Care and maintenance of goldfish at home

Description and types

There are many varieties of these fish. Among which:

• Comet
• Pearl
• Oranda
• Heavenly eye
• Lionhead
• Pecilia.

There is a wide variety of goldfish of natural and artificial origin.

Each of the individuals has its own characteristics. For example, the celestial eye has an egg-like body and bulging eyes that look upward. The pearl looks like a ball. Oranda has cap-shaped growths on its head and elongated fins. The comet has a classic body structure and a forked tail. The lionhead, as its name suggests, has an unusual head. Its head is large, surrounded by dense growths. Pecilia has the smallest head, and its body is shaped like a diamond.

However, all varieties of goldfish have common features. Their color varies from reddish-pink to light amber and snow-white with a touch of gold. Usually the body is slightly pressed from the sides. The average size can be from 5 to 10 cm. With good care and maintenance, the pet grows to 14-16 cm

Individuals that live in nature or private ponds grow up to half a meter.

These fish are not aggressors. They behave quite calmly in their home pond. Occasionally they can lightly bite their brothers. They do it delicately, not dangerously. Goldfish in an aquarium are considered long-lived. They can live as a pet for about 14-16 years.

It is recommended to buy goldfish in specialized pet stores. It is better to give preference to two individuals of different sexes. Life will be more fun for them together. You cannot take fish from a tank that contains at least one sick fish. It's easy to spot. She's slow. Its color has faded. Deviations in behavior and spots on the body are possible.

Conditions of detention

• Latin name: Carassius auratus
• Russian name: Goldfish
• Origin: Korea, China, Japan
• Regular sizes: up to 15 cm
• Habitat layer: center/bottom
• Acidity pH: does not matter
• Water hardness: does not matter
• Water temperature: 22-24°C

The initial shape of this fish is actually very similar to other aquarium fish of the Karpov family: the body is laterally compressed and elongated, the head is small, the mouth is medium-sized, the tail is forked. The fins have different lengths depending on the type of fish, but they are all equally well developed.

The tail can also be fan-shaped and large. There is a wide variety of colors; small or large skin growths may be present. Initially, the color was a muted red color with shades of green, yellow or brown. Nowadays, goldfish can be seen as white with a metallic sheen, black or copper-red. The body can be a solid color or patterned.

What kind of aquarium is needed for a goldfish?

The ideal vessel for fish should be voluminous. Each individual needs at least 50 liters of water. The ideal house for two goldfish would be an aquarium with a volume of 100-150 liters. If there is not enough water, pets may die.

Spacious, rectangular-shaped aquariums are best suited for goldfish.

When choosing a shape, you should give preference to a rectangle. A rectangle slightly curved or with rounded edges is acceptable. It is in an aquarium where length has the advantage and height is not too high that goldfish will be comfortable. They will be able to swim around the perimeter. Don't stay in one place all the time.

Tall containers in the form of flowerpots and cylinders are strictly not suitable . They look impressive in the interior, but fish will not be able to live normally in them. You should not buy round tanks. They have too little space. This situation will reduce the pet's immunity.

The place for the home pond should be on a flat surface. Do not install the aquarium near windows, radiators or other sources of heat or sunlight. Such proximity can lower the set water temperature. Do not allow direct sunlight to enter the aquarium.

Tips for stocking an aquarium

To most accurately calculate how many fish you can keep in an aquarium, use the following tips:

• All inhabitants of the aquarium should have similar conditions: water temperature, hardness.
• Under no circumstances should peaceful fish be housed with predatory fish.
• Small fish adapt to a new environment better than adults.
• School aquarium pets are housed in a group of 5-6 pieces. Loners will feel uncomfortable and constantly hide.
• It is recommended to populate all layers of water in the jar. For example, zebrafish, gourami, and iris are inhabitants of the upper layers; catfish and bots live at the bottom. Livebearers and characins swim in the middle layers.
• Try not to overcrowd the jar; you should always leave a reserve of 10-20%.

Table for calculating the number of fish in an aquarium

To simplify the calculation, experienced aquarists have compiled tables with the optimal volume for different species - how many liters per fish should be for their existence in the most comfortable conditions. Also take into account the compatibility of fish, because you should mix peaceful ones with predatory ones, small ones with large ones, and so on. We tried to cover as many popular and commercially available fish as possible. Write in the comments what is missing, we will try to add it.

There are aquariums of different sizes on sale, home-made to order and factory-made. The first can be made in any volume, and the second most often in a multiple of ten: small - 20 liters, 30, 40, 50 liters, medium - 60, 80, 100, 120 liters, large - 140, 160, 200 liters, 300 liters.

Soil for goldfish

One of the favorite pastimes for fish is to rummage through the substrate located at the bottom. Care must be taken in its selection. You must not allow the fish to swallow a particle and choke on it. It is best to pour round pebbles and sand consisting of large grains. Pebbles are selected with rounded edges so that the fish does not get scratched. The soil for goldfish is laid out unevenly on the bottom. At the back wall of the glass box, pebbles are poured in several layers. At the front wall in one layer.

It is necessary to select soil and decor that is not capable of harming pets.

Small, safe objects can be used to decorate the space. Structures that are too large, with many ledges and narrow tunnels, can damage the scales. For the same reason, you should avoid placing massive palaces, submarines and other decorative elements in a vessel.

It is not recommended to decorate the vessel with wood figures. They look attractive, but the wood can rot. Wood also stains water.

Plants

It is allowed to decorate the tank with plants. However, there are some rules here. Goldfish love to feast on green leaves; they take out the roots and gnaw them . With these actions they can stir up the entire underwater garden. It is necessary to place safe shrubs and algae in the house. You need to choose plants whose taste your pets will not like. Among these species: lemongrass, hornwort, cladophora, giant Vallisneria, Carolina bacopa.

Plants are a necessary component for an aquarium, although you can do without them.

To prevent the fish from pulling out the roots, it is best to secure them by covering them with stones. You can hide the roots in jars with soil. The jars, in turn, are buried in the ground and lined with heavy stones. A good option is to decorate the tank with artificial greenery.

Technical Tips

Representatives of this family of aquarium fish are unpretentious species and are ideal for beginner aquarists. They swim a lot, so the aquarium must be large. For a pair of goldfish, you will need an aquarium of at least 100 liters so that the fish can move freely between decorations and plants. The filter needs to be powerful enough, and the lighting can be dimmed. The optimal water temperature is 23-24 degrees, neutral acidity and severity within 10-20 °dGH.

What should the water be like in the aquarium?

It is necessary to create favorable conditions in the tank. It is important that the water parameters are suitable for pets. The temperature should be between 19 and 27 degrees. The longer the fish, the lower the temperature can be. For tank inhabitants with a short, compact body, you need to make the water as warm as possible (26-27 degrees). Acidity is about 7 pH.

I use AquaSafe as a tap water conditioner.

You can fill the aquarium with regular tap water. But first, a special conditioner is added to it. The product can be bought in the store. It will purify water from impurities and chlorine.

An important indicator is water hardness. It affects the development of the genital organs, the structure of the skeleton, and the growth of the inhabitants of the aquarium. The optimal hardness for this type of fish is one that has a soft degree of intensity. Medium hardness is allowed. This parameter is measured using a special tester.

Diseases and useful recommendations

Cyclops is dangerous when it attacks fry. Therefore, they should be fed in small quantities. Infected with ichthyophthyriosis, a parasitic ciliate, fish become covered with brownish dots and become lethargic. Often, in a poorly maintained aquarium, carpoeds multiply, attaching themselves to the fish with suction cups and sucking blood. It must be removed with tweezers and lubricate the wound with Vaseline. Bacteria multiply abundantly from artificial food and scabies develops. The fish becomes covered in mucus and scratches itself on the stones. There are also diseases such as dropsy, gastroenteritis and many others. At the slightest symptoms of the disease, the fish should be moved to a separate aquarium.

To prevent diseases and create the necessary conditions for the development of fish, it is very important to have a high-quality aquarium and its proper maintenance. Our company assists customers in choosing the right aquariums and their proper maintenance.

Tank Equipment

An aquarium with goldfish will become a reliable home if it is properly equipped. Ideally, you need to buy the following equipment:

• filter,
• compressor,
• heater.

The filtration system can be either external or internal. The external device is located outside the vessel. The internal is in the water. According to experienced breeders, they give preference to external devices. The reason is that external systems come in larger sizes. Water purification is better than with an internal filter. The external device can simply be wiped clean from dust and not washed thoroughly like the internal one. In addition, the material from which the filter is made can release substances that are not beneficial for the inhabitants of the aquarium.

A compressor is necessary to saturate the water with oxygen. There are often combined devices. They have both a compressor and a filter. However, devices perform their functions better when they are kept separate.

A heater is needed during the winter months. His work needs to be monitored. A significant increase in temperature should not be allowed . If the water is too warm, metabolic processes in the pets’ bodies will increase. This will lead to rapid cell aging.

How to start an aquarium

You cannot introduce fish into the aquarium on the first day. It needs to be prepared. Starting an aquarium involves forming a real home pond from an ordinary water tank. It contains not only fish, but also living bacteria and microorganisms. Microorganisms act as unique mini-filters. They remove ammonia that pets produce. Fish should be launched not just into a vessel, but into a prepared and established aquatic world.

All devices are installed in a vessel filled with water. They turn on. After a few days, microorganisms will appear in the water and the water will become clear. Gradually, the biobalance of the reservoir will be established. At this time, colorful inhabitants can be released into the aquatic environment.

Care

Caring for aquatic life is not difficult. But you shouldn’t forget about them. A person who is just about to purchase an aquarium needs to know about the rules of care. He will have to change the water in the goldfish aquarium, clean the tank and objects, and feed the pets.

To clean the soil, you must use a siphon.

Once every 4-6 days it is recommended to remove some of the water and replace it with new one. This must be done because enough feces will accumulate in the vessel within a few days. This negatively affects the well-being of the inhabitants. They love to live clean. Therefore, 30-40% of the water is removed weekly, at the same time it is necessary to clean the soil. In its place, tap water is poured in, in which the conditioner is dissolved. All equipment located at the bottom of the decor is washed with water removed from the tank . This water is used so as not to remove microorganisms on objects from objects. If you rinse equipment and decor with tap water, chlorine will kill all bacteria.

Once every 20-30 days, a 50-60% water change is recommended. At the same time, the glass is wiped and excess or damaged branches of plants are removed. This is done using a device in the form of a hose. You can combine this procedure with a partial water change.

Reproduction

The spawning aquarium should be spacious enough and not have soil. You can only place a few stones with moss at the bottom. Move the female with eggs and several males that are ready to mate into this tank. After the mating dance, the female lays eggs, thousands of them. The fry appear after 6 hours. Parents must be removed from the spawning tank. The first food for babies should be “ live dust ”, and then you can switch to regular dry or live food.

What to feed

Goldfish love to eat. They need a lot of food. But the owner must ensure that the pets do not overeat. When feeding, it is recommended to give not too large portions. Overfeeding is much worse than underfeeding. If you overeat, the fish suffer. They experience indigestion. A small pinch of food is enough for one fish. They need to be fed 2-3 times a day.

Video: Feeding goldfish

Suitable food can be purchased at pet stores. They can be fed with almost all quality products presented. Frozen food is defrosted before serving, dry food is soaked. You also need to soak food in the form of flakes or large granules. Only aquarium water is suitable for the procedure.

Keeping goldfish at home is not particularly difficult. It is believed that people who have fish swimming in their homes are calmer and can cope with stress more easily. In addition, it is the goldfish, according to fairy tales, that makes wishes come true.

LiveInternetLiveInternet

Quote from Nina_Andreevna's message

Read in full In your quotation book or community!
Conditions for keeping goldfish in an aquarium
https://zoo-flo.com/view_post.php?id=73

Conditions for keeping goldfish in an aquarium

Goldfish have long been considered very hardy fish, and the literature indicates that keeping them is not particularly difficult. Is it so? Only partly, especially now, taking into account the peculiarities of keeping fish from Southeast Asia. We can say this: keeping goldfish will not cause difficulties if a number of conditions are met: a spacious aquarium, moderate population density, the presence of a powerful filtration and aeration system in combination with regular partial water changes and proper feeding.

What is contained in the word “content”? This term hides a set of actions that can be conditionally classified as follows.

1. Arranging an aquarium and populating it with fish.

2. Feeding.

3. Regular aquarium care and disease prevention.

Aquarium.

So, you have become the happy owner of an aquarium with a capacity of at least 100 liters (why no less - read below) and want to get goldfish...

Priming.

Let's first decide on the soil . good soil for an aquarium , but it should be noted that goldfish love to sort through this very fraction and under certain conditions a pebble can get stuck in their mouth, so some aquarists recommend a larger fraction, or, conversely, a smaller one. But don’t get too hung up on this, this happens quite rarely; just make sure the stones don't have any jagged or sharp edges. As a last resort, you will have to save the unfortunate creature with tweezers or a toothpick.

Aquarium equipment.

1) Internal filter . Goldfish are quite muddy, both due to their physiology and their love of digging in the soil. Therefore, a good internal filter for mechanical cleaning in the aquarium seems necessary. Requires regular cleaning (rinsing in aquarium water during changes).

2) External filter . Helps organize biofiltration in an aquarium , especially when using special fillers, a quite useful, although not absolutely necessary, device. Indispensable when you want to save space in your aquarium. Another great advantage is that it requires cleaning much less frequently than the internal filter.

Since many manufacturers indicate the rated performance of filters without fillers, and over time, as they become dirty, it further falls, it is recommended to purchase filters, both internal and external, based on a performance of 3-4 aquarium volumes per hour.

It is definitely worth remembering that filters must work around the clock.

3) Heater . Goldfish are cold-water fish , but it has been noted that they do not always feel comfortable at temperatures of 18-20 degrees. This is especially true for locally bred fish in aquariums . In addition, fish as telescopes, ranchu, and lionheads are considered more heat-loving. You can keep the temperature at 22-25 degrees, choose according to the well-being of your pets, but keep in mind that elevated temperatures cause accelerated aging of the fish.

4) Compressor . This is also quite a useful acquisition, since gold ones need a fairly high oxygen content in the water. Even if the internal filter copes with its task in aeration mode, it is a good idea to keep a spare compressor just in case. If the noise of the compressor is annoying (for example, the aquarium is installed in the bedroom), you can find low-noise compressors on sale (they are quite expensive), or install a submersible aerator (in this case, the air diffuser and rotor are enclosed in a single housing, which is installed at the bottom of the aquarium , and Air is taken in through a hose leading outside the aquarium).

5) A siphon is a must-have for every aquarist. Necessary for regular soil .

6) Ultraviolet water sterilizer . Until recently, it was most often used at quarantine bases and fish hatcheries. The device is not at all necessary. But many people install it in aquariums for reinsurance if they are dealing with imported fish, or the aquarium is densely populated. Ultraviolet radiation kills most parasites and pathogenic bacteria within a given period of time, thereby preventing the spread of infection (if it occurs) in the aquarium; in addition, it easily copes with lower algae that cause “blooming” of water.

Plants.

To plant or not to plant live plants in an aquarium with goldfish ? Definitely: plant! The presence of plants has a beneficial effect on the ecological situation, helps to cope with algae, is pleasing to the eye and serves as an excellent food for fish. However, there is a small problem. Goldfish happily eat almost any aquarium plants and can quickly turn your “blooming garden” into a nibbled wasteland. Many aquarists believe that in this case there is no point in bothering with plants , but the authors categorically disagree with this. Quite the opposite, which is why it is worth planting “delicious plants” in the aquarium - they will diversify the diet of our pets, serve as an additional source of vitamins and brighten up the monotonous life of fish. In addition, there are a large number of large-leaved, tough or simply “tasteless” plants that fish will not touch. These are, for example, Anubias, Schisandra, Cryptocorynes, Echinodorus, etc. Such plants will not be eaten and will serve as additional environmental stabilizers in the aquarium.

In order to prevent plants each time the ground , when planting them, the bottom around the roots can be covered with larger rounded pebbles on top of the ground.

Aquarium decoration.

The shape of an aquarium for goldfish is desirable as close as possible to the “classic” one, that is, when its length is approximately twice as wide as its width. At the same time, you should not choose an aquarium with a water column height of more than 50 cm, because, firstly, this will create additional difficulties in caring for it, and secondly, difficulties may arise when growing plants, because the light will reach the lower layers of water and the bottom with difficulties. However, almost all commercially produced aquariums cannot be called 100 percent suitable for vigorous plant ; The lighting system most often has to be modified in terms of its amplification to a ratio of at least 0.5 W per 1 liter of water.

The design of an aquarium for goldfish is a personal matter and a figment of the imagination of every aquarist. Some people involve professionals, some prefer to develop their own project and implement it with their own hands, while others neglect “standards” (which in reality, perhaps, do not exist!) and design their aquarium on the principle of “as it turns out” .

When decorating an aquarium, one important circumstance must be taken into account: what kind of goldfish will live there. If you plan to keep telescopes, stargazers, and water eyes, you will have to abandon not only stones and soil particles with sharp edges, but also plants with leaves that have sharp edges or teeth. Otherwise there is a very high risk of injury to the fish.

Separately, it is necessary to mention some decorative elements: “castles”, “grottoes”, “ships” and the like. Firstly, their aesthetic value is small, and secondly, these decorations can easily injure fish’s fins, eyes or growths on the head. Therefore, such decorations for an aquarium with goldfish seem unnecessary.

Of course, a large (at least 200 liters) or medium (from 100 to 200 liters) goldfish aquarium is neither an axiom nor a law. You can very beautifully design and properly maintain small aquariums (from 50 to 100 l) with one fish (or two in 100 l). It just seems to the authors that it is in large containers that these fish will feel much better: there is some room for swimming, a “flock” of goldfish looks much more beautiful than a lone individual, and, as many experts note, taking care of a large aquarium is difficult. much simpler, for an aquarium with goldfish .

Of course, a large (at least 200 liters) or medium (from 100 to 200 liters) goldfish aquarium is neither an axiom nor a law. You can very beautifully design and properly maintain small aquariums (from 50 to 100 l) with one fish (or two in 100 l). It just seems to the authors that it is in large containers that these fish will feel much better: there is some room for swimming, “

What and how many fish should I add?

As strange as it may seem, not all breeds of goldfish are compatible with each other. There are fish that are desirable or necessary to be kept separately, including from their relatives. In addition, representatives of different breeds may not be suitable for each other in temperament, in particular this applies to the coexistence of long-bodied and short-bodied goldfish.

about long-bodied goldfish . They are much more mobile than their short-bodied counterparts, most often these fish are schooling and, in addition, they are capable of growing very large, up to 30 cm or even more (excluding the length of the caudal fin). goldfish feel most comfortable When keeping them in an aquarium, it is desirable that its capacity be at least 200 liters. Due to their temperament, it is recommended to keep long-bodied goldfish In general, these fish (“ordinary” goldfish, comet, shubunkin, wakin) are quite unpretentious, hardy and not so sensitive to changes in conditions.

Among short-bodied fish, there are those that, as mentioned above, are recommended to be kept separately for various reasons. The telescope is clumsy and weak-sighted, so neighbors can leave it on starvation rations; in addition, its eyes are very vulnerable. The same applies to the stargazer. Neighbors, through negligence or intentionally, can injure water peepers and their “bags.” In this group of fish, the most unpretentious are considered to be riukin and fantail . Orandas, telescopes, stargazers, ranchu, and lionheads are more difficult to maintain . Pearls and water eyes are clearly not suitable for beginners.

And now we come to one of the “cornerstones” of keeping goldfish - the volume of the aquarium and the population density.

It should be borne in mind that a volume of 50 liters or more is recommended goldfish Moreover, it is advisable to organize a minimum volume of 100 liters per couple (in this case, the fish will be more free to move, even if there are neighbors). As the volume of the aquarium increases, the stocking density can be increased a little, but you can’t get too carried away; with these fish it’s very easy to step over the line. In particular, two goldfish can be placed in a volume of 100 liters (three are possible, but in this case it will be necessary to organize powerful filtration and increase the frequency of water changes). In 150 l you can plant 3-4 individuals, in 200 l - 5-6, in 250 l - 6-8, etc. Let us make a reservation that we are talking about grown fish, no less than 5-7 cm in size, excluding the length of the caudal fin.

Why are the requirements so strict? There are probably two main reasons. Firstly, fish imported from Southeast Asia are grown in ponds and, as already mentioned, have difficulty adapting to aquariums that are small compared to ponds. And, secondly, due to their natural gluttony and the structural features of the digestive system, goldfish carry an increased biological load on the aquarium. This is expressed in a large amount of waste produced. As soon as this amount exceeds a certain limit, a breakdown in the biological balance occurs in the aquarium with all the negative consequences, including the death of the fish. In addition, a high stocking density of fish that have not reached their maximum size is quite capable of causing a phenomenon that in the aquarium hobby is called “delaying”: fish stop growing, some structural defects begin to appear, and they become more susceptible to diseases.

A very often asked question by beginners is: “Who can be kept with goldfish?” And, as a rule, the unequivocal answer to it is no one! Goldfish are extremely poorly compatible with any other aquarium fish; the main problem here is that, figuratively speaking, everyone who is not eaten by goldfish will, in one way or another, eat goldfish. There are real examples of guppies almost eating large, clumsy goldfish (especially veiled ones) alive. And they, in turn, will happily feast on everything that can fit into their mouth. Add to this the difficult environmental situation in an aquarium with goldfish , temperature requirements and feeding regime, and you will have to exclude almost all ornamental fish from the compatibility list. The only exception may be peaceful, unpretentious catfish, which will act as cleaners in the aquarium. Here, too, you need to be on guard, since there are often cases when even ancistrus , typical phytophages, “attacked” short-bodied goldfish and sucked their sides to the meat.

Aquarium care

Of course, before you run to a pet store or to a familiar breeder and bring home the coveted package with a golden “flock”, you need a set of measures called “launching” the aquarium . Recommendations for the correct “start-up” of an aquarium are given in many literary sources and therefore there is no point in repeating here. Let’s just say that when keeping goldfish, special attention must be paid to “launching” due to the increased biological load that they introduce.

A very common mistake made by beginning aquarists is to “bully” plant fish in a “young” aquarium with unsettled biofiltration, and even in combination with intensive feeding. In this case, the biological balance, already fragile, may not withstand such a “blow”, after which a sharp jump in the concentration of harmful nitrogen compounds occurs in the aquarium and almost inevitable poisoning of the fish.

an aquarium that is not started or not started correctly can cause extremely negative and often irreversible consequences for them.

Caring for a goldfish aquarium will not cause any particular problems if done regularly. In general, it is not much different from caring for an aquarium with other fish (this is also detailed in the literature).

1. Weekly water changes.

2. Regular cleaning of filters as they become dirty (internal - about once a week, external - at least once every 3-4 months).

3. Regular siphoning of soil (as soil becomes dirty, at least once every two weeks; can be combined with water changes).

4. Cleaning glass from algae.

5. Pruning and thinning of plants.

6. Maintenance of other equipment.

And yet, in the case of goldfish, there is a certain specificity. And it is connected, first of all, with the peculiarities of their physiology. In this regard, it is necessary to organize fairly frequent water changes in the aquarium; in this regard, goldfish are quite problem-free and, being accustomed, can easily tolerate even a daily complete water change. However, you should not go to extremes; replacing 25 - 30% of the aquarium volume once or twice a week is considered optimal. A good option would be to purchase tests for nitrates and organize a replacement regime in accordance with the results obtained. It should be noted that a sudden change in regime can cause shock in the fish, which can lead to some complications in the future. If you need to radically change the substitution regime, do it smoothly, gradually accustoming the fish to the new option. If the stocking density of fish increases, it is very often necessary to increase the frequency of water changes. The same thing happens when, for one reason or another, a disruption in the biological balance occurs in the aquarium.

Filters in goldfish become dirty more often. Accordingly, they must be cleaned more often. The contamination of the filter can be judged by its significantly reduced performance. The sponges of the internal and external filters must be washed in the aquarium water drained during replacement. It is advisable to “disturb” fillers for biofiltration (both in external and in some models of internal filters) as little as possible. Under no circumstances should such fillers be completely changed! Typically, the maximum amount of filler to be replaced is one third. If there is a need to wash the fillers, this should be done by lightly rinsing in the aquarium water drained during the change. Before washing or replacing the biofiltration media in the internal and especially external filter, it is recommended to reduce the biological load on it, for which you need to reduce the feeding of the fish in about 2-3 days, resuming the original feeding regime no earlier than a week later.

Algae is an almost inevitable “settler” of any aquarium. The presence of nitrates in the water (and in a goldfish aquarium it is quite difficult to maintain low nitrate levels) contributes to their rapid growth. Algae is bad if only because, settling on glass and plant leaves, they spoil the appearance of the aquarium, not to mention much else. Therefore, you need to get rid of them. You can, of course, subject the aquarium to “chemical treatment,” as is recommended for algae, but it is better to arm yourself with a special scraper or an ordinary household sponge. Some experts generally advise cleaning only the front viewing glass of the aquarium, since algae, by absorbing nitrogen, also have a positive effect on the ecology in the aquarium.

Siphoning the soil is not the most pleasant, but inevitable procedure. With its help, excess organic matter is removed from the bottom, and for an aquarium with goldfish this is very important. It is recommended to siphon the soil at least once every two weeks. At the same time, this procedure (especially for small aquariums and aquariums with internal filters; in this case, the bulk of beneficial bacteria involved in biofiltration live in the soil) must be carried out carefully - aerobic bacteria live in the surface layer, and mixing of the soil layers is too intense may destroy them.

Feeding goldfish

Feeding goldfish is a very difficult issue, especially for beginners. The fact is that these fish are very voracious and always hungry. Every time we pass by an aquarium , we see their unfortunate faces, greedily “screaming”: “Give me!” Give!" But you must be firm and not follow the lead of the fish. Train your and their willpower, remember the rule: the hungrier the fish, the healthier it is. feed goldens once or twice a day in small portions, so that everything is eaten in 5-10 minutes or less (if you feed twice a day, halve the portions accordingly). Overfeeding is a very common problem when keeping these fish; it can easily lead to various diseases, primarily those associated with the gastrointestinal tract.

Goldfish are omnivores. Therefore, their diet should be varied. This includes live food (you need to be careful with them; pathogens of dangerous diseases often enter the aquarium ; frozen food is safer in this regard), plant food, and specialized food for goldfish produced by a number of manufacturers (for example, Sera, Tetra).

dry food (both flakes and, especially, granules) in a saucer with aquarium water for several minutes. Otherwise, there is a risk that food particles that swell after eating will cause digestive system upset.

Frozen food must be thawed before feeding, brought to room temperature, and fed immediately after defrosting. When feeding frozen brine shrimp to juveniles, it is recommended to soak it in water in order to eliminate excessive salt concentration.

Re-freezing of food is not allowed!

It is also necessary to include various plant foods in the diet, such as lettuce, cucumber, dill, cabbage, nettle, etc. All this is scalded, finely chopped and served to the fish. Adult fish are able to eat, for example, lettuce leaves without scalding, and sometimes without the need for fine cutting. Fruits (orange, kiwi, etc.) will also be a good addition to the diet.

Some aquarium plants - duckweed, riccia, hornwort. Hornwort is doubly useful due to the fact that, being a fast-growing plant, it intensively absorbs nitrogen from water, thereby helping to reduce the concentration of nitrates.

Adult fish that receive a balanced diet can even endure a two-week fast without any problems. And one way not to leave the fish on a starvation diet during a vacation or business trip, if there is no person who could feed the fish, is to put a “bunch” of hornwort in the aquarium. This food will last the fish for a long time.

Many experts recommend introducing into the diet porridges cooked from various grains in water (without salt). It is desirable that these porridges have a crumbly structure.

Disease Prevention

It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the statement that one of the important prerequisites for the health of fish is keeping them in good conditions. It is known that almost every aquarium contains parasites and opportunistic microorganisms, including pathogens of dangerous diseases, in some quantity. But they have no chance of infecting healthy, strong fish with a strong immune system. A completely different situation may arise when the fish experiences constant stress due to certain negative factors, when the concentration of nitrogen compounds in the water is constantly increased, when the fish experiences oxygen starvation, is kept at high or low temperatures (even worse when the aquarist allows sudden changes in water temperatures) or water parameters (acidity, hardness, etc.) are extremely unstable. The fish’s immune system weakens, the fish’s resistance to infections decreases, and “one day” the fish gets sick . There are no barriers left to repel the attack of parasites and opportunistic microorganisms, and the matter may end in a mass illness of the inhabitants of the aquarium with the most unfavorable consequences.

This scenario can be avoided. How?

1. Do not overpopulate the aquarium.

2. Maintain a healthy living environment and high water quality. It’s not without reason that they say that even with the help of “simple” water changes you can get rid of many misfortunes!

3. Avoid introducing aggressive neighbors into the aquarium that can cause stress in the fish or injure it.

4. Follow the correct diet and feeding regimen.

There is an opinion that it is necessary to think several times before introducing new fish into an aquarium that has long been “established” both from the point of view of ecology and “relationships” within the fish “family,” even if the volume allows it. There is a very high risk that the old-timers will perceive the new settler negatively, he will begin to experience severe stress, and then he will be one step away from getting sick. Even “banal” fin rot can cause a lot of trouble.

But what to do if the desire to become the owner of another fish outweighs everything, including, sometimes, common sense? This happens: a person walks into a pet store and suddenly sees something that can literally blow him away. And he certainly wants this miracle to float in his home - and no one else’s.

In this case, the human eye, experience and, of course, quarantine will become assistants.

Purchasing fish is as important an undertaking as keeping it. If an aquarist has at least a basic knowledge, he is able to distinguish between obviously sick fish if it shows obvious signs of disease. But it also happens that even a specialist cannot see the disease at first sight! This directly applies to goldfish imported from Southeast Asia. In such people, one or another dangerous disease may appear a week or even two after purchase, and this is not due to the fact that it is an imported fish, but to the conditions in which it was kept upon arrival, including in a pet store. It is pointless to rely on the seller’s honesty here - he, too, may not know what he is selling, especially since so many of the current pet store sellers need to sell, and what to sell is of little concern to them. Therefore, the buyer can easily be misled about “the fish were kept in quarantine for two months” (but in fact, just a week before, it splashed in a Chinese pond) and about “local breeding.” Quarantine remains.

Quarantine today is one of the most important means of preventing fish diseases. Therefore, it must be carried out in a separate container specially designated for this purpose and for a sufficiently long period of time (at least four weeks, and if the source of fish supply raises even the slightest doubt, then much longer). During this time, if the fish is a carrier of any disease, it will most likely make itself felt. And then everything depends on the type of disease, the condition of the fish and the aquarist’s decision whether to treat it or humanely get rid of it (for example, if the fish is sick with tuberculosis, then planting the fish must go through the entire preparation cycle (settling, aeration). Many recommend pouring water into the quarantine container from a community aquarium .

As you know, there are two main types of quarantine - passive and active. Passive quarantine involves keeping fish in isolation in a quarantine tank without adding any medications (of course, in the absence of signs of disease). Active quarantine is a complex of treatment and prophylactic procedures aimed at a therapeutic effect on obvious or hidden pathogens by adding drugs to the quarantine container. In any case, quarantine must last at least a month. Small volumes of quarantine tanks, coupled with the lack of biofiltration, can somehow provoke an outbreak of the disease if the fish contains its pathogen.

What type of quarantine to choose - active or passive? The question is debatable. It seems to the authors that if the fish is taken from a reliable source, you can limit yourself to passive quarantine before planting it in a general aquarium, and if the fish was brought from the countries of Southeast Asia and it is not known whether it has passed quarantine at a fish hatchery, it is better to prefer active quarantine ( goldfish , as a rule, generally tolerate drug therapy well), having subjected it, first of all, to antiparasitic treatment.

Information taken from the website aqa.ru

Below I suggest looking at photos of goldfish.