If you are new to the art of pet-keeping and have not yet decided on your choice of pet, I would recommend you to adopt a goldfish. Beautiful, gorgeous and hassle-free, they are the ideal pets for any age group from eight to eighty. They require to be less tended after unlike the other ornamental fishes and if taken certain precautions, live even up to a decade.
Goldfishes are adorable, and trust me, they can be quite peculiar in their habits. So don’t be surprised when I tell you that no two goldfishes are the same. Some are aggressively energetic while some seem to have fallen a serious pray to sloth.
For the mere purpose of watching their variety, I suggest you buy a fish tank rather than a fish bowl. A large tank ensures the longer life span of a goldfish, since a smaller bowl often leads to the excessive build up of ammonia in water. Remember that goldfishes can really dirty the water at an astounding rate. For that matter, I would suggest you to introduce water filters. Oops! I forgot to tell you that filters for aquariums aren’t like our water filters, although they share the same generic purpose. A water filter in a fish tank will ensure the breaking down of the fish faeces, excess fish food and remove the fish stink from the water. This however is not an alternative to periodically cleaning your goldfish tank.
That been said, you MUST clean your fish tank at least once a week. Do keep in mind that regular wear and tear also leads to the formation of ammonia and nitrites. At times, you might notice a cloudy discoloration in the water even after you have cleaned it. I would advise you to go in for a fish-less cycle. Firstly, a fish-less cycle is a procedure that requires the goldfishes to be quarantined. Place them in a large container while you do this. Never use nets to swoop out a fish while cleaning the tank. A plastic container is probably the best option, because not only can the fishnets injure your goldfish, it might also induce stress-issues.
Now, after you have got yourself what you may call a fish-less tank, add drops of bleaching powder or ammonia for two days. The ammonia will cause the building of nitrites which in turn will start nitrate formation which in turn will cleanse the water of ammonia, nitrites and other organic bacteria and parasites. This being done, you can refill your tank and re-introduce your goldfishes.
Another thing to keep in mind while cleaning your fish tank is soap. Do not, under any circumstances, use soap to clean your aquarium. Soap is deadly for fishes, and soap residue might even lead to the unnatural bloating up of your goldfishes, many of the time, which amounts to death.
You must also keep a lookout for goldfish diseases, the most common of which would be a parasite called ‘Ich’. This parasite causes little white spots on the body of your goldfish, which causes it much difficulty in breathing. You also need to monitor for another parasite called ‘Flukes’. This one causes the fish to itch, redden slightly at places, develop an outer mucus and a bloated belly. If you notice any one of these symptoms, promptly quarantine the infected fish from the healthy ones and treat it to a different water. However, if you happen to notice your goldfish swimming sideways or even upwards and downwards, you need not quarantine him for this ‘Swimbladder disease’ isn’t caused by a parasite.
Nevertheless, to avoid any problem, I would advise you to buy water for the aquarium from the pet shop where they will enlighten you about the required amount and such.
Gluttony seems to be your golden pal’s chosen sin! Goldfishes tend to overeat, which eventually leads to their death. For that purpose, I suggest you keep a tab on their feeding. Never feed them more than twice a day. They are often prone to continue eating just to not let the weaker one get any. More often than not, overeating results to their death because they pollute the water at an abnormally increased pace which leads to eventual suffocation.
This however should not mean that your golden pal does not get to have a little diversity in his nutrition. Along with the regular pellet food, treat your goldfish with occasional live food like brine shrimp and watch how they gleam. Whatever you do, do not forget to feed them regularly at the same time. Trust me, you would not like to be waiting for food either!
Now you need to get creative with your goldfishes and get them some entertainment. Goldfishes just love exploring! So do remember to buy those tunnel- shaped aquarium decors so that your fish gets the feel of living in its natural habitat. If you want to keep coloured gravel, make sure you buy large stones that, under no circumstances, your gold fish can swallow.
Let there be light seems not to be a goldfish’s thing. They do not need light to survive, and being under a continuous glare distorts their movements. If at all you find it necessary to introduce some sort of lighting, do remember to switch them off before you go to sleep, because your pal wants to sleep too. Now you might not spot a goldfish sleeping because their eyes are always open and they keep swimming, but that does not mean they are insomniacs like a lot of us. If you notice a decreased pace in any of your goldfishes after it had retired to a corner of the tank, then your pet is probably sleeping.
Well, I believe goldfishes are the best first pet anybody can have. Although fish bowls reduce the life span of goldfishes, it is the most popular and viably economic to some extent. So,if at all you plan on purchasing a fish bowl, I would advise you not to keep more than one goldfish in it.
Goldfishes are also kept in homes for Fein Sui purposes since it is believed to bring in positive energy. So, what are you waiting for? Get your umbrella and your flip-flops and adopt a gold fish this monsoon. Trust me, it is the golden thing to do!