Keeping a goldfish is a thrilling experience as this tiny fish is the apple of many people’s eyes. However, before venturing on this mission, you must have all the required knowledge. While keeping the goldfish, many people make honest or unknown mistakes as they fail to follow the given measures. As a result, the keepers must face disastrous consequences, including the death of these tiny aquatic animals. Here are a few common goldfish keeper mistakes that you should avoid if you want your goldfish to spend a happy and healthy life. On side note, purchase best filter for goldfish as it increase life expantancy of the fish.
Avoid tank cycling:
According to Goldfish facts, it tends to make a lot of ammonia, which is extremely poisonous. If you do not cycle the tank, the fish waste starts building up, leading to health damage. A tank cycle assists in making a good bacteria colony inside the water filter. As the water flow, these good bacteria colon moves to different sides of the tank. Moreover, their function is to consume ammonia, nitrite, and other waste products. You can also purchase aquatic plants for the tank as it also reduces ammonia and other byproducts from the water. Therefore, find the best fish tank for goldfish.
Overfeeding:
Goldfish do not have a stomach; therefore, it does not need to be fed again and again. Food passes its tiny bodies at a faster pace. When you feed them a large amount of food frequently, these fish produce more waste, thus contaminating the water. If goldfish remain longer in contaminated water, they might die. Besides that, overfeeding is also linked with constipation and the inability to swim. Always check the amount of goldfish food sourced at the back of fish feed and do not exceed the limit.
Selecting inappropriate fish for goldfish tank:
Most of us purchase fish that looks appealing. Keeping fish without researching its species can lead to complicated consequences. For instance, if you purchase goldfish and angelfish to be kept in your tank, one will survive while the other might end up dead. Goldfish thrive in cool water while angelfish love warm water, making goldfish temperature tolerance sensitive. Similarly, goldfish also do not get along with beta fish as the presence of both species in one environment can lead to aggression and even mortality. You can keep cool water fish and aquatic animals with goldfish like snails, dojo fish, etc. Be vary goldfish temperature.
Not treating tap water:
Most of us assume that pet goldfish can survive perfectly in tap water. However, this may not be true. Tap water contains chemicals that kill favorable bacteria from the tank. Once the bacteria colonies are down, the ammonia starts building up in the tank, leading to goldfish death. Treat the tap water before pouring it into the tank. Every week, remove 1/3 of the water from the tank and replace it with the treated water.
Not changing water often:
Ideally, you should change the tank water at least once a week. You can use a test kit to keep track of the water parameters. Besides that, the water needs changing if it turns cloudy and dirty with debris. If you see a spike in ammonia and nitrite levels, immediately change it with treated water. Do not change all the tank water at a time as it can lead to good bacteria depletion.
Poor goldfish diet:
Goldfish also require high nutrition and a balanced diet like other aquatic animals. The best form of feeding for this fish is commercially available feeds, as these are designed to meet their nutritional needs. On the other hand, some vets believe that these diets only offer a minimum of nutrients to goldfish. Ideally, a goldfish diet must include pellets, gel foods, flakes, frozen foods, and live foods. Your goldfish must always have access to fresh fruits and vegetables like leafy greens, lettuce, spinach, etc. However, do not overfeed the fish and use the food mentioned above items in little amounts so that you do not contaminate the tank water.
Purchasing ill goldfish.
Even if you do everything right, the goldfish still gets sick or dies. This is because the fish you just bought might not be of good quality. Try to analyze every fish before making a purchase decision and find a goldfish that gets big. Look for the fish’s overall health and how it swims before spending your money. Goldfish that are ill, stunted, or weak must not be on your list if you want to keep your fish for a longer time.
Conclusion:
You must have proper knowledge before keeping a goldfish. If you face difficulty in keeping goldfish, it is now time to find the solution to your problems. This article has sourced common mistakes that all new goldfish keepers make. Read through the article and learn to avoid the goldfish keeper mistakes if you want your fish to live a happy and healthy life.