1. Can feeder goldfish live long if you take care of them? I know they're meant for food, but...?
2. How do you take care of a feeder goldfish?
3. Info?
Thanx
2. How do you take care of a feeder goldfish?
3. Info?
Thanx
Feeder Goldfish? Help?
- Thread starter ILOVEBETTAS
- Start date
Usually they are diseased when they come from the store. They also are almost always stunted. With proper care you can get rid of their diseases, and they may even cease to be stunted. Take care of them just like a regular comet goldfish. Large tank, a pond is better, and lots of extra filtration.
1. years. maybe decades. depends some on how they were treated before you get them.
2/3. big tank, or small tank with the ability to upgrade as necessary (which means a big tank anyway, eventually). for a final tank, plan on 30g. for the first goldfish and 20g for each additional fish at adult size. good filtration as they are very messy - lots of poo. possibly a heater, but keep temp.68-72. if that is normal everyday temp in your house i wouldn't worry about a heater. don't mix with tropical fish.
feed flakes, sinking wafers or pellets, floating pellets. feed plant matter (lettuce, spinach), orange sections, snails, bloodworms as a special treat. don't overfeed because they will gorge themselves when able to. sand is better but sometimes harder to clean, gravel is easier to clean but can pose problems as they will pick it up in their mouths searching for food and it can get lodged inside.
common myth alert: goldfish DO NOT "grow to fit their tank"! fish kept in too small tanks will be stunter by an excess of growth hormones that they release into the water. these hormones will cause the outside of the fish to stop growing, but the organs are not affected the same way and continue to grow. as you can imagine, this is bad. stress, bad health, shortened lifespans (3 years vs. 25 years), organ failure, death. . .
2/3. big tank, or small tank with the ability to upgrade as necessary (which means a big tank anyway, eventually). for a final tank, plan on 30g. for the first goldfish and 20g for each additional fish at adult size. good filtration as they are very messy - lots of poo. possibly a heater, but keep temp.68-72. if that is normal everyday temp in your house i wouldn't worry about a heater. don't mix with tropical fish.
feed flakes, sinking wafers or pellets, floating pellets. feed plant matter (lettuce, spinach), orange sections, snails, bloodworms as a special treat. don't overfeed because they will gorge themselves when able to. sand is better but sometimes harder to clean, gravel is easier to clean but can pose problems as they will pick it up in their mouths searching for food and it can get lodged inside.
common myth alert: goldfish DO NOT "grow to fit their tank"! fish kept in too small tanks will be stunter by an excess of growth hormones that they release into the water. these hormones will cause the outside of the fish to stop growing, but the organs are not affected the same way and continue to grow. as you can imagine, this is bad. stress, bad health, shortened lifespans (3 years vs. 25 years), organ failure, death. . .
A friend of mine and me got a "feeder" gold fish at a party when we were both 9 and we r 15 now mine has gone to a pond but he still has his (in a 15g with two other gold fish, a dwarf frog and 3 fish from a creek i am sad to say) and it is HUGH and is very hardy and healthy.
yeah, true. my estimate was more for fat-bodied goldfish like moors or orandas that don't get long, just round and chubby. fish need to be able to turn around in the tank they are in. if they can't do that it doesn't matter how much water they have.
ILOVEBETTAS said:
feeder goldfish ARE goldfish
they are typically a mix of common and comet goldfish, and they can reach a foot easily, expect them to live (with proper care) for +20 years
i personally dont find any tank below 120 gallons a suitable home for goldfish, since these guys are monster waste producers and oxygen consumers and are big fish all around.
water temps should stay in the low to mid 70's but up to 80F is ok (think summer pond)
many people assume goldfish are cold water fish but are actually cool water fish, the lower the water temp the slower there metabolism so a temp range somewhere in the 70's is ideal.
, keep there water well aerated and filtered and feed a quality pellet food, as adults the bulk of there diet should consist of vegetable matter, you can feed jsut about any fruit and vegetable from your local grocery store, the ocassional meaty food is ok as well.
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wataugachicken said:
allow me to break this down further
goldfish will gorge themselves, yes
but dont overfeed them because goldfish lack a true stomach, but instead have a long alkali gut, very ineffient at digesting food.
by over feeding them there stomach cant process all this food and ends up gonig out the other end and fowling the water, so feed small meals several time a day, you will have less waste in your system and your goldfish will be able to absorb more nutrients.
oh and in my experience goldfish always spit out the gravel and never swallow it
-Mike