I've noticed some people have been getting goldfish, and I thought... hey.. why don't we come together, and teach people about goldfish? There are useful facts employees "miss", or really do not know and this can hinder a new goldfish owner, and even cause frustration and sadness along the road (if an employee says they can live in a gallon bowl no filter).
So, here, I'll start it off, and we'll go from there
1. Goldfish are notoriously messy. They are so messy ammonia spikes really fast - especially in small bowls or tanks. So it is important to have goldfish in larger tanks. There is some controversy, however, for size. Some say 20, some say 30-50 or higher! I personally say a 30-40 is a safe start for a single goldfish. Remember - the bigger the better!
Ohh I love this idea! Goldfish are some of my favorite fish to keep. I should get some new pictures of my guys. Anyone else who has pictures should post them, too!
Here are some other facts that are commonly missed by LFS employees:
2. Goldfish need a variety in their diet.
While the pellets we get at the store may seem like enough; they can often cause problems for our golden fishies. Goldfish are omnivorous and need both plants and protein in their diets. Young goldfish need diets with around 57% protein, and older goldies need diets with 43% protein. All goldies need greens. Spinach and red lettuce are two very good greens to offer. Place them in a lettuce clip and watch your goldfish go to town on them. Slices of orange can also be placed in the lettuce clip to add more variety and vitamin C to a goldfish diet.
3. Goldfish can live with plants!
Most people will tell you goldfish eat all plants. This isn't true. When offered enough greens in their diet, goldfish often mostly ignore other plants. Mind you, some goldfish will still nibble on your plants, so never try expensive, delicate plants with goldfish. Some good plants to try are hornwort, anarcharis, duckweed, water sprite (although my guys love to nibble on it), anubias, java fern, and moss balls. Your goldies may eat some and not others. The key is to find what works for you and your goldfish.
4. Goldfish like colder waters. Unlike our famed bettas of this site () goldfish are cold water fish. If you had a goldfish at the same temperature as what bettas love, they can get sick, and some like the black moore will lose their color. Most will stand 65-75 comfortabley, even though they can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Remember: a happy goldfish is a healthy goldfish!!
I wish my goldfish would eat their vegetables. I went to town making them a gel food with lots of greens in it and they wouldn't touch it. Ate a mouthful and spat it right back out.
Bought some elodea and duckweed for them to munch on. The elodea overtook the tank and the duckweed got sucked into the filter.
Nowadays, mine just get bloodworms, blackworms, brine shrimp, NLS flakes/pellets and these Omega One veggie flakes.
I've tried lettuce and zucchini and they won't touch it. Nor do they touch any plant I put in there.
#5 Don't mix common/comet type goldfish with fancies - Common and comet goldfish are much faster and will often out-compete the slower fancies for food. Also, while commons can do quite well in low temperatures, fancy goldfish do not. This is why they are often not good candidates for ponds in places where it gets very cold in winter.
My daughter's goldfish ate all the duck weed she put in their 50 gal tank. Maybe they didn't get enough greens in their regular food?
Lol. Mine do the same thing. Every once in a while a piece or two escapes them and starts to take hold, but they find it sooner or later. Little piggies...
LittleBettaFish, I had trouble getting mine to eat greens, too. I had to fast them for about 3 days before I gave it to them. They will eat it, you just need to give them time. Mine will always uproot my anarcharis when I've been gone for a few days. The only thing they've never touched is the hornwort.
Hm... Do veggies make ammonia in the water if uneaten? I have to feed my Goldie only a few flakes every other night to keep the ammonia in his too small tank down....
Mine went a week or two without touching anything remotely green-looking. I tried blanched lettuce, spinach and cucumber and of course my homemade gel food. Plus there was a big chunk of elodea floating around in their tank. They hand-feed, so I tried to get them to come up and take it off me, but the only thing they really ate were peas.
However, my dad's goldfish is around 8 or 9 years old now and has never had anything but commercial food its whole life.
The three of them do look healthy and happy, though my dad's one is very stunted (about half the size he should be), and I'm looking into a more vegetable-based food for them as I worry they get too much protein in their diet. I do powerfeed my blackworms lettuce and cucumber, so I'm not sure how much of those nutrients get passed onto my goldfish.
Betta Miah, what you can do is use a piece of lettuce. if he won't eat it after I'd say 5 hourS, remove. This avoids it from decaying and fouling up the water. same goes with Zuchinni, cucumber, etc. What you can also do is try "hand feeding" your goldie. This is what I do with my messy eaters (bettas) to make sure nothing sinks.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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) goldfish are cold water fish. If you had a goldfish at the same temperature as what bettas love, they can get sick, and some like the black moore will lose their color. Most will stand 65-75 comfortabley, even though they can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Remember: a happy goldfish is a healthy goldfish!! 
