bowl and even the smallest of all goldfish will need a tank that is no less than 55 gallons.
Care: whille goldfish aren't the hardest fish to take care of, like anything there is a wrong and right way. Goldfish are really messy fish so that is one reason that they dont belong in a small tank. They need a power filter to help keep the water parameters in check. in a very large tank with a good filter you will still need to change the water every week.
Feeding: GoldFish are not picky eatters. pellets,flakes,worms,frozen,freezed dried foods are all excepted. A goldfish will eat and eat, but there stomach are only alittle bigger than their eye size so watch how much you feed them.
Tank-setup: Really for the fancy goldfish a 55 gallon is the bare min for lets say 2 goldfish, koi and common/comet goldfish really need a pond. a pond of 2000 gallons is good for 4 koi. These fishes get massive and are not your bowl fish.
Sexing: During the breeding season the males will grow bumps on their head. called tubercles.
Breeding: A spawning mop is the best way to breed goldfish, in a large tank and in a group, a pair will pair off and swim into the spawning mop and lay their eggs.
Stocking: Goldfish are cold water fishes, and in a large enough tank there aren't that many other fishes that should go with them. Certianly you never want to mix different types of goldfish due to swimming caps. Some of the fishes that can possibliy be kept with goldfish are Bitterling, Red shinners, Rudd, and my favorite the high fin loach. All of these fishes are pond fish.
Varities:
Koi- Koi are the largest of all goldfish. true pond fish as they can reach 36-43 inches.
single tailed goldfish- common and comet goldfish are often referred to as feeder fish. They are very cheap but they will grow huge, 27 inches.
fancy goldfish- there are way to many to name, but while they only get to about 8-12 inches generally, they are still very messy fishes and these are the ones that is possible to house indoors, in a 55 gallon or larger.
Conclusion: again you dont want to mix goldfish as fancy ones like bubble eyes can swim like singled tailed goldfish. This causes problems in their health and often they can't compete for food. Be aware that you will often hear people who have had goldfish in a small tank for many years and they will say it only grew about 4 inches. The reason for this is a process called stunting. Basically the life span and overall quality of life decreases. So do the goldfish a favor and dont do it, a good happy goldfish can last many years so it would be in its best interest to make them happy for the rest of their lives.
any more questions just let us know,
by BettaChris
Common name: goldfish, golden tooth carp
Origin: China
Family: Cyprinidae
Intro: When shopping at a local fish store(LFS) they unfort. dont tell you about a goldfish when you buy it. While goldfish at the store may be small, and it will look so good in a goldfish bowl the fact is that is really bad for their health. while different goldfish types have different sizes, they are all way to big for a bowl and even the smallest of all goldfish will need a tank that is no less than 55 gallons.
Care: whille goldfish aren't the hardest fish to take care of, like anything there is a wrong and right way. Goldfish are really messy fish so that is one reason that they dont belong in a small tank. They need a power filter to help keep the water parameters in check. in a very large tank with a good filter you will still need to change the water every week.
Feeding: GoldFish are not picky eatters. pellets,flakes,worms,frozen,freezed dried foods are all excepted. A goldfish will eat and eat, but there stomach are only alittle bigger than their eye size so watch how much you feed them.
Tank-setup: Really for the fancy goldfish a 55 gallon is the bare min for lets say 2 goldfish, koi and common/comet goldfish really need a pond. a pond of 2000 gallons is good for 4 koi. These fishes get massive and are not your bowl fish.
Sexing: During the breeding season the males will grow bumps on their head. called tubercles.
Breeding: A spawning mop is the best way to breed goldfish, in a large tank and in a group, a pair will pair off and swim into the spawning mop and lay their eggs.
Stocking: Goldfish are cold water fishes, and in a large enough tank there aren't that many other fishes that should go with them. Certianly you never want to mix different types of goldfish due to swimming caps. Some of the fishes that can possibliy be kept with goldfish are Bitterling, Red shinners, Rudd, and my favorite the high fin loach. All of these fishes are pond fish.
Varities:
Koi- Koi are the largest of all goldfish. true pond fish as they can reach 36-43 inches.
single tailed goldfish- common and comet goldfish are often referred to as feeder fish. They are very cheap but they will grow huge, 27 inches.
fancy goldfish- there are way to many to name, but while they only get to about 8-12 inches generally, they are still very messy fishes and these are the ones that is possible to house indoors, in a 55 gallon or larger.
Conclusion: again you dont want to mix goldfish as fancy ones like bubble eyes can swim like singled tailed goldfish. This causes problems in their health and often they can't compete for food. Be aware that you will often hear people who have had goldfish in a small tank for many years and they will say it only grew about 4 inches. The reason for this is a process called stunting. Basically the life span and overall quality of life decreases. So do the goldfish a favor and dont do it, a good happy goldfish can last many years so it would be in its best interest to make them happy for the rest of their lives.
any more questions just let us know,
by BettaChris