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jess

goldfish

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Hi!

 

I'm moving out with my boyfriend soon and would like to have a goldfish since we work full time and can't have anything that needs walking.

 

I just want a regular goldfish, now when I had one years ago, it was just in a glass tank but now all the websites I go on are saying I need a filter and a light?? for a goldfish?!!?

 

does anyone keep goldfish now and not have these things?

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I admit, I had a filter with my fish tank set-up when i was younger and saved up for a light as it made my fish look better. I'm sure as long as there is enough surface area for oxygen and with regular water changes in not to large a tank you should be fine. Thing is - they are a bit like keeping chickens in that you'll always want to add more so then you'll want a larger tank and need to get all the bits anyway! :roll:

 

wiggly wigglers sell these which seem quite nifty.

 

Or else you get a complete kit. Something like this which is the smallest. Depends on how many fish you want to keep.

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It's actually easier to keep goldfish with a filter than without. They are messy creatures and you will find if you don't have a filter, the tank will go cloudy and dirty very quickly and you will end up cleaning it all the time. If you think about it, fish effectively live in their toilet and without filtration they can suffer a fatal build-up of ammonia which is a by-product of their waste.

 

Get as big a tank as you can. There are a lot of myths about goldfishes, and most petshops still haven't got a clue about them. One of the biggest myths is they "grow to the size of the tank". This isn't true, although it is true that a small tank can stunt their growth (which is cruel enough). Bear in mind that a common goldfish (or related species like shubunkin or comet) can grow to 12 inches, and that a fishtank should be a minimum of six times the length of the fish, and you can see that most goldfish are kept in tanks that are far too small. Really, these kind of fish should only be kept in ponds.

 

So, you should go for fancy goldfish - fantails, Moors, orandas etc. They will get big, but not unmanageable. Water quality is very important so they must have adequate filtration. Go to a specialist fish shop - not Pets at Home or similar, as their staff know nothing about fish (I have lost count of the number of times I have pointed out to them that they have incompatible fish in tanks, eg two male Siamese fighting fish in the same tank which will just fight to the death) and ask their advice on suitable tank size. I would say for two fancy goldfish you want a minimum of 80 litres, the bigger the better.

 

Tropical fish are actually lower maintenance than goldfish and don't need as much room - so if you only have room for a small tank, this is the way to go. You can get complete set-ups, including light, filter, heater etc, and they are easy to look after as long as you get compatible fish. Again, a fish shop will help you with this.

 

Check out the forum at www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk for lots more advice.

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We had a Biorb...it was great. Only trouble is, fish keeping is a bit like chicken keeping...you know how you start with a (red eglu) and then upgrade to a (cube red) ? Well we started with a Biorb and upgraded to a much bigger aquarium. The Biorbs are brill though!

 

I know what you mean although we went the other way, I started with a Juwel Rio 180l then we bought a Juwel Lido 100l and then a Biorb for my daughter! It is as addictive as chicken keeping.

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