A Guide To Keeping Coldwater Aquarium Fish
To keep goldfish happy & healthy you need the correct equipment.
• An Aquarium
• A Filter
• Water conditioner
• Gravel & Ornaments
• Food
• Water Test Kits
If you have all of these your goldfish should live long and happy lives so long as they are looked after correctly. Gold fish usually live 10 to 15 years.
How large is your aquarium?
Goldfish need lots of space. Every 10" of goldfish requires 24 square inches of surface area. For example, a tank measuring 18"x12"x12" could take up to 18x12รท24=9 inches of goldfish once the tank is mature.
You should start off with no more than one 3rd of the tanks capacity. Otherwise the new filter won't be able to cope with the fishes waste products and the fish can become unwell or die.
Have you got a filter?
Fish produce a lot of waste which builds up in the water. You can remove the fish by either water changes or filtration. The filter grows millions of bacteria which feed on the fish waste converting it to relatively harmless nitrates.
The filter needs to run 24 hours a day to work. Switch it off only when cleaning your tank. Adding Cycle or Safe Water helps to build up the filter bacteria very quickly.
Water conditioner
Always add water conditioner to water in a new tank and to tap water used in water changes. We recommend Hagen Aqua Plus as the water conditioner for most tanks. Aqua Plus removes Chlorine and Chloramines from tap water, which would irritate the fish's gills making it more difficult for them to breathe. Always add water of the same temperature, never just cold water.
Feeding your Fish
It is important to feed the right amount of the correct food to your fish. Too much food is dangerous as uneaten food poisons the water and can cause mortalities. Ask a sales assistant for the best food for your goldfish and how much to feed. As a rule enough food to cover a 5 pence piece, fed once a day to a goldfish is about right.
Setting up a new aquarium & water testing
• Wipe out the inside of the aquarium with clean warm water and a cloth.
• Wash gravel and ornaments in clean warm water to remove any dust.
• Locate your filter in position. (If you use an under gravel filter system this must be in place BEFORE gravel is added).
• Put the gravel in the tank followed by any ornaments, plants, rocks etc.
• Top up the tank with water and add water conditioner (Aqua Plus) as recommended.
• Test run the tank full of water to make sure everything is working.
• Float your fish in their bag for 15-30 minutes before releasing them into their new home.
After Care
Weeks 1-4
Keep a close eye on your fish. The filter is new and will not be mature for 6 to 8 weeks. Test the water for Ammonia 3 or 4 days after the fish have been added to the tank. If any Ammonia shows on the test, change one 3rd of the water in the tank after switching the aquarium off at the mains.
Continue to test for Ammonia for the first 2 to 3 weeks at intervals of 3 to 4 days for small tanks, once a week for tanks over 24" wide. From the end of week 2 test also for Nitrite. Using the Tetra Test for Nitrite an orange colour will be expected on testing during this time. Change one 3rd of water one or twice a week. If the Tetra Test shows red when tested, change up to 50% of the water once or twice a week.
Weeks 5 onwards
By now the water should be almost mature. Once you have tested the water and can find no Ammonia or Nitrite you can reduce partial water changes to fortnightly intervals. If you use an under-gravel filter system you should always use a gravel cleaning siphon to remove water form your tank and clean dirt form the gravel at the same time.
If you use a sponge filter you should remove the sponge once a fortnight during tank cleaning and rinse the sponge in old tank water, not under the tap! Adding Cycle to the tank water once a week will mature your aquarium much faster.
Once your tank water is mature you can add your next fish. Don't add too many at a time or else it may imbalance the water quality again, causing a peak of Ammonia or Nitrite or both.
After care and regular maintenance.
• Feed fish once per day
• Do partial water changes every 2 weeks, replace with room temperature water with Aqua Plus added
• Add Cycle once a week
• Clean filter sponge (or under gravel filter) once a fortnight
• Remember- Your fish are your indicator as to how the water quality of your aquarium is shaping up if the fish don't behave as normal there is something wrong. Check your filter first. Is it working or clogged? Test for Nitrite. Any reading other than zero means the filter is not coping with the fish waste and needs a clean plus a partial water change. For Goldfish bowls daily water changes my be necessary.
• Once a month you should test the pH in your aquarium. This is important because as the tank gets older and more mature the pH tends to slowly reduce until the tank water becomes very acidic. Once the pH falls below 6.5 you should consult The Fish People about using the correct type of buffer for your system to correct the pH and bring it back to neutral (7.0)
