Caring For Goldfish

Mind What You Do With Your Hands When Caring For Gold Fish

2007-12-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

Keeping gold fish as pets is a lovely hobby.

Some people are almost fixated by the delightfully coloured fish, sliding through the water. They like to watch them for hours.

Staring at the tank as they glisten in the light, darting from side to side.

Well watching and looking is fine. But what if you feel you want to touch, or even stroke the little darlings, just as you would a cat or a dog?

You must not do this, however tempting and adorable you find your fish.

Most people don't know, but fish have a slimy coating that's vitally important to them. And I'm using the word "vitally" in the literal sense of life dependence.

This coating helps the fish keep out bacteria, toxins and other harmful substances. If you touch it with your fingers, you will probably damage it.

So when you're caring for gold fish, don't touch! Even if it's only a gentle brush, you can upset or mess up the slimy layer.

You might think you are showing affection, but it could be a life threatening.

Other factors can also harm this protective coat, such as big changes in temperature or chemicals in the water.

So when you are caring for gold fish, you need to guard against these as well. But now that you know about the delicate slime coating, you understand the concerns and therefore can care for your gold fish more competently.

Gold fish are not like lap dogs, you musn't touch them, however much you love them.

Caring For Gold Fish By Limiting Their Food

2007-12-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't think it to look at those sweet little gold fish, but they will eat pretty much anything. Vegetable or animal, just as long as it's food!

This can be a problem and it's why you can easily kill your gold fish by giving them too much food. To take care of gold fish, you must keep track of how much you're giving them.

You can't rely on the fish to tell you when they've had enough. They will keep eating, as long as you keep giving, until they get really sick.

People don't realise this. Most creatures know when they've had enough. But not gold fish.

They will even behave as though they need more, when they're already full to the top. You are not being kind by giving more. Kindness in caring for gold fish, is giving them less, not more food.

A good practical test is to see how much they can clear in one to two minutes. Feed them that much, twice a day and that should be fine.

There is another side to this, which I hesitate to spell out. You see, what goes in, comes out!

Gold fish produce a lot of waste and the more they eat, the more comes out.

The accumulation of waste leads to more bacteria in the tank. This threatens the health of your fish.

So by restricting their food, you actually help their health at both ends, so to speak.

When you are sprinkling the fish flakes, take it easy.

Pay attention to the two-minute rule of food clearance and have a strict routine for feeding times and procedure.

Don't overfeed. It's an very important part of caring for gold fish.

Quick Introduction To The Care Of Gold Fish

2007-12-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's great when you first get a gold fish for a pet. I remember it well.

But all too often, it quickly ends in disappointment. And when the first fish is gone, you don't want to get another.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to unintentionally end the poor thing's life, because most of us haven't the first idea when it comes to care of gold fish.

Some people think that you just need to get some sort of container and fill it with water. Then you just plop the sad creature into the water and scatter a few fish flakes from time to time.

This sort of "care" is not likely to encourage a long and happy life for your gold fish. And if you're first fish goes quickly, you're probably not going to bother with another. Are you?

So I'm going to set out a little guide to the care of gold fish. It might seem pretty obvious when you read it, but follow these simple steps and your gold fish keeping should be a lot more successful.

1. We are all familiar with the image of a gold fish swimming in a round bowl, but this is just about the worst thing you can use. You must get a decent sized tank. A fish needs space to swim in and also a larger surface area of water, so that oxygen can dissolve. A bigger volume of water also means the fish waste can disperse.

2. You need to clean out the tank regularly. Fish excrete quite a lot and this must be removed by changing the water. If you have a larger tank, then every week or two should be fine.

3. Don't touch your fish. You might want to, but it will cause damage to the skin.

4. Give the tank and the fish, plenty of light. Don't hide it in a dark corner.

5. Don't overfeed. Follow the fish food directions and give less rather than more.

6. Keep the tank in a spot where the temperature is fairly constant. Gold fish really don't like sudden rises or falls in temperature.

That's six simple points to follow when caring for gold fish. Establish a routine and you should be enjoying the company of your pet gold fish for a long time, possibly years.