Month: October 2007

Categories
Goldfish Goldfish Care

Do Goldfish Sleep?

Goldfish Sleeping Aquarium Fish Tank - Goldfish Sleep

Goldfish indeed do sleep and is often a question people always want to know. Sleeping goldfish is not the same as for us cuddling to a pillow under warm blankets. Goldfish sleep basically in one spot. They hover with periodic movements to keep stable and are often seen hiding behind aquarium decorations or close to the bottom of your aquarium. When fish sleep they are very much at alert at all times. Goldfish sleeping is actually a form of resting and are aware what’s going on at all times. You will see golfish suddenly swim erradically when you turn the aquarium light on. They much like us, they were startled and are seeking a place to hide.

Goldfish need sleep just like humans. Without enough sleep we can get sick and same goes for them. People should have a regular schedule for aquarium lighting or better yet have it on a timer so it’s on for a certain amount each day. Your light should be on for about 12 hours a day or less. A good suggestion to do is turn on the light when you get up and when you go to sleep turn it off. When you shut the light off you will notice that the your fish will begin to slow down and relax. If you leave the light on all the time, it’s not good for goldfish health as they will not have much of a resting period. Goldfish have no eye lids so shut off the light so they can get a good night sleep. Goldfish need sleep and it’s much easier to sleep with the lights off. Even if people do accidently leave the lights on, goldfish will sleep but it won’t be the same type of sleep as if they were off. Try and shut the lights off. Think of this would you like the lights on when your going to sleep? Same goes for them.

Also when goldfish sleep their colour also fades. So whenever you go an observe your goldfish and you see them basically still and their colour is partially faded, well its a good chance their sleeping. Leave them alone so they get the well deserved rest they need.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

Categories
Breeding Goldfish Goldfish Goldfish Care How To

Sexing Goldfish- Differences Between Males and Females

Goldfish Sexing - How To Tell Differences Between Male & Female Goldfish

Goldfish sexing is what most aquarium or fish pond hobbyist would like to know sooner or later. Goldfish breeding is the answer why they want to know the differences between male and female goldfish. As people get more into their hobby they would eventually like to see their fish breed. Here I am going to tell you and show you how to tell if your goldfish are male or female.

How To Tell The Differences Between Male and Female Goldfish

Female Goldfish

1. Females are generally bigger then the males and are they’re more plump. The reason for this is that there abdomen is all full of eggs when it comes time to breeding.

2. Females abdomen is also more soft and squishy then of the males.

3. They also have rounded and shorter pectoral fins.

4. Females also have a larger rounder anal opening with it slightly protruding as well.

Male Goldfish

1. Male fish develop breeding tubercles on their gill plates which are most commonly mistaken for the goldfish disease commonly known as Ich. They also get these small white pimple like spots on their outer ridge of their pectoral fins as well. These breeding tubercles appear during spawning time showing they’re ready to breed.

2. Males also have larger longer pectoral fins as well. The pectoral fins are the ones right underneath their gills.

3. They also have a much firmer abdomen then the females.

4. Males have a smaller more oval anal opening then the females.

5. Males are more torpedo shape then females.

These are how to tell the differences between the sexes of male and female goldfish. Here is one of the biggest ways that you can tell as well is when breeding begins to happen you will see the males chasing the females. This is a sure way to tell the differences whether it’s a boy or girl. It’s much the same as real life dating the men usually chase the women 🙂 I will later add some goldfish photos of breeding tubercles of males and pictures of females as well for everyone to see the differences.

Categories
Breeding Goldfish Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Ich White Spot Disease

Breeding Tubercles Not White Spot Disease (Ich)

Breeding Tubercles Goldfish Fantail Gill Plates Cover
Breeding Tubercles on Goldfish Fantail Gill Plates Cover

A common mistake that goldfish owners make which is quite easily done is treating their fish for ich when in fact it’s breeding tubercles. On the photo above you’ll see breeding tubercles on this goldfish fantail Gill plates cover. Proper diagnosis in identifying diseases can save you time, money, and eliminate stress on fish. These breeding tubercles that you see appear like pimples on the gill plates. Lots of people mistaken this for ich when in fact it’s not.

Male goldfish develop these breeding tubercles several times throughout the year. This symbolizes that the goldfish are ready to breed. A good way to tell whether it’s ich or breeding tubercles is to observe the rest of the body. If the white spots or pimples are only on the the gill plates then they are breeding tubercles. If there are spots elsewhere that appear on your fish then you have ich. If it turns out to be ich then I would suggest getting ready to start treating your goldfish for whitespot disease.

Sincerely,

Jamie Boyle
The Goldfish Guy
“Helping Goldfish Owners With Advice, Fish Care and Fish Medication Treatments for Goldfish Diseases, Illnesses and Parasites”

Categories
Goldfish Goldfish Care Goldfish Diseases Goldfish Medications Ich Fish Treatment Ich White Spot Disease

Treatment For Ich or White Spot Disease In Goldfish

Treatment For Ich or White Spot Disease In Goldfish

Treatment for white spot disease or ich in goldfish you can use Malachite green. This is a very effective ich treatment medication that you can buy at most pet stores or online as well. This ich treatment is safe for fish and aquatic plants and will eliminate this goldfish disease when done properly.

When using Melachite green for treating ich or white spot disease on goldfish there are several things you should do:

1. Always wear eye goggles
2. Use gloves when dealing with this chemical
3. Use with caution, chemical stains
4. Always store away from reach of children

Treatment process:

1. Medication should be added to the goldfish aquarium every 24 hrs. recommended by the label on bottle by the manufacturer.
2. Treatment should be done for a minimum of 10 days for excellent results to ensure all ich have been eliminated from your aquarium or fish pond.
3. Before each treatment do a 25% water change
4. Make sure you take out carbon in filter, if not it will take medication out of the water.
5. Make sure you keep a close eye on your goldfish for the first few hours for distress. If serious distress is in order do a water change immediately.

When you add the chemical in the water in your goldfish aquarium at the beginning you will see it turn the water like blue or slight green colour. After a little while the water will return to its normal colour. Make sure you keep a chart on when you began medication and date of when the treatment for ich will end. One of the biggest things people need to do when treating ich ( Ichthyophthirius multifiliis – white spot disease ), goldfish diseases or other external parasites in their aquarium or pond is to make sure you have maximum aeration. When using chemicals for treatments it takes the oxygen out of the water. You need to make sure maximum air and oxygen is available for your goldfish. Melachite green is the most widely used medication used world wide and most effective method of treatment for goldfish ich disease and will get your goldfish health back to normal. Another ich treatment medication alternative would be Kordon Aquarium Rid Ich Preventative which contains melachite green.

Other Related Posts:

Goldfish Disease- White Spot Disease- Ich (Ichtyopthirius)
Breeding Tubercles Not White Spot Disease Ich
Goldfish Medication Treatments For Illnesses, Diseases and Parasites Including Ich Medication

Categories
Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care

Goldfish Care -Everyday Things To Do

Goldfish Care - How To Take Care Of Goldfish Everyday

Goldfish care needs to be done everyday to ensure goldfish stay healthy. Doing small things everyday will make a big difference in keeping your goldfish disease free and no illness.

Here are some things people should do everyday to make sure everything is safe for your goldfish.

1. Turn on the aquarium light. Goldfish need light everyday.

2. After you have turned on the light make sure there are no dead fish in your aquarium. Make sure you look closely, sometimes goldfish may be dead in your aquarium as sometimes they can be behind decorations in your aquarium. Look closely cause what can cause problems with goldfish is dead fish that are left in an aquarium not noticed. When these dead fish are left in your aquarium it can cause a whole bunch of problems. It first of all pollutes the water changing the PH levels, Ammonia levels, Nitrite and Nitrate, It also cause goldfish diseases to spread to other goldfish all because of these dead fish. Just take care of and remove any dead goldfish that you see.

3. If you don’t have that many goldfish to care for you should be able to quickly count them as well. Sometimes fish can jump out of an aquarium. I’ve had this happen several times before. No matter how much you care for your goldfish sometimes things happen. I had an aquarium full of koi, one was about 10″ long and it had jumped out onto the floor. It was there for probably about 2-3 hours we believe. It’s body was pretty dry but as soon as my mother put it back in the tank it was fine. Koi are a pretty strong hardy fish and pretty easy to take care of. Just make sure you count them to make sure none of yours may have jumped out of your aquarium.

4. Take a quick look and see if all your goldfish are behaving normal. Check to see if there scratching themselves, fins fluttering, or gasping and look for any signs of diseases, illness or injuries. If any of the above take care of your goldfish right away.

5. Make sure all your equipment is running properly. Make sure your filter is running as at times the filter can lose its prime if their is a power outage. Make sure your air pump is working properly as well to ensure your goldfish have plenty of oxygen. Also check to see if your heater is working. Goldfish don’t need a heater but you definitely need one if you have tropical fish as a small fluctuation in temperature in tropical fish can lead to sickness, disease or death.

6.Last thing to do is feed your goldfish, care for them, relax and enjoy.

By just taking less then 5 minutes a day to check the following things and feed your fish at the same time can literally save the life of your goldfish by just giving them a little bit of care. If you notice something out of whack you will be able to fix it and take care of your goldfish properly. Small things can make a big difference by saving your money and giving you more time in enjoying your goldfish aquarium hobby.

Categories
Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care

Adding New Goldfish To Your Aquarium

Adding New Goldfish To Your Aquarium

There are a few things people should do for proper care of goldfish when adding them to your aquarium.

1. The first thing you do when you get home from buying your goldfish from pet stores is to place the fish bag in the water.

2. Make sure you shut the aquarium light off to make sure you don’t stress the goldfish out.

3. Let the bag sit in the water for about 15-20 minutes so that the water temperature will become the same temperature in the bag as the same as the aquarium.

4. Feed your goldfish in your aquarium so that when later when you release the fish in the water they will be full and will be less likely to be aggressive towards your new arrivals. Sometimes fish will nip at your new comets that you’ve added to your aquarium as they are sometimes territorial.

5. After about 15 to 20 minutes then take a small cup or container and take some of the water from your aquarium and pour it into the bag. This will slowly adjust the water chemistry in the bag as the same as the water chemistry in your aquarium. By doing this it will eliminate or reduce the chance of any shock as the PH levels, water hardness or softness will be gradually introduced to your new goldfish.

6. After doing this then grab an aquarium fish net and take the goldfish out of the bag and place them in your aquarium.

7. Never pour the water in the bag into your aquarium just in case there might be any goldfish diseases in the water. By doing this it will reduce your chance of infecting other fish and therefore saving you money on buying medicine if the water was carrying any parasites.

By doing these simple things when introducing new goldfish to your aquarium will ensure your existing goldfish and new goldfish stay healthy as proper goldfish care has been done. Simple steps can prevent sickness and illness in goldfish.

Categories
Aquarium Care Goldfish Goldfish Care

How Many Goldfish Can I Put In My Aquarium?

Fantail Goldfish Aquarium - How Many

How many goldfish you can put in your aquarium is a question that most aquarium hobbyist have when setting up their goldfish tank. The first thing you want to do is make sure you never overcrowd your aquarium. The thing that most people tend to do is place to may goldfish in their aquarium. By overcrowding your goldfish tank can lead to tons of problems. Overcrowding your aquarium can kill your goldfish. The more goldfish in your tank causes more fish waste that your filter may not be able to handle. Sure some people can add extra filtration to accommodate the amount of fish in the tank but you really shouldn’t add to many fish. When adding too many fish it also leads to problems with goldfish health, goldfish diseases and sickness. When the tank is overcrowded goldfish diseases do occur and they spread very quickly due to the amount of fish there are. Therefore the reproduction rate of parasites drastically increase as there are more parasites breeding and infecting other goldfish. Also overcrowding stunts the growth of goldfish decreasing how big goldfish grow and how long do goldfish live.

The answer to this very common question is that you should only put one inch of fish per one gallon of water. Now this is a general measurement that people should aim for but this does not always apply to fish. When you have larger fish in your aquarium they are gonna need more water. A good example is say you have a 10 inch goldfish and you place it in a 10 gallon aquarium. It’s common sense really when it comes to larger fish. That 10 inch goldfish is not the same size as ten one inch goldfish. Bigger fish need more water to live in, do to their bigger bodies and bigger waste loads. I would suggest for goldfish of bigger size, maybe one inch for say every two or even three gallons of water would be good. Remember the more water your goldfish have to live in the better they’ll be. The water chemistry will be good and the filtration will help ensure your goldfish stay healthy and live long healthy lives. So how many goldfish to put in your tank really all depends on you and how big your aquarium is able to hold using this simple rule.