Katalyst
Sep 3rd 2007, 12:36 AM
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Common name: Goldfish
Scientific name: Carassius Auratus
Family: Cyprinidae
Origin:China & Japan
Adult size: Commons, Comets, Jinkin, Wakin, Shubunkin, Sarasa, can grow up to 2 feet.
Fancy Goldfish: Up to 12 inches
Types of goldfish: Commons, Comets, Jinkin, Wakin, Shubunkin, Sarasa, Oranda, Lionhead, Ranchu, Fantail, Veil tail, Pom Pom, Bubble Eye, Celestial, Telescope, Buttery Fly Telescope, Dragon Eye, Tosakin, Ryunkin, Pearl Scale, Tamasaba, Phoenix, Frog Head.
Tank Specs: Goldfish are extremely messy fish and produce a high amount of waste, because of this goldfish should NEVER be kept in bowls. Glass bowls are not equipped to handle/filter the heavy amount of waste goldfish produce, more often then not they are often highly toxic and lethal to goldfish. Bowls are one of the reasons why many goldfish do not live longer then one year. Fancy goldfish require a good surface area, a longer aquarium is ideal as it offers a greater surface area. Basically goldfish do much better in long tanks then they do tall ones, because of this Hex tanks should be avoided. Goldfish can also be kept in outdoor ponds for the summer or year round in areas with mild climates. Keeping goldfish outdoors has its shares of pro’s and con’s.
Pros
Natural sunlight will enhance the pigment of goldfish’s skin
Natural source of Vitamin D
Natural food sourcesCons
Bacterial/Disease Outbreaks
Predators-To protect your goldfish from predators such as birds, raccoons, neighborhood pets your pond should be 5 feet deep, pond should be in an area that receives shade to keep temperatures down during the summer and plants to give fish a place to hide/source of food. Minimum Tank Size: Fancy Goldfish 15 gallons each, all other goldfish 20 gallons each.
Water Parameters (pH): 7.00-8.00
Water Parameters (kH)- Hard
Temperature: 72-74Filtration: Goldfish produce an extremely large amount of waste, much more then most fish. Because of this a good rule of thumb to use with goldfish is 10 X’s the amount of the tank size. EG: A 20 gallon tank should have a filter that is rated for 200 gallons per hour. A 30 gallon tank should have a filter that is rated for 300 gallons per hour etc.
Décor: A bare bottom tank is the healthiest choice, as well as being the easiest to maintain. If you like the look of gravel, choose the largest gravel you can find, river stones are also a good choice for goldfish. Goldfish like to dig and pick through gravel using small gravel/pebbles and may result in your goldfish getting it lodged in their throats and choking to death. Using large amounts of gravel will trap large amounts of waste and release harmful toxins into your aquarium when stirred up. Therefore river stones or a small amount of the largest gravel you can find is the best choice.
Suitable Tank mates: Dojo Weather Loach, Hillstream Loach, Bristlenose Pleco, Rubbernose Pleco. Please note all of these fish need to be bigger then your goldfish’s mouth. Apple snails have also been recommended but as a suitable tank mate, as an apple snail breeder I can vouch that goldfish will pick and torture apple snails until they close up, stop eating and starve to death.
Minimum Group Size: None
Diet: Flakes, Pellets, Live foods, Algae Wafers, Spirulina, Frozen/freeze dried foods such as brine shrimp, blood worms, daphnia, marine algae, dried sea weed (IE: Julian Sprung Sea Veggies) large amounts of green leafy vegetables blanched or slightly cooked, de-shelled peas, oranges, lemons. Fruit should be fed sparingly as it will foul up water parameters, I will feed an orange slice a few hours before a very large water change for that very reason.
Goldfish Stool: A lot can be determined about the health of your goldfish from looking at its stool.
Long Stringy Stool: Long and trailing behind the goldfish, same in colouration as the food fish is ingesting is a sign of stress.
White stool with bubbles: Clear coloured stool, the bubbles are in indicator that air is trapped within the stool; this is usually an indication of constipation.The fish should be fasted 2 days and then fed de-shelled peas for 2-3 days.
Zig Zag Stool- Clear in colour and contains zig zag bubbles, this indicates eggs are being re-absorbed. Sexing: See below (Additional pictures coming soon)
Males
Breeding tubercles (tiny white pimples) develop on gill plates and edges of pectoral fins.
Males vent appears to be smaller and concave in appearance. Females
The female vent is enlarged and appears to be convex. Breeding and Reproduction: When goldfish are ready to breed the males will chase and nudge the female’s rear relentlessly. Males can get overly aggressive and without meaning to, result in torn fins and very stressed out females. Extreme stress can be the cause of disease of bacterial infections, parasites which can lead to death. Because of this it is better to keep males and female’s in separate tanks or use a tank divider when this behaviour is present. Think you have it figured out? In the absence of females, larger males will chase smaller males as well.
A male and female fish need to be present. Place one of each fish into a spawning tank; keep the tank at 70 degree’s. When a female is ready to spawn she will become very rounded and full of eggs to help her along you can do 3, 10-15% water changes a week. This will also help maintain pristine water parameters since you are increasing the amount of food they are eating. Another technique used is taking advantage of drops in pressure/low pressure which are usually brought on by storm/rainfall etc. By doing a large water changes you can also simulate rainfall and trigger spawning. Many people use spawning mops, I prefer to place the fish in a spawning tank and remove them after they have spawned and fertilized eggs. There are hand spawning methods which I would not suggest as it is very easy to rupture the female’s organs. A female goldfish will spawn every 2-3 days around sunrise, both the male and the female will eat the eggs which is why it is recommended the fish or the eggs should be removed.
Goldfish Disease
This topic will be given its own separate thread which is already in the works but here is a quick list.
Parasites:
Anchor Worm
Childonella
Costia
Epistyllis
Body/Gill Flukes
Fish Lice
Hexamita
Ich
Intestinal Worms
TrochodinaBacterial Infections
Dropsy
Fin Rot
Gill Disease
Mouth Rot
Popeye
Ulcers
SepticemiaFungal Infections
Branchiomyces
SaprolegniaGoldfish Health Tips:
Pristine water parameters/regular weekly water changes.
Good filtration
Do not overfeed
Do not over stock your tank
Quarantine all new fish for at least 30 daysMore information/pictures will be added in the near future.
Common name: Goldfish
Scientific name: Carassius Auratus
Family: Cyprinidae
Origin:China & Japan
Adult size: Commons, Comets, Jinkin, Wakin, Shubunkin, Sarasa, can grow up to 2 feet.
Fancy Goldfish: Up to 12 inches
Types of goldfish: Commons, Comets, Jinkin, Wakin, Shubunkin, Sarasa, Oranda, Lionhead, Ranchu, Fantail, Veil tail, Pom Pom, Bubble Eye, Celestial, Telescope, Buttery Fly Telescope, Dragon Eye, Tosakin, Ryunkin, Pearl Scale, Tamasaba, Phoenix, Frog Head.
Tank Specs: Goldfish are extremely messy fish and produce a high amount of waste, because of this goldfish should NEVER be kept in bowls. Glass bowls are not equipped to handle/filter the heavy amount of waste goldfish produce, more often then not they are often highly toxic and lethal to goldfish. Bowls are one of the reasons why many goldfish do not live longer then one year. Fancy goldfish require a good surface area, a longer aquarium is ideal as it offers a greater surface area. Basically goldfish do much better in long tanks then they do tall ones, because of this Hex tanks should be avoided. Goldfish can also be kept in outdoor ponds for the summer or year round in areas with mild climates. Keeping goldfish outdoors has its shares of pro’s and con’s.
Pros
Natural sunlight will enhance the pigment of goldfish’s skin
Natural source of Vitamin D
Natural food sourcesCons
Bacterial/Disease Outbreaks
Predators-To protect your goldfish from predators such as birds, raccoons, neighborhood pets your pond should be 5 feet deep, pond should be in an area that receives shade to keep temperatures down during the summer and plants to give fish a place to hide/source of food. Minimum Tank Size: Fancy Goldfish 15 gallons each, all other goldfish 20 gallons each.
Water Parameters (pH): 7.00-8.00
Water Parameters (kH)- Hard
Temperature: 72-74Filtration: Goldfish produce an extremely large amount of waste, much more then most fish. Because of this a good rule of thumb to use with goldfish is 10 X’s the amount of the tank size. EG: A 20 gallon tank should have a filter that is rated for 200 gallons per hour. A 30 gallon tank should have a filter that is rated for 300 gallons per hour etc.
Décor: A bare bottom tank is the healthiest choice, as well as being the easiest to maintain. If you like the look of gravel, choose the largest gravel you can find, river stones are also a good choice for goldfish. Goldfish like to dig and pick through gravel using small gravel/pebbles and may result in your goldfish getting it lodged in their throats and choking to death. Using large amounts of gravel will trap large amounts of waste and release harmful toxins into your aquarium when stirred up. Therefore river stones or a small amount of the largest gravel you can find is the best choice.
Suitable Tank mates: Dojo Weather Loach, Hillstream Loach, Bristlenose Pleco, Rubbernose Pleco. Please note all of these fish need to be bigger then your goldfish’s mouth. Apple snails have also been recommended but as a suitable tank mate, as an apple snail breeder I can vouch that goldfish will pick and torture apple snails until they close up, stop eating and starve to death.
Minimum Group Size: None
Diet: Flakes, Pellets, Live foods, Algae Wafers, Spirulina, Frozen/freeze dried foods such as brine shrimp, blood worms, daphnia, marine algae, dried sea weed (IE: Julian Sprung Sea Veggies) large amounts of green leafy vegetables blanched or slightly cooked, de-shelled peas, oranges, lemons. Fruit should be fed sparingly as it will foul up water parameters, I will feed an orange slice a few hours before a very large water change for that very reason.
Goldfish Stool: A lot can be determined about the health of your goldfish from looking at its stool.
Long Stringy Stool: Long and trailing behind the goldfish, same in colouration as the food fish is ingesting is a sign of stress.
White stool with bubbles: Clear coloured stool, the bubbles are in indicator that air is trapped within the stool; this is usually an indication of constipation.The fish should be fasted 2 days and then fed de-shelled peas for 2-3 days.
Zig Zag Stool- Clear in colour and contains zig zag bubbles, this indicates eggs are being re-absorbed. Sexing: See below (Additional pictures coming soon)
Males
Breeding tubercles (tiny white pimples) develop on gill plates and edges of pectoral fins.
Males vent appears to be smaller and concave in appearance. Females
The female vent is enlarged and appears to be convex. Breeding and Reproduction: When goldfish are ready to breed the males will chase and nudge the female’s rear relentlessly. Males can get overly aggressive and without meaning to, result in torn fins and very stressed out females. Extreme stress can be the cause of disease of bacterial infections, parasites which can lead to death. Because of this it is better to keep males and female’s in separate tanks or use a tank divider when this behaviour is present. Think you have it figured out? In the absence of females, larger males will chase smaller males as well.
A male and female fish need to be present. Place one of each fish into a spawning tank; keep the tank at 70 degree’s. When a female is ready to spawn she will become very rounded and full of eggs to help her along you can do 3, 10-15% water changes a week. This will also help maintain pristine water parameters since you are increasing the amount of food they are eating. Another technique used is taking advantage of drops in pressure/low pressure which are usually brought on by storm/rainfall etc. By doing a large water changes you can also simulate rainfall and trigger spawning. Many people use spawning mops, I prefer to place the fish in a spawning tank and remove them after they have spawned and fertilized eggs. There are hand spawning methods which I would not suggest as it is very easy to rupture the female’s organs. A female goldfish will spawn every 2-3 days around sunrise, both the male and the female will eat the eggs which is why it is recommended the fish or the eggs should be removed.
Goldfish Disease
This topic will be given its own separate thread which is already in the works but here is a quick list.
Parasites:
Anchor Worm
Childonella
Costia
Epistyllis
Body/Gill Flukes
Fish Lice
Hexamita
Ich
Intestinal Worms
TrochodinaBacterial Infections
Dropsy
Fin Rot
Gill Disease
Mouth Rot
Popeye
Ulcers
SepticemiaFungal Infections
Branchiomyces
SaprolegniaGoldfish Health Tips:
Pristine water parameters/regular weekly water changes.
Good filtration
Do not overfeed
Do not over stock your tank
Quarantine all new fish for at least 30 daysMore information/pictures will be added in the near future.