My plan was on track and my daughter was exhausted as we concluded up our second lap. As I picked her up and started to walk towards the exit, a bright light caught my eye. I walked past a well lit carnival booth that offered the opportunity win a goldfish! Suddenly, I was taken back to a time when I was a young child. I remembered going to the state fair with my parents and begging them for some money to play the same game with the prospect of winning a goldfish.
I remember standing there, completely focused on the task at hand — landing my ping pong ball into the fishbowl. I was a winner every summer. In my mind, I felt like it was divine intervention. It was time for my daughter to win her own fish. As a child, my fish never lived more than a month or two.
With these new additions to the family, my wife and I were determined to create an environment that allowed our fish to live as long as possible.
After hours of research and talking to some experts in the field, we were shocked to learn that the way most families take care of goldfish borders on pure negligence! They are one of the earliest fish to be domesticated as pets and are the most common fish kept in an aquarium. Goldfish are a domesticated version of the carp that are native to eastern Asia. Carp can grow up up to 30 pounds! During the Tang Dynasty around AD , it was popular to raise carp in ponds and water gardens.
A naturally occurring genetic mutation produced the gold color of the fish. People started to intentionally breed the gold color rather than the normal silver and green colors. On special occasions, families would put their gold fish on display in small glass containers.
By the start of the Song Dynasty AD , the domesticated goldfish we fully established. By , the empress had ordered the construction of a pond specifically for collecting the red and gold colored fish. By this point in time, those that were outside of the imperial family were forbidden to have goldfish that were the gold color, as it was the imperial color and was protected.
Historians believe that this is the reason why there are more of the orange goldfish in existence than any other color. In the s, goldfish became highly sought after in most of southern Europe due to their metallic looking scales that symbolized good luck and fortune.
It quickly became a tradition for newly married men to give their wife a goldfish as a gift at their one year wedding anniversary. They are sold as food for other fish so they only need to stay alive long enough to be taken home and put in for the other fish. If you are going to buy fish from the pet store, watch the fish carefully for at least 10 minutes.
If you win them from a carnival like we did, you can only hope for the best. If you get a tank that is too small, the internal organs of the fish will continue to grow and over time, the fish will slowly suffocate. Even though goldfish have been consistently depicted in small bowls, it is part of the reason why with short life spans ammonia builds up quickly in such a small space.
This is one the main reasons why most goldfish die so quickly. Although goldfish bowls are very popular, they are far from an ideal environment for goldfish.
Goldfish are very easy to care for, but they still require cleaned and well-aerated water, which is hard to maintain in a goldfish bowl. You must change the water in a still fish tank every few days or at least every other week,with a filter. Maybe their problem could be attributed to handling them poorly. As a result, most aquarists find themselves struggling to keep their goldfish alive despite the fear of losing them.
This leads to a lot of frustration, causing many people to change their minds about raising pet fish in their homes. On the other hand, several fancy goldfish have undergone heavy hybridization that has left them prone to all sorts of problems.
If they are not given good care, these fish end up perishing suddenly. Water is essential for the survival of your goldfish and all other aquatic animals under your care. But if the conditions are not favorable, your fish may not live long in such a difficult environment.
Without a doubt, poor water quality has been ranked as the number one killer of most aquarium fish including goldfish. Before this happens, ensure that water parameters are within a specific range for your goldfish to thrive best. Sometimes the conditions in the tank may be suitable for your fish when you introduce it there for the first time.
But as you continue feeding them these conditions change the moment your fish starts to produce waste. Consequently, ammonia and other harmful elements start to build up and eventually upset the balance. These changes in the aquarium ecosystem affect fish negatively, thus impacting its well-being if no drastic measures are applied in time. In a well-established aquarium with a functioning filter, the levels of ammonia can be put in check with the presence of beneficial bacteria.
These microorganisms are known to break down toxic substances and elements found in the aquarium water. This is not the case with the new aquarium because there is no beneficial bacteria or anything that can keep ammonia, nitrates and nitrites levels from rising. The same case is common in older fish tanks without proper filtration systems or going too long before any meaningful water changes take place.
Such tanks are usually rendered unfit for aquarium fish or other aquatic creatures such as snails, shrimp and even certain species of frogs. One thing you need to know is that ammonia is extremely toxic and dangerous for your fish. If left unchecked, excess ammonia in the tank can cause black smudges, cause streaks of blood on fins and damage gills. Once your goldfish get subjected to such harsh conditions you should expect the worst.
This is because your fish will most likely die slowly depending on the concentration of ammonia or other harmful elements in the tank water. The most challenging part about this toxic substance is that you cannot smell it or see it.
But the only way of finding out if your aquarium water has high levels of ammonia is to carry out a water test. Depending on the outcome of your results, you may decide what safety measures to take into account to save your fish from toxic water.
And the only solution to this problem is to emphasize on cycling your fish tank water regularly. Fish TB comes second to poor water quality when it comes to the unexplained deaths among goldfish. According to the statistics, 63 percent of aquarium fish die suddenly when they get infected with the bacteria responsible for causing this deadly health condition.
It never hurts to use a neutralizer if you are not sure. Goldfish enjoy water temperatures between 62 and 70 degrees and are considered a cold-water fish. Ideal ponds will be at least partially shaded and contain floating plants that keep the water temperature in check. Goldfish survive freezing temperatures by going into hibernation. If your pond is at least 3 feet deep, it is unlikely the water will freeze completely. Another leading cause of Goldfish deaths new fishkeepers face is from an illness.
Here are some common illnesses Goldfish can suffer from. Ich is a curable parasite that appears as white spots on the gills and body of a Goldfish. Symptoms of flukes include fish scratching their bodies on surfaces, an outer mucus covering, and swollen bellies. Swimbladder disease is characterized by fish swimming sideways or upside-down, often with a distended belly.
This issue is usually caused by overfeeding, so consider feeding less or even fasting your fish for a few days. Ideally, you should only feed your Goldfish as much food as they can completely consume in a few short minutes. Swimbladder disease is not the only possible repercussion of overfeeding your Goldfish. The risk is that when treating the algae bloom, the vast die-off of algae could raise the ammonium to toxic levels very quickly, thus killing your Goldfish.
Incompatible tank mates can be another cause of Goldfish death. In a backyard pond setting, Goldfish, especially younger, smaller fish, can fall prey to turtles, frogs, snakes, and even other fish. The neighborhood cat or birds can also cause premature deaths among your fish.
Overcrowding can cause spikes in ammonium levels as well as increase the likelihood for the spread of disease. Fully grown Goldfish can require as much as 20 gallons of water per fish. These fish require a large natural environment with exposure to sun daily. Fish should have enough space to swim freely in their pond without bumping into pond ornaments or conspecifics.
Written by Ricky. Here are some common issues new Goldfish owners run into and how to combat them. Purchasing Low-Quality Fish One last issue to touch upon is the purchase of low-quality fish. Where to Purchase Goldfish Where you purchase your Goldfish can be the difference between fish that die within a few weeks and fish that live twenty or more years.
Filtration and cleanliness: Are tanks filtered and containing clear water? Staff: Are the staff knowledgeable about any questions you may have? Here are your options when it comes to buying Goldfish: Pet store chains: Chains such as Petsmart and Petco offer Goldfish for sale, but have developed a bad reputation from multitudes of customers who have ended up purchasing sick fish or fish that died shortly after purchase.
Poor Water Quality The number one reason most Goldfish die quickly is due to poor water quality.
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