Help! How do I care for goldfish?

Little_John

I thought it had been made illegal to give live fish or live anything away as prizes at fairs?

mumof3_2

Little_John wrote:

I thought it had been made illegal to give live fish or live anything away as prizes at fairs?

ssshhh don't tell anyone :shhh:

It was by far the most popular stall at the fair and helped raise lots of much needed money for the school! And I am trying to do the best for the fish by coming on here :A

Thanks for all the advice, they are both still alive, so only another 4 days until I can get to the pet shop. Any tips on the cheapest places for tanks etc and/or places to avoid?

JasonLVC

Just saying what other posters have said already - but the more that say it, the more confident you'll be.

I've got goldfish, I feed them twice a week - a few flakes each. Used to feed them 3x a day and all that would happen is the water would go cloduy and the fish would get ill. They realy are stupid and so will eat if you give them food (when you approach the tank they'll do the 'feed me thing' as they associate you with food, but that doesn't mean they are hungry). I know it sounds cruel, but twice a week keeps the water clean and clear and the fish are very fine and healthy. The instructions on the food container is there just so that you use loads of it and buy more.

You will need a filter. If not, you'll need to change the water every other day or so in order to remove contaminates and refresh the oxygen levels. Filters cost about £12-15 and is money well spent. They'll come with a sponge which will filter the big debris (poo) and over a week, the sponge will also cultivate bacteria which wil take care of the microscopic dirt. Stones on the bottom will also do this and help the overall environment. Basically, filters work exactly the same way as our own water suppply (sewerage is seperated through filters, bacteria eat it, fresh water is produced as a result). With a filter, you only need change the water every other month or so.

Fish keeping is quite simple, but you need to understand the water the fish lives in is also alive with bacteria, which the fish need to survive and they consume the oxygen within the water which if not replaced means they cannot breath. Too much food sitting at the bottom of the tank will simply rot, causing nasty bacterias to form in the water which will make the fish poorly. You can get anti-biotics for fish, but better is to just keep that water clean and oxygenated and free from rotting debris.

Don't use tap water if you can as it will have chlorine in it which kills fish. Either boil the water, alow to cool and use that or preferably, by some water treatment from a local petshop (stress-zyme is good - £1.99 for sample sachet) as it removes the chlorine and will also helps the fish's outer skin to remain in tip-top health.

Hope that helps. I;m not an expert on fish, just passionate about keeping my little blighters alive and have been through the whole cloudy water, over-feeding and skipming on the filter thing.

C_Ronaldo

im sure that it was made illegal but mumof3 is doing her best to seek advice and care for them

shelly

I believe that if you leave tap water to stand overnight then the chlorine will evaporate off leaving behind water that is safe to use for the fish. So if you decide to change the water on say a saturday, on friday night fill your sink or a container (depending on how much water you need) and leave to stand, in the morning it should be fine to use.
Also IIRC when my Dad had aquariums in the house, you can buy plants that oxygenate the water for you, IMO real plants look better than plastic ones.

mumof3_2

Thanks for all your advice :beer:

Peter and Alice (the 2 goldfish) have successfully moved into their larger accomodation, complete with filter, air pump, large pebbles and real plants. They have also been joined by Amber, Beckham and Black Bob, 3 fantails. :T

I have to confess that I am completely fascinated by them, DH and I have spent 2 whole evenings without the tele and even MSE!! :eek: just sitting watching them. How sad is that?? :shocked:

southernscouser

mumof3 wrote:

Thanks for all your advice :beer:

Peter and Alice (the 2 goldfish) have successfully moved into their larger accomodation, complete with filter, air pump, large pebbles and real plants. They have also been joined by Amber, Beckham and Black Bob, 3 fantails. :T

I have to confess that I am completely fascinated by them, DH and I have spent 2 whole evenings without the tele and even MSE!! :eek: just sitting watching them. How sad is that?? :shocked:

It's not sad not watching the telly but no MSE is just criminal! :eek:

Glad to hear they are doing well! :j

Do we get to see a picture?

And just checking they aren't in direct sunlight!

clockley_2

As a keen tropical fish keeper (its just a matter of time before you come over to the dark side!) I agree with everything said. My advice would be to do a water change every couple of weeks (even with a filter) but just 10% of the total water is enough and treat it as mentioned earlier.

Be careful not to over stock your tank - too many fish will unbalance the water quality and cause illnesses.

If you want to find out more there is a similar community devoted to fish keeping at https://www.fishcrazy.co.uk

Craig