How to care for goldfish

To care for goldfish is easy. But, as with any pet they need to be treated with love and respect.

To care for goldfish properly, you need a proper size fish tank. When I first became interested in keeping fish, it never occurred to me that each fish needed a certain amount of space and water to live in. I just wanted to fill up my fish tank with lots of beautiful creatures and enjoy watching them swim around. Thankfully I met a knowledgeable person in the pet store, who set me straight.

Fish tank or aquarium size is important, as is the number of fish you put into each one. Your goldfish produce lots of faces and wastes, which are passed into the water, so their environment gets polluted very quickly when there are too many fish living is a small space.

An aquarium that isn’t cleaned regularly can cause illnesses or even death. You don't want your newest member of the family to pass on to the great fish tank in the sky so soon.

Cleaning your fish tank is easy. Click here for step by step instructions.

Aquatic plants help you to keep your aquarium water clean without you having to do anything special. To find out more information about these great plants, please click here.

To care for golfish it’s very important not to over feed your pet. I know it’s fun to see them swim to the top of the tank and gobble up the food. But, giving them too much food can make them sick. The rule of thumb is to feed your fish enough so that in a minute or so, all their food is gone. For more information on what to feed your fish, please click here.

The water temperature of the fish tank is also important. The best care for goldfish is to make sure the water is warm and between 20-23 degrees Celsius. Please click on these links to read about a funny story about my two 'Fat Boys', and why they were not themselves. Getting the correct temperature is important and your pet's behaviour will reflect that.

If the water is warmer than this your fish won’t like it.

Goldfish are like us in many ways, we like things to make us comfortable, we like good food, and we like attention. If you give your pets these simple things, you'll be amazed at how they will reward you. Did you know that goldfish can be trained? It sounds amazing, but people with time, patience and love have trained their fish to do fantastic things. To find out more, please click here.

You still have to use your judgment while caring for your pets.

I once bought a tank with a filter and aerator that created an underground tornado in the aquarium. The fish didn’t like it at all, so that filter had to go, and I had to find something not quiet as powerful. Being sensible with your goldfish is key to keeping them healthy, and making sure they are members of your family for many years.

The above photo was taken by Wings-in-the-water. To look at more of this talented photographers work go the the Flickr website.