December 2007 - Goldfish Care Information Diseases & Treatments

Taking Care Of A Goldfish Bowl

The first step into having goldfish is to have a home for it whether it be a goldfish bowl or goldfish aquarium and learn how to begin taking care of your new pet. Goldfish bowls are an excellent gift for your kids and they will love taking care of goldfish, their new friend. The only thing is with small goldfish bowls they do require more work and maintenance then a regular aquarium or tank would. Goldfish bowls are not the ideal home though when taking care of goldfish.

Why are goldfish bowls more work then goldfish aquariums?

Well that’s easy! The thing is a goldfish bowl has no filter, and has no air pump as well. So taking care of a goldfish in a bowl will be more work. What you will need to do in this case, you will need to keep an eye out on your goldfish more often. The less water that your goldfish have to live in the more work is required.

Goldfish bowls - Kids Taking Care of Goldfish

Goldfish Bowls Water Quality

Some things you should do in taking care of a goldfish bowl is to perform regular water changes to keep water clean and healthy for your fish. Also when performing water changes make sure you add chlorine remover to the new freshwater your putting in. You should also make sure the temperature of the water your adding in is equal to the temperature of the water inside the bowl. Shocking goldfish with a sudden change in temperature can result in goldfish diseases, sickness and even death. The general rule of thumb is try not to go more then a degree over or under and make it as close as possible. Another thing to do is check the water chemistry in your goldfish bowl frequently as things can turn for the worse quickly when you have less water, no filtration and no air pump. Water quality checks are very important when taking care of goldfish bowls.

Having a goldfish bowl for beginners are great. Just need to be a little more cautious thats all. Goldfish are a dirty fish and they can foul up your water in no time if left unchecked. Goldfish eat and it pretty much comes out the other end right away. By performing regular goldfish bowl maintenance you should be safe and your goldfish healthy.

Goldfish bowl, baby kitten starring at goldfish

Goldfish bowls like I said are great for beginners and kids but only good for one fish really. If your like me I would like to see more goldfish then one swimming around. So the prefect question you and others should ask themselves before getting into hobby is “Goldfish bowl or Goldfish Aquarium -Tank?” What are the pros and cons and how much time you really want to spend taking care of goldfish? One last little goldfish advice or tip if you have any cats, try and keep them away or your new little friend might just be lunch 🙂

Goldfish Bowl - Cat Looking To Eat Goldfish For A Treat

***** Goldfish bowls are too small for goldfish really and should not be kept in them, if person does decide to do this as their own choice be careful and take proper care of them. Goldfish bowls are just plain too small, would you like to be confined in a small area??? Goldfish need space to live and be healthy.********

Why Are My Goldfish Not Eating?

There are many reasons why goldfish may not be eating and there are certain things people should do to take care of their goldfish and make sure they’re okay.

Here are several reasons why your goldfish may not be eating:

1. Poor water quality, polluted water- make sure test the water
2. Water chemistry such as PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate may be off the scale, check levels
3. Filter may be dirty, causing stress and poor conditions resulting in fish not eating.
4. There may be dead goldfish in the tank causing bad conditions resulting in fish not eating.
5. Goldfish may have disease or illness’s resulting in lack of interest for food and eating. Sickness is one of the top reasons why goldfish don’t eat. Pretty much the same as humans, when we’re sick the thought of food doesn’t interest us.
6. Food may be old or stale, lack of nutrients.
7. Goldfish may be showing lack of interest in the same food, try feeding your goldfish a different food.
8. Make sure there is no chlorine in the water, make sure you always add AquaPlus Water conditioner when performing water changes.
9. There may be an organic matter build up in your aquarium. Make you stir up the aquarium gravel with a aquarium gravel cleaner to make sure aquarium bed is clean.
10. Your goldfish do sleep, maybe there resting and full resulting in lack of interest in eating.
11. If you’ve recently purchased goldfish from a pet store, they still may be getting used the their new surroundings. Usually it may take a day or two to get used to their new surroundings as stress is a big reason why as well goldfish are not eating.

By cross elimination you can figure out why your goldfish may not be eating. Once you’ve determined why they’re not eating, fix the situation and they will begin eating right away. Usually its something simple. Think about it, would we like eating the same food everyday, same goes for goldfish. Offer your goldfish a variety of different foods to make sure they stay healthy.