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The humble (or to its fans, the much loved) Goldfish has had a chequered fate at the hands of Man. On the one hand, there were those poor benighted specimens that had the misfortune to find themselves in bowls at fun fairs, to be won by tossing a ring over the bowl, thence to face a short life swimming around in inadequate water, changed with water straight from the tap, resulting in a presumably painful death by chlorine poisoning. On the other hand, there are those ornate fancy specimens, cosseted by breeders, which in some cases practically need an intensive care unit of their own to stay alive, so highly bred (or inbred) are they, which take away prizes at Goldifsh shows and are presumably insured for hefty sums of money. Several of these possess ornamentation that verges on the grotesque, and I sometimes wonder at the aesthetic sense that resulted in some of the variations now available ... but that is another story.

The reason for me launching into this article is simple. For better or worse, the Goldfish has become associated in some people's minds at least, as the first pet fish with which Junior can try his luck. Those on the board who are in the know, however, will doubtless be anticipating some of my words on this subject. But it is not just the fact that the Goldfish can, if given space to grow, reach a prodigious size that prompts my latest offering to my readers - a leaf through the Braz Walker pocket book yields some interesting comments, which although written in a book on tropical fishes, presumably apply to the Goldfish as well. (Those wishing to track down this book, quote ISBN 0 7137 0535 3).

For example, on page 69, under the heading Barbus filamentosus (the Long-Finned Barb), Walker makes the following comment:

Aeration is beneficial and, as with all large cyprinids, this fish is particularly susceptible to chlorine poisoning.

Then, under Barbus schwanenfeldi (the Tinfoil Barb), Walker says on page 73:

Care : Largest aquarium. Best kept in groups. Needs plenty of swimming room. Very susceptible to chlorine poisoning, also excess carbon dioxide.

And what is the Goldfish, but a large cyprinid? Precisely. Think of all those unfortunate Goldfish that ended their days pickled in untreated tap water, and wince. I think I can take it as read that any members of this board will make sure than their Goldfish are well cared for, and that if they have children of their own (present or future), those children will be taught to look after little Goldie properly. Better still, teach them to look after something that will stay small, will be forgiving toward mistakes, and at the same time provide them with the opportunity to see the full life cycle in action if given due care and attention - something such as Zebra Danios or White Cloud Mountain Minnows. These little fellows are just as colourful, will grow to full size in a 2 ft aquarium, and will also provide Junior with the opportunity to graduate to keeping more demanding fishes in the future. Who knows, Junior could end up keeping Goldfish and looking after them properly, giving them the carefully conditioned water that they need, temperature matching the new water properly to the old too. Think again how many Goldfish in bowls have suffered from being taken from a sunny window sill, getting nice and warm, then suddenly being plunged into new water a good 10C colder when the water in the bowl is changed ... would YOU like someone to come along and throw you in a cold bath without warning? Precisely. It's a testament to poor Goldie's forebearance that some have managed to live throughout all of this, surviving for longer than a week, and sometimes managing to survive for several years, but when you consider that Goldie could, if given an environment to his liking, live for more than three DECADES, and some pond Goldfish with room to stretch manage to make it past FIFTY YEARS, don't we owe it to the poor little fellow to look after him?

Goldie needs friends. Be a friend to Goldie!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

This is a great post. I have some friends for my goldie so am glad I am on the right track there.

All the best for everyone else who has goldfish freinds, we all know that there is nothing 'common' about the humble goldfish.

They are beautiful and truly brighten my day each day at work, Idon't work at an LFS I have a tank on my desk. Highly recommended.

Thanks for your post C.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I would just like to add (because I don't know if any one else here has yet)

HOORAY for the UK government, who are now considering banning the goldfish as a fair ground prize!!!

I never herd anything about this until two days ago when I herd a snippet on the news, at the time I thought I had mis herd what they had said, but then this morning I listened to the news (much to the annoyance of my kids) and yes they are definitely looking into banning the fairground prize. Lets hope other countries will follow the UK's example

Glad to hear that teebee that they are banning goldfish from fairs.

UK has got the idea, I REALLY hope that the US follows in its footsteps, I've rescued many fair fish and dumped them into my friends 1000+ gallon pond.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish