Goldfish is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species kept in home aquariums all over the world. They come is variety of shapes, colors and currently there are more than hundreds of goldfish varieties crossbred and produced as ornamental fish. Their graceful movements coupled with their bright coloration and fancy features, often makes them the first choice of fish among hobbyist.
Goldfish are not the type of fish suitable for beginners due to their nature of heavy waste generation that requires a lot of care and maintenance. If one is unable to commit their time and effort to look after this delicate aquarium fish, it will usually result in poor water quality that often leads to introduction of fish disease.
Most people always have the misconception that keeping goldfish is somehow relatively easy without needing much attention. Goldfish are often stuffed in bowls with poor water quality and most of the times, are often fed non-stop until they become bloated. This often led to introduction of disease, while others become stunted due to limited space and lack of proper nutrition and in worst case, death.
Goldfish generally thrive in water temperature ranging from 20 to 22degC with pH around 7.5. Some are slow swimmers while others are more agile. They are not aggressive and would not harm other fish that housed together with them in the same aquarium. However, due to their heavy waste generation and feeding frenzy, most people regard them as unsuitable for community aquarium. Goldfish are not fussy when it comes to diet and if well cared for, they can survive for long period of time up to 20 years.
Let’s look at different goldfish varieties below:
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| Ranchu | Pearlscale | Comet | Moor |
This part is a contribution from one of All About Aquarium Fish fans.
Thanks Helen Howard for sharing such lovely article that details your past experience and wonderful thoughts with us here.
Why goldfish is the number 1 choice of pet fish
"Goldfish are mostly kept in large aquariums while there are some hobbyists who prefer to have them housed in an outdoor pond. Keeping and collecting various breeds of goldfish is an exciting past time because not only there are so many varieties with different colors to choose from but among the same breed, there can even be variations.
The Japanese in particular spent most of their time, watching their goldfish grow and through trials and errors plus experience, their aim is to produce a specimen unrivalled in perfection. The lionhead for example, has unique headgrowth that can be very unpredictable and varies between one individual goldfish to another and not single one goldfish that will actually look the same. Throughout the years, serious and committed hobbyist like myself, has placed an importance towards collecting the most beautiful and well-developed goldfish that could find.
Watching my pets go about with their daily activities can be very relaxing and fun to watch. If you have a bunch of new plants placed in the tank, and so happen that you just miss your normal feeding schedule, you will be shocked to come home and find all the leaves were shredded and torn to small pieces. Don’t worry so much because as you grow fond of them, eventually you will forgive for what they have done. :)
Collecting the young and breeding your fish is also another exciting thing to get involved in. I remember the first time when I found the eggs of my lionhead which I own few year backs and then seeing the baby goldfish that hatch from it. Of course back then I don’t have much experience or knowledge about keeping goldfish and ended losing all of them but through learning, finally I persevered.
Today I’m a proud parent to 2 generations of 8 lionhead goldfish, 4 ranchus, 3 Jikin (which I specifically bought from Japan), a pair of pearlscale and 1 oranda. Even up to today, I could still relish those times which I enjoy every single moment of it. Thanks for producing so many articles about fishkeeping so that you can share with us here."
