Before you get a Goldfish
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Please, please do research, I am tired of seeing people selling these beautiful fish in horrible conditions. Why am I saying this? Media has ruined what we know about goldfish by showing them in bowls, with out filters, and without much of anything that they truly need. Goldfish are hardy fish, because they were bred to be pond fish, much like a koi fish. But other than that, they're just like your normal Freshwater cichlids. Why do I say that? Because well, goldfish are not SMALL throw away pets.
The largest goldfish, might I add that it is a fancy, is 14 inches! Comet's don't stay your small sparkling swimmers either though, as they can get just as big!
Let's think about the sizing of that.
Normally, a 14 inch fish just needs a 55-75+ tank, but we're not talking about a normal fish.
Goldfish produce more waste than any other fish, why is this? Because, goldfish don't have stomachs, or from what I've gathered, what comes in, must come out, and without a stomach to digest, of course, they digest it somehow, but it comes out quicker than most.
Okay, so we know that goldfish create a lot of ammonia now, and we know they need at least 20 gallons to start with, so..
People with goldfish in bowls, and in ten gallons with more than one goldfish are now probably ranting and raving that 'well my goldfish is perfectly fine and this is how I've kept goldfish all my life'.
Break the habit, please.
Your goldfish may appear to be fine, but they ARE stunted, and they will slowly die, a fish does not GROW to it's environment, it becomes stunted when your tank's size does not adjust to the fish.
Your fish doesn't grow, but it's insides have no problem doing so, causing a slow and painful death for your wet pet.
So, what do you care, it's 'just a goldfish' you can 'just replace it'.
Goldfish are sociable creatures, they're just as smart as your average house pet, in fact there have been a lot of cases where goldfish have been taught neat tricks. This obviously breaks the 'goldfish only have a 3 second memory' as fish can do these tricks, over, and over, with out having to relearn the methods of doing said trick.
Would you now say, goldfish are just a fish? That you can just replace them?
Is that small vase with no air pump, no filtration really a good home, or are you going to actually listen..?
Goldfish need 20+ gallons for your first fish, after that the rule of thumb to follow is add 15 gallons for every other goldfish you add. But of course, that's just the rule of thumb, and it also depends on what goldfish you're planning on keeping.
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