Goldfish - One Fish With Many Different Varieties

Goldfish - Different types available

The goldfish apparently has an identity crisis. It is a fish with a single name, but many guises, some as extreme as to suggest that they belong to another species.

The goldfish has very humble beginnings, with its first natural mutation simply being a change in its colour. It dropped its brown demeanour for a yellow finish, and endeared itself to those who had initially reared it for food.

What has emerged since from such chrysalis-like beginnings has been a string of varieties with wild permutations in colour, shape and form. Even though these varieties do not resemble each other, it is easy to be carried away into thinking these are different species. Not so. So packed with gems were first goldfishes' genetic treasure chests that hidden in such meager packaging were the many fancy varieties based on the same theme. Coming at it biologically, all of the varieties of goldfish can be successfully interbred to produce viable offspring, which will continue to amaze and confound in the sheer diversity of varieties produced.

Over the years, breeders have concentrated on producing different varieties of goldfish by changing any of the physical features. Whatever the goldfish's feature, it has probably been mutated to produce a different variety at one time or another. Eye shape and position, body colouration and scalation, body shape, fin size, shape and number have all been changed to produce a different variety of goldfish.

The different varieties of goldfish can be divided quite practically into two groups. Those that will live and thrive in a garden pond (including over wintering) and those that will not, and are best kept in an aquarium full time or brought in for the pond to overwinter inside. This latter group are referred to a fancy goldfish in the trade and will generally be displayed for sale in aquaria rather than open topped troughs and tanks.

1). Goldfish varieties safe for the pond.

There is a general rule of thumb in recognising whether a goldfish variety is suitable for a pond. If it resembles the overall typical shape of a goldfish, but shows differences in colour or even fin length, then it is likely to be hardy enough to tolerate UK winters and fast enough to compete for food in a pond.

Examples of these fish include:-

The common goldfish.
Typically a very evenly pigmented fish with short and sturdy fins and tail. Often available in a number of different colour variations where other colours such as white and black appear on top of the original golden colouration.

The Comet goldfish.
These have been bred for a long tail fin, which in larger specimens may be half the length of the whole body. Comets are rarely one colour, but will regularly display white and red patterns that are more pronounced when viewed from the top. Furthermore, the comet's colour is usually more red than gold.

Shubunkin.
Compared with the other previous goldfish varieties, the Shubunkin is extremely distinctive in its colouration, with much variation occurring between individual fish. Rather than being gold, Shubunkins are blue where the colour appears to come from beneath the scales rather than from above as in the traditional goldfish. The Shubunkin has a black and orange mottling set on the bluish 'mother of pearl' like background. I remember when I first saw Shubunkins, that I was put off because their imperfect and random patterning made them appear diseased!

2). The fancy gold fish.

These are more distant relatives of the goldfish and been selected to exhibit some extreme physical features. These fish are so in-bred that they lack the vigour of their distant relatives. They will not tolerate a British winter in a pond.

Examples of these fish include:

A. Orandas
When viewed from above, their double-tail looks like a butterfly. They can adopt a variety of colours, including calico, which resembles a Shubunkin.

B. Blackmoor
Similar in shape to an Oranda, this black fish has bulbous eyes that project from the head.

C. Lionheads
These have a development on their head similar to the mane of a male lion. They too have a twin tail, but lack a dorsal fin.

D. Bubble Eyes, Pom-Poms and Celestials
These are all fancy goldfish in the extreme. Where breeders have selected for wild variations in head and eye developments.

Caring For Your Goldfish

In some cases it might happen to the owners that their aquarium fish die in tragedy out of improper care. Once you have made up your mind to keep goldfish at your home, it is imperative that you should have a good knowledge about how to take care of your goldfish. Even though it does not take much labor in caring for your goldfish, it does need meticulous care since they are so delicate. You can seek suggestions from the pet store in your neighborhood concerning how to care for your goldfish. Also, you can read some books or get some online information with regards to taking good care of goldfish.

A large aquarium can provide better environment for goldfish since they need more space to swim and play. Moreover, a large size aquarium rather than a fish bowl or container can help the goldfish breath into more oxygen to keep them more healthy.

Then you have to decide the amount of goldfish you would keep. The size of the aquarium should be taken into consideration, also, collect enough information about different kinds of goldfish and figure out which one best suits you.

A large number of goldfish demand top quality water. Prior to putting in water to the aquarium, make sure that your tap water should run for five minutes so as to rule out any chemical or dirt. As a matter of fact, keeping it over night is the best way to get it off lots of chemicals such as chlorine, copper or any other deleterious metals.

Goldfish Breeding Tips and Information

The Chinese have been breeding goldfish for one thousand years. Learning how to breed goldfish is easy, doing it is a lot harder than it looks. Doing it right the first time could make you and expert goldfish breeder.

First of all, for goldfish to breed, they need to be at least one year old. The best age for breeding goldfish is at 2 years or, how many goldfish breeding experts say, 3 years for better results. Breeding season runs from April to August, when it is warmer outside. Temperature is a very important factor that stimulates breeding.

You really have to be ready in breeding season. If you are not, you might get up in the morning and see your aquarium filled with hundreds of eggs laid by the female goldfish. If you do not move the eggs into another tank, at least 10 gallon, your goldfish will eat the eggs.

How can you tell the difference between male and female

The easiest way to distinguish goldfish sex types is in breeding season. If your look carefully, you will notice the following differences between the goldfish:

- males: have breeding tubercles(while color) on their gills and pectoral fins. When they are ready to spawn, the vent becomes much longer than usual.
- females: if you look from the top, you will notice they are more rounded(ovaries filled with mature eggs). When they are ready to spawn the vent become protruded.

Signs your goldfish are breeding

The male per female ratio is at least 2 to 1. The males will become aggressive and "chase" the female. When you notice them bumping into each others bellies, that means the male is encouraging the female to lay the eggs so that he car release the milt. But be very careful. If the males chase the female for more than one week or so, the female will become stressed and get hurt. So it is best to remove the female when you see this happening.

Females will start to lay up to 1000 eggs, from which few will hatch and become adults.

How to breed goldfish

These are a few steps you need to follow when breeding goldfish:

- increase the temperature with a heater (70 degrees F). Make it so that it is warmer in the day and colder in the night
- feed the goldfish rich protein food like blood worms or brine shrimp
- do a 25% water change every day
- sex the males and females
- separate the males from females for a few days in different tanks so that you create the desire to breed
- reintroduce the goldfish in the same tank as before

To collect the eggs and have no problems when moving them to a separate tank, you should create a spawning mop. Also make shore you have an internal filter because the external ones may suck up the eggs. With these in mind, you should have no problem when it comes to "how to breed goldfish". Good luck!

How to Care For Goldfish - 3 Stages of Caring For Goldfish

How to care for goldfish can be explained like doing a puzzle. If you are doing a puzzle, your desired outcome is to have a nice puzzle, and nice it needs to be. You don't want pieces to be on the wrong place, otherwise your puzzle will not be like it needs to be, you will not see what you want to see.

Caring for goldfish is the same, it's putting small pieces together. And the desired outcome can be healthy looking goldfish in a nice looking aquarium with nice plants, some nice accessories, rocks and many more things. When you do your puzzle, you probably know how it will look like because you've seen the front of the box. When you want to care for goldfish, you probably also know what you want, if I would ask you why you want a goldfishes, could you describe it for me?

That's a nice looking tank you want!!!

Stage 1

But to have a nice looking tank with healthy fish you need to know how to care for goldfish, you need to put the pieces together. Like in a puzzle, the first piece is already done, you know you want a nice looking tank with healthy fish. Now you need to know what kind of goldfish you want. There are different kinds of goldfish, and some of them can't be in the same tank.

The next step in stage 1 is to decide where you want to place your tank, and how big the tank needs to be. Don't place the tank in direct sunlight, air-conditioning vents, and heaters or it will influence the water temperature, the sun can warm up the water and that's not good for your goldfish.

When you decide all these things it's time for the next stage.

Stage 2

Now it's time to buy your equipment and aquarium, you will need a heater, filter, lights, gravel, food and a net to transfer the fish when needed.

After you bought everything it's time to install all of it. Be sure to wash the gravel with gravel washer. And buy only aquarium-safe products, because many things can be toxic for your goldfish.

Stage 3

At stage 3 you buy your goldfish, and put them in the tank with the floating method.

Now you have your beautiful goldfish aquarium. But that's not all, until now it was all easy, now comes the fun.

Maintaining your tank, now you will need to:
- maintain the water quality,
- feed your fish right, always at the same time and don't overfeed them,
- watch out for diseases,
- change weekly until 25% of the water, and
- wash every 2 weeks the whole aquarium.

But the most important part of all is to keep the water clean. Most goldfish diseases are caused by bad water quality. If you keep the water clean you will prevent most goldfish diseases and your goldfishes will for many years.

Breeding Your Goldfish

If you are keen on breeding Goldfish, you should know that it’s not an easy task. It will take a lot of patience, a lot of space in the tank and quite a bit of money too. Don’t get into breeding if you think it’s going to be profitable, because it isn’t! Breeding goldfish is best left to a professional but if you still want to breed them, here’s how to begin:

Decide on the breed: You also must decide before hand what variety of goldfish you want to breed. Ideally, if you are a beginner you should decide on breeding a good quality single tail type fish like the comet.

Pair and choose the breeds: You must choose high quality goldfish to breed high quality goldfish. The goldfish you choose should be two-four years. A good quality goldfish would be assessed according to its finnage, body shape, size and color. They should be at least 4-6 inches or larger and very healthy. It’s better to breed with younger fish as the older ones might produce eggs that are deformed and infertile.

* The ideal female goldfish would be heavy at the rear, protruding on the left part of her body and her anal area would be soft.

* The ideal male goldfish would be a great chaser and there should be signs of his breeding tubercles on his gills and pectoral fins.
Begin with two females and three males. The idea is to have two males for every female.

Time to breed
Here’s the time plan to breed goldfish –

* You would need to plan a year ahead in the months of July or August. This is when most breeders sell their surplus fish at cheaper rates. If you skip this period than would find it hard to find a good breeding quality pair of goldfish.

* During the winter you must feed the fish and help them build enough body mass to last the winter and be ready for spawning in the early spring. By October or November, your fish would need less food and this is the time to not only clean the fish but also separate the males from the females.

Cleaning the fish: The solution you need to clean the fish is one measure of Terramycin, 80 drops of Formaldehyde and 6 drops of copper sulphate in four gallons of water. The solution should be at the right temperature and the fish should get enough oxygen to breathe. Allow the goldfish to remain in this solution for 20 minutes and then move them to a separate container of clean water while you prepare a spawning tank.

* Make sure you make the new tank a natural spawning area with bushy natural plants, artificial fibers or spawning mops and coconut fibers, all materials that can receive the spawn. Goldfish need such props for spawning.

Size of the spawning tank: You will need at least a tank that can hold 20 gallons of water. If the fish were bigger than you would need a bigger tank.

* Now that the fish are clean and the tank is clean too, do not feed the fish anything for the next two months except some amount of live food like insect larvae,worms, and brine shrimp. This preparation will help the females develop healthy and the males, milt that is needed to fertilize the eggs.

* If the winters are too cold in your area, you can consider using a heater.

* Watch the male goldfish developing breeding tubercles that look like white pimples on their gill covers and the pectoral fins.

* Watch the females become rounder body as it fills up with roe or eggs.
How do you spot the spawning moment?

* Spawning usually happens in the early morning.

* The colors of all the goldfish will look brighter then before.

* The fish would group together while swimming.

* The males will be chasing the females at random.

* Finally the active males zero in on one particular female and chase her more than before.

* The chase will intensify with the male getting aggressive and pushing against the female goldfish till she ejects her eggs.
* As the eggs are out the male will fertilize them by depositing milt over the eggs.

* The eggs will fall through the water, landing on plants. They stay in the same spot till they hatch.

* The spawning may begin again after some days of rest.

Point of note: Goldfish eat their eggs. Of the 10,000 eggs that are laid in one spawning session, hardly any will be left if the fish are not removed. So once the eggs are laid, move the parents back to another tank.

Why You Should Buy a Goldfish

Everyone likes to own a pet. From dog lovers to cat lovers to snake lovers, there is a pet for everyone. While everyone wants to own a pet, a lot of people don't have the time or skill to take care of them. Dogs, cats, and birds require a lot of love and attention that some people just don't have. For people who want a pet but don't have time, a goldfish is the perfect choice for you.

Most people generally opt for a fish as a pet because they are cheap, don't require a lot of "love" and don't require constant attention or expensive products. Goldfish are available in abundance at most department stores and pet shops, offered in breathtakingly vivid colors, varied shapes, and sizes. The fish are only a few dollars though some of the large and specialty breeds of goldfish can cost a lot of money. However, those are the kinds few people have in their own. The common household goldfish is cheap and you can leave the store with it in a plastic bag!

Veterinarian bills for four legged pets can often be very high. They need a lot of shots, medicines, special food, and can get sick often. Fortunately, goldfish never need to see a veterinarian so you won't have to spend all that money on a vet.

Goldfish care and maintenance is perhaps least time consuming and demanding of all pets. No grooming, no training, no walking- just clean a bowl and drop in some food. They make for useful pets for people who are looking for a simple lifestyle or are too busy to take care of a dog or cat. Feeding goldfish is not bothersome either and takes only a few minutes to put in some flakes and pellets in the bowl. Despite not being able to give much feedback or emotions, gold fish are still fun and relaxing to watch. Some gold fish can also learn to respond to sounds and signals and come swimming to you for feeding treats. Goldfish can be a pleasure to watch while they swim around the aquarium aimlessly strutting around in their brightly and fascinatingly colorful hide.

Moreover, when a goldfish does die, you can simply flush it down the toilet. Dead goldfish can be disposed off quite conveniently with a single flush. However, if your children get emotionally attached, then you can indulge in a burial process or a funeral ceremony is your back garden.

Very commonly considered an ideal pet for small children, goldfish come across as pets that are endearing and affectionate, easy to care and maintain for and a delight to watch, particularly for those who have never had the opportunity to care for a living creature before. They are easy pets and simply require their bowls to be cleaned every few weeks, which is much simpler than a dog or cat. These fish are perfect for those with little time on their hands and should be considered by all people. They make for a pretty and soothing addition to any home.

Goldfish Tips - Choosing The Right One

Tips to getting the right Goldfish

Goldfish are a temperate breed that can be found in cool streams, lakes, and ponds throughout Asia and part of Eastern Europe. However, the ones you will buy for your tank have been bred in captivity. Once you’ve decided that the Goldfish is the right one for you – you will need to find the right kind of goldfish. Take your time and find out more, rather than just rush out and buy the first goldfish you find in the first pet store you come by. Decide on how many you want to buy. If you really want just a single Goldfish, please do a re-think on the issue because it can get lonely and boring for a lone ranger in a tank! Once you’ve though it out, here are some of the things you must keep in mind:

• Choose the right pet shop. Ask people you know who are committed fish keepers for reputed goldfish dealers. These are the people who care and would have professional knowledge of breeding and nurturing goldfish. See if they give a proper fish guarantee. When you enter the shop, look around at all the tanks. Make sure that the tanks are not overcrowded with fish. See if all kinds of fish are thrown together in one tank or care is taken to separate the various species. Look out for dead floating fish. The dead fish could have spread an infection to the other fish.

• Question the Goldfish Dealer. If the dealer claims that the goldfish are imported, then find out which country they are from and when they arrived. Ask him or her is the correct quarantine procedures have been adopted before putting up the goldfish for sale. If they were bred, find out when they were bred and how the fish have been kept till now as in what kind of medications if any has been used and for how long. Find out if the dealer has used salt in the water.

• Observe how the fish swims. This is a good gauge to identify healthy fish. A fish should be active, swimming with ease and style and poking around curiously at nooks and corners. Choose a goldfish that looks active and doesn’t wobble or tilt to one side or just rest at the bottom. Tap the tank and see how the goldfish reacts. A fish that is slow in its reaction might be a sick one. Make sure that it’s not opening its mouth too much for air, as it might be an indication of problems with the gills.

• Check out the fins. Make sure that the dorsal fin is straight and stands up. The backs of the goldfish should be smooth, without unsightly bumps. Also check that all the fins are healthy, even and are not rotted away or damaged. In all, a Goldfish should have a dorsal fin (unless it is a goldfish without a dorsal fin), pectoral fins that extend out on sides, two anal fins or one right in the middle. Beware a goldfish with just one anal fin that’s placed kind of off to one side. It could mean that the other anal fin is growing inwards and that could be fatal to the goldfish.

• Inspect the looks. Make sure that you give the goldfish you are choosing a thorough look over. See that the fish has a nice symmetrical shape and make sure they don’t have large heads compared to their body. It would do good to feel the fish to check if the skin is too slimy or too dry but at least ensure that the skin is free of spots and odd bumps and that the gills are red. There should be no redness in the anal region and definitely nothing sticking out or leaking out. The outside of the mouth should be free from redness and white strings and the eyes free from white flecks.

• Bag ‘em right. Where you’re buying goldfish, you will have to put them in the ubiquitous plastic bag, but do so with care. Make sure that the dealer leaves enough space on top for the oxygen and the right amount of water. The right amount of the water is that which covers the fish. Do not allow the dealer to add any medicine or drops or anything else. Don’t make the bag too tight and avoid a big bag that might lead to too many folds in which the fish could get trapped and hurt. The bag should be tied till it is adequately taut.

Goldfish Outdoors

How do you build a goldfish pond outdoors?

The tools you will need are a shovel, pond liner and underlayment, a long enough rope, coping stones and decorations, plants, a pump (you will need a pump to run a filter, fountain, or waterfall and it will keep the water circulating and the plants healthy), a filter system and some cooperative friends or family members. Now you can get started.

Time to choose

Several options are available and you could actually build a goldfish pond in a day, depending on the size you want it to be. Begin by deciding where in the garden you would like a goldfish pond.

* It should be near your house, as that would make it more accessible to power supply sockets.

* It should not be at the end of a sloping garden because when it rains all the water along with the chemicals from the garden would run into the pond.

* It should not be under too much of shade, as a pond needs at least four hours of sunlight.

* It shouldn’t be very near trees as the falling leaves and debris would fall in and clog the pond. You would be cleaning up all the time.

Time to dig

* Decide on the shape and size of the pond. Use the rope to outline the shape you want and then begin digging. That’s why you need a couple of helping hands so that the work gets done faster!

* Do not go for a small pond for goldfish because they need space. Also try and keep different levels of depth, as in a swimming pool. Mark out the shallow areas and the deeper areas. This would give the pool a natural variety.

* Usually ponds in moderate climates should be at least 2 feet deep while in more colder climates, you would need to make sure that the pond is deep enough to allow for at least 12" to 16" of water below the freeze zone.

* Dig according to the shape you want and dig a shelf-like level around the perimeter of the pond, which is about one foot deep and one foot wide. Also make provisions for a waterfall by digging a slight slope to one end.

* Time now to position the external pond filters. If you have pond skimmers as well, then you would need to place and level these in the proper places. Also dig a ditch to the external pond pump from the skimmer and from the pump to the external pond filter or waterfall.

Time to line

* Now you have to line the pond with what is called as Pond Underlayment. This is a lining that can be cut according to the shape needed and can be taped together. This underlayment will help the pond lining to stay in place.

* You can now put the rubber pond liner into pond and spread it out.

* Make sure you smoothen the folds and position it evenly. Some folds will still be there but the water will take care of that.

Time for filters and waterfalls

* As the lining is in place, you must now get the Pond waterfalls and streams positioned. Place them to spill directly into the pond and put the pond liner against the pond filter.

* You can use a stone and secure it to the liner with mortar or expandable foam. This will hold back the water allow it to spill over the stone creating the waterfall.

Time to connect
Now you will have to do all the connections as in connect the pond liner to the skimmer and position all the pipes and tubing according to the instructions given.

Time to decorate

* You’re almost done. Use the copingstones to edge the outline the pond by arranging them around the pond folding the pond liner up behind the stone, slightly above the water level. (Use the mortar to if you feel the stones are not heavy enough to be stable). Add some shrubs around the edges too.

* You can create a cobblestone beach edging with gravel and cobbles.

* Make it look as natural as possible and keep a lot of plants to add on later, once the water is in.

Fill it up!

* Open the tap and fill it up with water till it is a few inches from the top and then make corrections if necessary to ensure that the pond is level. As the pond is filling remove wrinkles and make folds as necessary.

* Add dechlorinator to the pond to remove any chlorine or chloramines.

* Put in the gravel and plant the root plants into the gravel or with some soil still attached into the gravel. Plants should be added immediately after the pond is ready. Make sure you plant enough of Anacharis, as this plant helps to fight the algae and is like a natural filter. Put in water lilies as they help to shade the fish.

* Also add packaged bacteria to seed the pond filter and pond.

Point to note: Do not add the goldfish right after you build the tank. You must allow the pond to cycle and create the bacteria and other sustenance needed to support the fish. Introduce you goldfish into the pond after several weeks.

Health Concerns for Goldfish

Most of the diseases that threaten goldfish can be cured. But better still these diseases can be prevented. While you should be alert to symptoms of a sick goldfish, you should first of all try and prevent them from happening. Some of the common diseases that you must protect your Goldfish include:

Ichtyopthirius

Simply called as Ick, this is the most common disease that strikes down goldfish. Ick is a parasite that attaches to the goldfish body.
Causes: This happens when the undue stress is put on the goldfish due to bad water conditions, fluctuations in the temperature and an overall poor quality of maintenance. 49

Symptoms: Look for small white spots that look like salt grain on the goldfish’s skin, fins and gills.

What happens: This parasite attached to the goldfish when it is stressed out due to bad conditions and feed off the body of the fish. The conditions worsen when the Ick begins to lay its eggs and reproduces at a very fast pace.

Treatment: If your goldfish is a victim of Ick, treat him or her with an anti-parasite medication. Also you might have to raise the water temperature to make this medication more effective. Ask an expert and follow instructions.

How can you prevent it: You can prevent Ick from growing by making sure that you maintain the tank well with the weekly changes and keep the water fresh and pollution-free.

Fin Rot

Another common problem that goldfish suffer from is fin rot when it looks as if parts of the fish’s fins and tails are wasting away.

Causes: This is also a bacterial infection arising out of poor water conditions. Fin rot usually happens to a fish that is already suffering from something else like an injury caused by tank bites that bite. They are already weak and fall prey to this infection.

Symptom: Watch out for frayed, rotting, often pale pinky-white edged fins and blood streaks on the fin tissue.

What happens: The already stressed goldfish is infected by this bacterial infection and the fins begin to rot away. Sometimes fungus attacks cause the condition to worsen.

Treatment: You will need to treat your Goldfish with fin rot or anti-bacteria treatment to stop the disease from spreading. Try adding salt to the tank to make up for the salt that the fish has lost. Make sure that the water is pollution-free.

How to prevent it: You can prevent fin rot by making sure that the water quality is of high quality and see that you maintain it. Also it would be wise to isolate the fish that are biting their tank mates.

Fungus

This is yet another bacterial infection that infects the already injured and weak goldfish that are stressed out from poor quality water. However do not confuse it with the cotton-wool disease.

Causes: Fungus is caused by the Saprolegnia and Achlya bacteria that flourish in badly maintained tanks and attack the wounds of the goldfish.
Symptoms: If you see fluffy growths on the damaged wounds either on the skin or the fins of your goldfish, it’s fungus.

What happens: Fungus generally manifest in injuries and wounds left by ulcers and parasites and can be very damaging to the fish.

Treatment: You would need to use standard anti-fungal medications like the pretty effective methylene blue, which might however damage the water quality. You can also use aquarium salt at a dose of 1-3g/litre.

How to prevent it: Improve water conditions because fungus never grows in a well-maintained tank with good quality water.

Constipation

This is bound to happen to your glutton goldfish at some point or the other. Their body structure is such that they can’t take in too much food but their nature is such that they can’t stop eating!

Causes: Overeating and foods high in fat can cause a goldfish to get compacted Symptoms: Your goldfish might look a little bloated and isn’t as active.

What happens: Due to their structure and overeating goldfish are compacted and this causes a problem with their ability to eat as well as digest the food they eat.

Treatment: Try giving them boiled and softened peas, which act as a mild laxative.

How to prevent it: Make sure that your goldfish get green foods and do not give them too much protein or too much fat.

Dropsy

Dropsy is another bacterial infection that infects the fish within its body causing the scales to stick out. It is dangerous and often the fish die.
Causes: Dropsy is brought on by, again, water quality that has a very high ammonia and nitrite content.

Symptoms: Be alert for signs of body swelling and scales that seem to poke out. Sometimes even the eyes seem to bulge out.

What happens: Dropsy causes the fish to retain fluid and swell up. Swelling of the body cavity due to a build-up of fluid. Scales become raised giving a pinecone-like appearance. One or both of the eyes may be protruded.
Treatment: Dropsy is pretty fatal and hard to cure. Your best bet is a broad-spectrum anti- bacteria treatment. You could add salt to prevent salt loss.

How to prevent it: You must make sure that the water in your tank is of good quality. Test the water from time to time.

Pop Eye

As the name suggests, this disease causes the eyes of the fish to pop out. It is often a symptom of impending.

Causes: Once again it is an infection brought on by badly maintained tanks an unhealthy water conditions.

Symptoms: Your goldfish will have eyes that protrude and kind of stick out of the eye sockets.

What happens: This pop eye is a sign of fluid retention that may lead to full fledged dropsy.

Treatment: Start with an antibacterial treatment and add salt to the aquarium.

How to prevent it: Keep the water of high quality. Maintain the tank with regular weekly water changes.

Cloudy eye

This is when the eyes of your goldfish seem as an opaque lining covered them.

Caused: It is caused by poor water quality, lack of vitamins, an unhealthy diet, and eye flukes like Diplostomum, corneal damage, and bacterial infection.

Symptoms: Your goldfish will seem to have an eye that looks cloudy and opaque rather than bright and clear.

What happens: The Goldfish’s eyes might have mucus on the outer surface and the goldfish probably cannot see as well as he or she should, leading to a slowdown in the activities.

Treatment: You must immediately improve water conditions, add salt and take care that you give your goldfish some vitamin supplements.

How to prevent it: Try and ensure high quality water conditions, stick to a healthy, balanced good quality food that contains added vitamins.

Swim Bladder Disorder

More than a disease, Swim bladder disorder is a problem affecting some goldfish varieties genetically. Egg-shaped fancy goldfish seem to have this disorder more than the others. It has to do with floating and the goldfish are either sinkers or floaters.

Causes: Apart from genetic issues like physical deformities, high levels of nitrates in the water as well as not soaking the food before feeds that causes gas bring on swim bladder disorder. Bad water quality adds to the problem.

Symptoms: Your goldfish seems to be unable to either swim to the top or swim down to the bottom of the tank

What happens: Your goldfish have difficulty swimming to the surface, or to the lower levels of the tank. They also do not eat well due to gas and the bad quality water reduces their oxygen supply.

Treatment: Do improve the water conditions and give them Daphnia, which acts as a laxative. Think of an appropriate diet change and treat the fish with an anti-bacteria treatment. Fancy goldfish with physical deformities won’t improve.

How to prevent it: Ensure high quality water conditions and do take care to soak the food, whether pellets or flakes, before you give it to the goldfish. Reduce the dried food that you might give.

How To Raise A Goldfish

Did you know that your goldfish can live for over 10 years? Under the right conditions he can live even longer but most never make it past the first year! If you want your goldfish to live long and healthy lives, you’ve got to provide the proper environment.

It’s a common misconception that a goldfish can live in a tiny bowl. In order for him to survive for any length of time, you’ll need to do frequent water changes and cleanings of the bowl – that’s a lot of work and living in a bowl isn’t much fun so it’s best to keep your fish in a regular tank with a proper filtration system.

The size of your tank depends on how many goldfish you want to keep in it. A good rule of thumb is to allocate about 7 gallons of water per fish, so if you want 5 goldfish a 35 gallon tank is recommended. It’s better to keep fish in a long tank that has plenty of surface to air space as goldfish like to have a lot of oxygen in their water. A tall hexagon shaped tank won’t be the best tank for these fish.

Goldfish like their water to be a little on the cool side – between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit so in most cases a heater is not necessary. You should, however have a thermometer in the tank and take the appropriate measures if the temperature gets above 72 degrees as higher temperatures can make your fish more susceptible to disease. Bear in mind that most other tropical fish like their water on the warm side, so you will have to be careful what fish you put in the tank with your goldfish.

Provide the goldfish tank with a filtration system that is appropriate for the size of the tank. If you are keeping the fancy tailed goldfish, don’t use a system that will provide too much current as this can make it difficult for them to swim around. You’ll also want to provide periodic water changes as you should with any tank.

One of the main reasons that fish become sick is due to poor water quality. To keep your goldfish healthy, make sure you provide the filtration and water changes but also be careful about overcrowding and overfeeding. Too many fish or too much decaying food and waste will cause the water in your tank to become toxic to your fish.

Keeping goldfish can be a wonderful hobby and with minimal work, you can get a tank up and keep it running with healthy fish.

Breeding Betta Fish

Comet
A mainstay of any goldfish setup, the comet is a delightful and characterful addition. Slender, athletic body, flowing fins and tail and powerful, directful swimmers, the comet is a social variety and is very hardy. You can maintain a comet in a tank, among other goldfish or in a pond, with very good success. In a pond, Comets are reputed to reach over 40cms in length, so long as food and space are available.

Black Moor
Of the telescope eyed fish, the Black Moor is arguably the most common, and hardy. An interesting looking species, it finds favour with those who want a different looking addition, with out the maintenance required with some of the more delicate goldfish species. Black Moor's are quite antisocoal, and will, given enough room, stick with their counterparts. Moors are hardy and will survive in a pond, however they are best suited to a indoor aquarium for the greatest success. With the poor sight that the bulbus eyes provide, the Moor will sometimes be susceptible to competition for food, and will overeat is food is plentiful, often to death.

Fantail
Don't let their flowing and fins tails put you off-most people have a great time raising fantails. They are surprisingly hardy given their porcelain looks, and are quite social. The egg shaped body is stocky and has a pronounced hump on the shoulders/back. A slower swimmer however, the fantail will suffer from being grouped with common goldfish or comets, as their pretty fins don't allow them to reach food nearly quick enough, most of the time. Apart from this, no decent gold fish setup is said to be complete without a couple of fantails, as their stunning looks ensure goldfish lovers all the world over include them with growing regularity.

Shubunkin
A funny name, and equally funny paintjob, the shubunkin is a colourful addition. Mixed speckled colours and broken patterns make them great eye candy, from the smallest tank to the largest. The scales on the Shub have a lovely pearly appearance and this variety origantes from Japan, where it is also referred to as the 'Calico'. Aside from the common, the shubunkin and its brother the comet, are two of the hardiest fish to raise. They will thrive so long as they are kept wet and do very well in ponds, reaching up to 40cm with enough space and food. We highly recommend a shubunkin or three for any tank and for any level of goldfish keeper, from beginner to advanced.

Bubbleye
It doesn't get a lot more interesting than this! The bubbleye gets its name from the odd looking transparent eye sacks that hang on its face. A delicate species, they are generally not recommended as a first fish. They can suffer from water bourne disease frequently, and require water that is very clean, very areated and is kept at consistent temperature. Bubbles will often suffer from food competition and will not fare well with the likes of comets, shubs and common goldfish. If you wish to keep bubbles, try them with fantails and moors, and you will be on the right track. Bear in mind, the bubble, although fragile looking, can be an aggressive species and is best kept with fish of its own size to avoid them attacking anything smaller than themselves.

Oranda
The Oranda is a very desirable goldfish variety due to the berry-like bubble growths that form on the crown of its head. Its stocky body, deep and plump, with gorgeous flowing fins, make it a very attractive species. Combine this with the many different colour combinations that are possible, and the Oranda becomes something many keepers will wish for! Be cautious of fluctuating or low water temps and competition from other goldfish species when deciding whether or not to keep and Oranda.

Veiltail
Another fancy species, the Veiltail is a popular addition to a tank of fancy species. The deep, plump body culminates in a glorious long and flowing tail, giving its name. Colour combinations are large, and can either have normal or pearly scales. They will reach 20+ centimeters in ideal conditions. Beware that due to the flowing tails and fins, the Veiltail is a poor swimmer and can suffer from food competition with other faster species. It is also not suited to cold water, under 55deg F.