Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with goldfish

How does one care for fancy goldfish?

team lowkey — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:02:28 -0800

I just rescued a couple of fancy goldfish, and I could use some advice on how to properly care for them. Is it normal for them to rest on the bottom of the tank? How much should I feed them? The marketing department at my girlfriend's office decided it would be a good idea to purchase 40 live goldfish to use as party decorations, with no plan for what to do with the fish once the party was over. I took two of them, and want to give them the best home I can.

They are apparently calico telescope goldfish, about an inch and a half long. A lot of sites I've found say that you need 5-10 gallons of water per fish, but I can't do that. I'm not even supposed to have fish in my office, and having a full size aquarium would definitely get noticed. I've got a 2.5 gallon tank, but I've got a filter and a bubbler, and my plan is to exchange 25% of the water once a month. Is that sufficient to keep the water clean?

I've gotten a lot of varying advice on how often to feed them, from 3 times a day to once every other day. I've had them for a week, and I've been feeding them a small pinch of food once a day, and they seem to be doing pretty well.

The thing that concerns me is that one of the fish spends a lot of time laying practically motionless on the bottom of the tank. Is that normal? One of her gills is also very red, but I don't know if that's just her coloring.

I've never had fish before, so this is all new to me. Any advice you guys can give would be much appreciated. By me and by Grimy and Blush.

Moving a goldfish into a new house?

Katemonkey — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:51:45 -0800

Tips for moving your pet fish to a new house? We have Chegwin, our eight-inch (counting the tail) pet goldfish.

We're in the process of moving house, and one of the things we're going to be doing is setting up a new and bigger tank for him, prepping it a few days before we move him over, and then taking the plunge (so to speak) and moving one fish 3/4 of a mile into his new home.

Everything I've found on Google relates to smaller fish, and this isn't like the last time he moved, when he was able to fit into a litre container and still have swimming room.

So what can we do to make this a rather smooth and easy-going trip for us and this great big beast of a goldfish?

Help for a Goldfish Killer?

maryh — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:08:31 -0800

Oh god, I've murdered my son's goldfish. Poor Mike, Jim and Poopy, I never meant to cut your lives short. Aquarians, please help! I know nothing, and I mean nothing, about keeping a simple aquaruium. I am a fish killer, pure and simple. My son's aquarium holds 10 gallons and has a (irksomely loud) filter motor, we fed the fish sparingly, and tried to keep them occuppied. I suspect some of the chemicals we added to the tank were just too much-- I added a teaspoon of Auqusafe, but there were a couple of other 'sample' additives, too.
I want to start over but I want to do it right this time. Goldfish! Holy cats, how hard can that be?

gravel-sucking goldfish

crush-onastick — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:07:48 -0800

goldfish care: my goldfish, like all of them, sucks up his aquarium rocks. i've tried to rid the tank of all the ones small emough to get stuck. but now he seems to have one lodged in his throat. anything i can do to help him spit it out? it's been stuck for about ten minutes. and he's worked it out further forward into his mouth, but hasn't yet spit it out. poor fish!

Goldfish Bully

duck — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 09:37:04 -0800

How do I keep one goldfish from terrorizing another? I have two goldfish in a 5 gallon aquarium. They were the same size when I got them, but now one is bigger than the other. The big one bullies the little one. The big one will follow the little one around and push him and peck at him for hours a time. The little one is missing scales (and sometimes there are scales floating in the water) and at times appears to be injured. The big one will trap him up against a rock and just peck at him until I tap on the glass and scare them both. This gives the little one a few minutes reprieve, but he's at it again soon enough.

I've tried throwing some food to distract the big one, but he doesn't even notice the food and also I don't want to condition them (are they smart enough to be conditioned?) that bullying the little one will get him fed.

I know that "stay out of it" would normally be the answer,and I would be happy to do that if the little one weren't being injured.

The water is clean and filtered. They're fed regularly and well treated.

goldfish feeding

crush-onastick — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:42:23 -0800

weekend feeders appear to constipate my office goldfish. i know how to treat him, but i'd like to stop this vicious cycle. recommendations for how to feed the goldfish over the weekend? is it okay to substitute peas for the weekend feeders, or will the vegetable rot make keeping the tank clean too difficult? is it okay to skip feeding him two days every week? what about vacations? i'll be gone for five days soon and i fear he'll be in intestinal distress the whole time i'm gone.

Lettuce or peas for goldfish?

jeremias — Tue, 23 Nov 2004 11:53:56 -0800

Does anyone here feed romaine lettuce or frozen peas to their goldfish?

How do I keep a goldfish barrel algae-free?

Blue Stone — Tue, 03 Aug 2004 03:28:28 -0800

I'm looking after a neighbour's goldfish while she's recuperating after an accident. They're outside, in a half-barrel. The problem is that algi builds up in the water fairly quickly. Are there any tips to help keep the water cleaner, and improve the fishies' quality of life, in between changing it every week or so?