How to Care for Your Goldfish

Goldfish are probably the most bought fish for most families for their home. If you are thinking about buying a goldfish, consider reading about how to care for them, so they can live a long and happy life.

1. You will want to find a good tank for the goldfish. Make sure they have plenty of room to swim around and chase each other. It is recommended that you consider 10 gallons for every one goldfish so that they can grow. These fish get pretty big, depending on the size of the tank. The biggest fish I have is 6 inches long and is in a 10 gallon tank along with two other good sized fantails. Until I get a bigger tank, they won't get any bigger.

2. Goldfish are messy fish to have, so you will need a good filter to clean the water constantly. Of course you will have to clean the filter pump out when you clean the whole tank out, which I recommend doing once a month. You will also have to keep buying filters about once a month or more to keep the water from getting too dirty.

3. Fill your tank with water. You'll need to buy a water conditioner to remove the hurtful chlorine and chloramines from the water, such as Jungle Start Right with Allantoin. Check the ph, ammonia, and nitrate levels of the water to make sure they are right for your fish. The temperature of the water should be from 50 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit

4. Buy a few plants and medium sized rocks or hideouts for the fish. They make the fish happy and it breaks up the dullness of their diminutive home. Make sure the hideouts are big enough so the goldfish won't get stuck in them! In my tank I have a glow-in-the-dark plant that really looks spectacular at night when I turn the tank light off! Don't buy rocks with metal on them for the reason that rocks with metals can harm fish through discharging toxic chemicals into the water.

5. When you are ready to buy your goldfish, keep these guidelines in mind on what to look for: Make sure there are no white spots anywhere on the body, that their colors are vibrant, they are swimming all over the tank instead of just "sitting there", they are not afraid of people, and make sure the fins are not damaged, although they do grow back.

6. When you get the goldfish home you will need to set the bag in the tank for about 30 minutes so that the temperature of the water in the bag will be the same temperature of the tank. If you just pour your fish into the tank they might go in shock because of the different temperatures.

7. Now comes the feeding. Your fish need to be fed at least twice a day. You can feed them goldfish flakes or goldfish pellets. My opinion is that the flakes make a bigger mess than the pellets, so I feed mine pellets. They will also eat freeze dried worms, but that should be just a snack to them and only fed every once and a while.

8. If you would like to clean the bottom of the tank you can buy a rock cleaner from your local pet shop or Wal-Mart stores. This is a handy tool when you need to make a partial water change. This tool sucks out all the dirty mess under the rocks so you don't have to clean the entire tank out in the bath tub or outside. Just make sure you have a big enough bucket for all the dirty water, and make sure you wash your hands with soap and water good after cleaning a fish tank.

If you know how to care for your goldfish, then you and your family will be able to enjoy them for years to come, and even remember how small they use to be!