Goldfish tank water?

[wonderingwondering]

I've run out of Aquasafe and the local pet shop has closed. I don't recall treating the tap water when I had goldfish as a child, but then they did seem to only last 5 minutes and mine are going strong after 2 years. Will untreated tap water in the tank harm them? Or would filtered be OK? Or do I def need Aquasafe?

How desperately do they need a water change? Could they just wait a day or two?

Supermarket might well have some dechlorinator in a pet section.

Alternatively, you can let the water stand overnight to allow chlorine to outgas, and I believe (less sure about this though) that boiling it first will help get rid of chloramide, which is more persistent..

NB Boil the water, not the gloldfish.

No, don't put untreated tap water in a tank! It will kill all the good bacteria in the filter which could result in your goldy getting ammonia poisoning. Goldfish will live at least 20 years and grow massive if you look after them well

I think all water companies now use chloramine instead of chlorine so leaving the water to stand doesn't work any more. Boiling isn't really an effective way to get rid of chloramine either although it was a good way to get rid of chlorine. Pesky stuff, that chloramine

Better to wait until you can get some aquasafe before you do a water change. Lancelottie is right, they sell aquasafe at the big Tesco near me so a supermarket might be worth a try.

Thanks, I'll nip to Tesco when I get a chance, sounds like slightly murky water is less harmful than straight from the tap. Am quite fond of them, wouldn't want to cause them any harm!

We don't have a filter, as we've got a small tank with two fish, would a filter make the water better? At the moment I just change the water when it starts to get very cloudy, I usually reserve a pint or so of the old water to keep the fish in while I clean the tank, and to introduce the old bacteria to the new water. Does that sound OK?

I don't think Father Christmas realised how involved this goldfish-keeping is...

You don't have a filter? You definitely need to get one- without a filter the fish will be swimming around in ammonia which is highly poisonous to them. You shouldn't take the fish out of the tank to clean it, it's too stressful for them and you can easily injure them when you catch them so it's best to minimise any contact that you have with them.

I'm a bit short on time now so I'll check in again tomorrow morning to write a longer reply. In the meantime, here are some links that will give you some info on goldfish and basic fish care. Father Christmas is not the first person to realise there is more to fishkeeping than meets the eye

About the nitrogen cycle

Goldfish info

Step-by-step water change

Hope that helps a bit! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them tomorrow assuming that DD will be in a less crappy mood

Oops, I didn't mean that first bit to sound rude. I'm just surprised that the pet shop didn't tell you about filters, a lot of shops now won't even sell you a fish if you don't have one.

Not rude at all, thanks for the info, other tips gratefully received! I think my fish must be made of stern stuff, but anything I can do to make their life less stressful, I shall do

Right, here's some more stuff- keeping goldfish is relatively easy depending on the type of goldfish.

All goldfish are the same species (Carrasius auratus) but there are loads of different breeds, a bit like dogs. The common goldfish types (common goldfish, comets and shubunkins) are the streamlined ones. They grow to about 10 inches and really they are better off in ponds because they get so big and are quite active. If you do want to keep them inside then they need a huge tank, I would say about 6 feet long, and a huge filter. Needless to say not many people can provide a tank that size.

Fancy goldfish are the fat round types with long fins. They cannot be kept in a pond as they are a bit more delicate. They don't grow as big as common goldfish but they are still whoppers! Around 8 inches is fully grown for most types although some of the more mutated unusual varieties only get to around 6 inches. They need a big tank too, I would say around 4 feet, and again a large filter.

Once you've got the right equipment then they are not too hard to look after if you keep the water very clean. Fancy goldfish, like pedigree dogs, can be prone to health problems related to their shape so a decent diet with plenty of fresh veg is essential.

If you describe your fish then I can probably have a good guess at what kind it is and then give you further info

They are small goldfish with long floaty, whispy, tails and fins, quite podgy! (That might not be how they are supposed to be...).

Their bodies are about 2 inches long, with the long whispy tails about another inch, maybe a bit more.

They sound like fancy goldfish, probably ryukins, they are one of the most popular ones. Here's a pic- pic or it could be a fantail, they are quite similar. They come in all sorts of colours. Ryukins are reported to get to 10" long but I think 8 is more likely. Still, I would allow for 10" just in case you get lucky . 3 of them are going to need 40 gallons (180 litres) at the very least. A tank this size would be around 4ft long. They will also need a fairly powerful filter because goldfish are messy!

I know this sounds like a lot for 'just' a goldfish but they are so rewarding, they have lovely personalities if you give them the right conditions and they can be trained to eat from your hand which I'm sure your DCs would love. Definitely worth it if you can give them the care they need.

If you can't fit in a 4ft tank then really it would be kinder to swap them for something smaller like minnows that can be kept in a 12 gallon (60 litre) tank, but first you would need to get a filter and do a fishless cycle like in that first link I posted. What size is the tank you have now?

Nita, can I just have a swift thread jijack here to say thanks for all the fishy advice pre-Christmas? The cycling took a while, but we now have six zebra danios (all different, according to DD, who must have very good eyesight) and an apple snail, and I think we're hooked!

PMSL @ hooked glad things are going well for you.