FishProfiles.com Message Forums

This week, I’m going to touch on one of the most popular aquarium fish around, and also the one that (probably) receives the worst care. I am talking about the common goldfish (Carassius auratus), of course.

Goldfish are freshwater carp that come from China, though they reside in other parts of Asia. They can be found in many habitats, including rivers, ponds, streams, ditches, etc.

They are very hardy, and *can* live in stagnant water, and water with high waste levels. Though they *can* live in unclean water, it is best to keep them in a pond with good filtration, and (at least) weekly water changes. A strong filter is good, as goldfish are carp, and can swim just fine. These fish can survive in temperatures between 10 and 32 degrees C, and do fine in just about any pH and hardness. Water conditions are of relatively little importance to them, though they prefer slightly soft water, at a temperature of between 15 and 21 degrees C. PH isn’t too important, so a neutral pH is just fine. As for décor, anything goes with the common goldfish. They don’t really need any hiding places, so decorate their living quarters to your taste. However, some shade is preferred, to help protect the fish from strong sunlight.

Goldfish are omnivores, and will eat just about anything. For small specimens, goldfish flakes are a good staple food, with live and freeze-dried foods making good treats. For the larger fish, ‘sticks’ of food are sold, which are fine for regular feeding. Feeding either once or twice a day will be all right, but be sure not to overfeed.

These guys can grow up to 3 feet or so, though around 2 feet is more common. Since this is not widely known, most goldies are kept inadequately, often in small, unfiltered bowls. They are much better off in large ponds, that hold over 150 gallons. Most beginning fish keepers have no idea that goldfish get so large… I know I didn’t! They are active swimmers, so the more room they have, the better. If goldfish are kept in a small enclosure, they will grow only to the size of it, but they will also stunt and die. The internal organs keep growing, while the body stops. Not very nice to the fish. Unfortunately, that is what often happens with goldfish, since few of their owners provide proper accommodations for their pets.

The common goldfish is best kept with only other goldfish as companions. There aren’t a whole lot of commonly sold fish out there that do well in the cooler water that goldfish like, which is one problem. Another is that large goldfish will swallow up smaller pond/tank mates, and are often attacked/harassed by larger ones. One easy to find fish that is often safely kept with goldfish is the common pleco, because it will generally not bother goldfish, and can tolerate cooler water. They are quite hardy as well, which comes in handy when they live with the high-waste-producing goldfish. (Don’t forget though, when it comes to producing waste, plecos are no slouch themselves!)

Sexing the common goldfish is a difficult task, as the two genders are quite similar. The only difference is that male fish have small, white spots (called tubercles) that appear on and around their gill covers. The tubercles appear only during spawning season, which makes sexing goldfish doubly difficult. Goldfish become sexually mature when they reach around three to four inches in length. Sometimes the tubercles are confused for the ich disease. If you think that your goldfish has ich, check closely. If the spots only appear on or around the gills, then you might just have a male fish!

These goldfish usually just come in an orange variety. However, there are many goldfish with white or black on their bodies, usually mixed in with their normal orange. As they grow older and larger, goldies may fade to a light brown-ish color, so don’t be alarmed if that happens to your prized fish.

Some photos of goldfish, both young and old:
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/red2.jpg [/img]
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/jun702goldy.jpg [/img]
[img] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/sirbooks/common_goldfish.jpg [/img]

The common goldfish is a hardy, easy to care for, and long-lived fish. They can live for well over fifteen years, if cared for properly. They are best kept in ponds, because (among other reasons) it can be a hassle to keep such a large fish in a tank. Goldfish are great beginner’s fish, if you have the room to for them.

[link=Week One- Betta splendens (Siamese Fighting Fish)]http:// www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/50279.html[/link]
[/font][/font][/font]

Last edited by sirbooks at 15-Dec-2004 20:15

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

i dont control this site and i dont have much say in it but can i suggest something. takeing these very informative posts Books has taken the time to put together and place a link to the correct profiles of the fish. this is at the very least. personally i would set up a thread for these. makeing them a sticky would work also. seems silly for this info that far exceeds the original profiles of these fish to go to waste and slowly fade out.

Sin

Interesting article. The picture in the middle of the large goldfish is intriguing. Got any information on it? Was it released in a pond or lake and then caught?

I agree sin. these threads cannot be wasted cause when someone needs em they wont be able to find em

Last edited by fish1 at 24-Nov-2004 17:33

Goldfish can't get to 3'. Carp or koi can (easily), but goldfish (Carassius auratus) only get to 14". So says the field guide my ichthyology professor chose for our course. 14" is still very large, and a goldfish that size definitely produces more waste than 36 1-inch fish. But the fact of the matter is that goldfish do not reach three or even two feet in length.

><>

good read, but could you possibly list sources???

The pottery that growls!

I've spoken with a few goldfish owners, and looked a a couple of websites, and I stand by my assertion that goldfish can reach three feet. Like I said, two feet is much more common, though maybe 20 inches would be more accurate. The actual size of this fish is debated, because there are varying reports saying different things. It's just like the clown loaches *supposedly* reaching one and a half feet in the wild. Reports of this are few and far between, but probably valid.

Listing sources is a good idea, I'm glad you reminded me.

Here are a couple (the ones that I could remember/find):
http://www.iowas.co.uk/Goldfish.html
I used this one only a little http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/goldfish/Goldfish.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/3363/species.htm

EDIT: As for the picture, I'm not exactly sure. I believe that it was just caught on a normal fishing trip... Here's the link for the picture, provided to me by Trystianity

EDIT EDIT: Eh, that may be so. Like I said, the true size is debated. Who knows if the argument will be solved soon or not... I'm not disagreeing with you or Fishbase, I'm just saying what I've heard. I will still stick with it.

Last edited by sirbooks at 24-Nov-2004 20:56

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Fishbase (reliable ichthyological database) records the largest goldfish at 59 cm (23 inches). So I may be off, but that is still not two feet. And that includes the tail. Don't believe me?

Check fishbase for yourself

><>

Dude, 3 feet for a goldfish is REALLY pushing it. I don't know who the heck you talked to, but it's definitely phony---or maybe he confused goldfish with koi. Having spent much of my childhood catching wild goldfish in China, I can reliably say no wild caught goldfish I know of has ever exceeded two feet in length. That goldfish in the center picture can't be more than a foot long NT/L. If goldfish really got to three feet, then the mentioned 150 gallon tank would STILL be too little for them. Heck, it's even too small for a mbu. Other than that, great article, and I'd only add a few things. Firstly, too much crude protein makes goldfish unhappy, so the omnivore label is a bit misleading. Secondly, it should be added that these fish are among the messiest in the icthyoworld, prdocuding almost double the amount of ammonia of most trops. I don't know about the tankmate suggestion though, as I've found them compatible with just about every non bite sized fish capable of being kept in an outdoor pond.

To address some concerns:
Like I said, three foot goldfish are by no means common. That might be their maximum length, as somewhere, a goldfish that size has probably been caught.
They can and do eat meat and proteins, that's why I labeled them as omnivores. It is true that too much protein is not good for them, but they can handle *some*.
I did mention a couple of times that goldfish produce a lot of waste. Perhaps I did not emphasize it enough, but it is there.
As for the tankmates, I'm just trying to be on the safe side. I don't want some person talking to me a year from now, telling me that a cichlid (for example) beat up and ate their prized goldfish.

This article is just a brief overview, I'm not really trying to get into specifics. Plus, I really don't want to argue about them either. This thread is just an informative, general post about goldfish, for beginners.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

As for these threads being made into their own forums and such. This is why the new profiles on this site, have the ability to be edited. At the end of each forum, there is a place you can submit an edit to any part of the profile. There it will be reviewed and voted on for possible addition/change to the profile.

Read here;
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Recovery%20Room/48851.html?200410170824

Last edited by ACIDRAIN at 25-Nov-2004 10:35

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

Like I said, three foot goldfish are by no means common. That might be their maximum length, as somewhere, a goldfish that size has probably been caught.

Actual pictoral evidence would be nice.

They can and do eat meat and proteins, that's why I labeled them as omnivores. It is true that too much protein is not good for them, but they can handle *some*.

Yes, but the stated standard trop flake is NOT a good staple food for goldfish, as they need a much higher amount of vegetable matter in their diet than protein. Therefore, goldfish pellets and specially prepared goldfish foods are necessary. In the wild, they feed almost exclusively on plant matter, feeding on the occasional water insect [larvae], this is by no means a consistent source of protein. Goldfish being able to handle "some" protein is akin to stating that yellow labs can handle "some" protein (labidos bloat easier than goldies do, though).

I don't have much to add to this thread except that fishbase.org (Superlion) is commonly wrong with the max. sizes they list for fish. According to fishbase.org, Midas cichlids max. size is 9" (more like 14"+) and Red Terror cichlids max. size is 9" (males can reach 16"+). these are just a few examples but I'm sure I could find many, many more.

I said that "goldfish flakes are a good staple food", nowhere in the article did I mention regular tropical flakes. Just clearing that up...

Last edited by sirbooks at 25-Nov-2004 12:56

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Man, I have to start browsing through text better. .

Sirbooks, thank you for the information...like you've said it is just to get some basic information out to those who don't know, so they know what to be cautious of. And you have mentioned that they produce a lot of wastes, and the flakes are just a beginning food, as you said. Anyone who is truely interested in getting goldies as their first fish. And if they are on this site and are reading the post then they can ask the questions that they want to know, and one that is most commonly asked is what do you feed goldfish...The list of what you can feed them and what they will eat is extensive...funniest thing I've ever fed my goldies was spaghetti noodles , one of their favorites is green peas, but truely anything goes with them, as long as you don't go into excess about it. I would also like to address the size issue. As they are members of the Carp Family, I see no reason why a well cared for Goldfish, that has the room, proper water conditions, and adequate food, along with age couldn't reach 3 foot. I'm not saying that I've ever seen one this big, and I seriously doubt that I will see a fantail get that large, but I did have a feeder comet, that I bought while it was about 1/2 an inch long and when I finally sold it back to a pet store he was 6-8 inches long and I'd only had him about a year. So blast me if you will, but I see no reason for them not to get that large with the proper conditions. Thank you Sirbooks for a good article...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle