5 Goldfish Care Tips

Goldfish is one of the beginner-friendly fishes you can start with as you test the waters in the aquarium hobby world. Keeping multiple goldfish is also believed to attract luck, wealth, and good fortune all year round. And if you want to teach your kids how to be more responsible and eco-conscious, giving them a goldfish as their first pet might help them as they progress through the responsibility ladder.

While goldfish are pretty low-maintenance compared to other aquarium fish species, it is still vital to care for your little orange swimmers to prevent fish illness and death. Additionally, you’ll spare your kids from experiencing pet loss early on and repeatedly.

That said, here are five goldfish care tips you should know and introduce to your kids to raise healthy, happy, and thriving fish:

Feed With Pellets or Gel Food

For goldfish, flake feeds are perhaps the most popular and accessible type of fish food you can get in your local pet stores. However, flakes tend to dissolve in the water fast and their ingredients may throw off the pH and alkalinity levels of your tank water. Large flakes may also choke your goldfish, and kill them.

Instead of feeding your tank friends with flakes, choose high-quality pellets or gel feeds. These are small, yet they overflow with proteins and fat and have a small amount of fiber. Their tiny size also means your goldfish will be able to swallow and digest them easily. 

Add a Water Filter

Water filters help sequester harmful compounds caused by fish waste that may form in your glass habitat. Tank filters also promote an ideal ecosystem for your goldfish and water plants to grow and reproduce. Install these into your aquarium to keep your goldfishes happy.

Let’s say you’re keeping a vertical tank in your condo in Iloilo. In that case, small water filters are suitable for your Iloilo condo as they will fit your glass habitat without taking up so much space. You’ll also allot more room for your lovely goldfish to move around and perhaps spawn adorable baby fish!

Install Tank Light

Light is essential for your artificial fish habitat to flourish. Place a tank light above your aquarium to simulate sunlight into your goldfish’s environment. The light will promote the healthy and vibrant growth of your fish’s scales and exterior. Depriving them of light may lead them to look dull and fatigued.

At night, turn your hood light off to promote the right dark environment for your goldfish to sleep. These aquarium fish are diurnal, which means they need ample sleep at night to stay healthy and vibrant-looking.

Condition Tank Water

Goldfish might be freshwater creatures, but that doesn’t mean you can just put them in a tank full of tap water and call it a day. It is crucial to condition your tank water to mirror the chemical levels of natural freshwater. Without doing this step, your fish may end up stressed, poisoned, sick, and worst: dead.

Every time you clean your tank and refill with a new batch of water, use aquarium testing kits to check for pH, ammonia, and alkalinity levels. You might have to add chemical and biological filtration systems into your tank to establish a healthy and natural goldfish habitat.

Quarantine Sick Fish

Sometimes, even with the utmost care, some of your precious gold swimmers may get sick. Before you tell your kid to flush it down the toilet, quarantine your sick goldfish first in a separate tank, bowl, or bucket. Doing so lets you check if your fish has parasites that may infect your other gold swimmers.

Quarantining sick fish also lets you treat them without stressing your other healthy fish. And in case you’re lost on how to treat your goldfish medically, you’ll have a portable container your kids can carry on your visit to the vet.

Goldfish may be kid-friendly aquarium fish, but they still need to be taken care of to be healthy, lively, and happy. With these five essential care tips, you and your kids will raise healthy and robust goldfish that will live longer and love you back for taking care of them properly.