Your very first Goldfish

Goldfish are an amazing starter fish for people who want to start keeping an aquarium. Here are some tips to make it easy.

Types of Goldfish:

• This can be divided into two basic types
• The ordinary single tail variety-comets, shubunkins
• The fancy veil tail variety-black moor, oranda, ranchu, lionheads

Water Quality for Goldfish:

• Goldfish prefer moderately hard water PH 7.0-7.0
• Preferably filtered water with regular water changes.

What food do Goldfish eat?

• Goldfish like a diet containing a balance of vegetable and prepared food. Long term use of flake food can lead to constipation and swim bladder disease especially amongst the more fancier varieties like organdies etc. Cooked peas or even real plants especially floating types like elodea and duckweed help to relieve the problem. Adding Epsom salts to the water at a concentration of 1.5 tablespoons per 50l, this will act as a laxative and help loosen the gut, once the fish has recovered feed in small amounts.
• Just remember to change water approx 20-30% every two weeks. Fish literally are swimming in their own loo, you need to clean it.
• And finally I had a client visiting me saying that his friend promised him his entire Koi collection if he could explain the Nitrogen cycle. I hope this is not too late.
• Waste produced by fish, uneaten food —- Ammonia —-converted by bacteria in filter —- Nitrite —-converted by bacteria to form Nitrate —- this is removed by plants and water changes.
• Memorise this and tell him you want the filters as well.

Happy goldfishing.