The Fish Files : Goldfish

With the arrival of our new fancy goldfish for sale, we have gathered some care information and fun facts about one of the world’s most popular pets. Goldfish are not just fish you win at a fair and put in a glass bowl. They come in all different shapes, colours, and varieties and are a lot more intelligent than you would expect. Luckily, with advances in fishkeeping, people are better informed about the proper care that goldfish need.

Goldfish Care:

The goldfish carries the reputation that they are the easiest fish to look after. This is very true, but they require more than just a glass bowl. Goldfish create a lot of waste, especially as they get bigger, which is ammonia in the water. As ammonia levels rise, the water becomes toxic. This is why installing a fish tank filter is the way to go. Keep in mind, the more goldfish you have, the more the filter has to handle.  How big should you fish tank be? Well, fancy goldfish need about 75 litres (minimum) and slender goldfish need up to 150 litres (minimum). Remember, the more space they have, the healthier they will be! 

Feeding is also a big issue for some goldfish owners. Contrary to popular belief, goldfish flakes are not always the best idea - their diets should be a bit more complex than you think. Flakes that float on the top of the fish tank cause the fish to ingest quite a bit of air, which can lead to digestion problems. Not only will this food leave your fish with discomfort, but the flakes will disintegrate and make the quality of water worse. You can also buy pellets that sink to the bottom and even live food, like brine shrimp. Try adding veggies such as frozen peas with their skin removed, or frozen courgette as a healthy and exciting treat for your pet. A wider range of food gives your fish vitamins and protein that are important for a growing goldfish. This is especially the case for fancy goldfish, such as Orandas.

Goldfish Tank Set-Up:

Goldfish are curious but also clumsy. Take the Telescope Eye for example…

Their eyes are on the sides of their head and create a blind spot right in front of them. With this vision issue, they may swim right into a rough object. This is not the only type of goldfish with vision issues, so it is best to just have some nice live aquarium plants for them to explore. Try an Anubias Barteri, these are one of the least likely to be eaten away by your fish.

10 Fun Facts About Goldfish:

1. The oldest goldfish was 43 years old when it died in 2005. It just goes to show, with the right love and care, your goldfish can be a companion for life.

2. The world's longest goldfish grew to a whopping 47.4 cm (18.7 in)! This Dutch goldie from Hapert, Netherlands was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records.

3. They can hear. Just because you cannot see a goldfish’s ears, doesn’t mean they aren’t there! They have an internal ‘ear’ called the otolith. Researchers have found that vibrations from things such as footsteps and voices can travel through the water and be heard by your goldfish. So please do not tap on the glass to get its attention, such strong vibrations can really stress them out.

4. They can be trained. If anyone has told you goldfish are boring pets, they are mistaken. They have the ability to be trained to respond to certain stimuli. So spend a bit more time with your fish friend, you may discover you can teach it to do amazing things.

5. They see more colour than us. Goldfish have 4 colour receptors in their eyes, as opposed to our 3. This allows them to see ultraviolet light that we humans cannot.

6. They love to eat. Rather than a stomach, goldfish just have a long intestinal tract that food travels through rather quickly. This means goldfish do not get that full feeling that we humans do after a big dinner! So if food is around, your curious goldie will eat it. This can be bad; it allows them to be able to eat a dangerous (even lethal) amount of food.

7. If kept in the dark, they will change colour. Here is a short lesson in goldfish anatomy: They actually have clear scales and their colour comes from the skin underneath the scales. Natural light is what adds colour pigment to their skin. If your goldfish are not getting enough light the pigment will fade, resulting in greying or whitening of your fishes appearance.

8. They can recognise faces. Studies have shown that fish have been able to recognise faces with pretty amazing accuracy. This means that it is likely your goldfish knows who you are!

9. In Rome, and various other areas of Italy, there is actually a law that bans keeping goldfish in a glass bowl. As proper tank filtration is vital to the wellbeing and health of your fish, we say brava Italy for leading the way on this.

10. One of the biggest aquatics myths is that goldfish have a three second memory. Well, take that 3 seconds and multiply it by 2,629,744…that equals about 3 months. And THAT is how long a goldfish can remember. Seem crazy? Well, research at Plymouth University put a lever in a goldfish tank, and when the goldfish pecked at the lever, food would appear. Not long after, the goldfish associated the lever push with food. Then the researchers made it so that the lever only released food at a certain hour and the fish learned to start pecking around that certain time. This continued on for 3 months!