Grooming Goldfish

“Grooming? Fish don't have hair."

Oh, how many times I've been laughed at over this word. In the aquatics hobby, the art of 'grooming' is simply that of raising a fish to it's full potential. Now, how you do this, is different from person to person. I have my own procedures, in which, will be discussed below.

Water Volume

In order for fish to grow, they must have the proper tank size. In my opinion, goldfish, especially that of the fancy variety, need at least 20 gallons per fish. Now, you can push this in larger aquariums, for example, having four fish in a sixty gallon, instead of only three. I would not recommend pushy these limits for anything smaller than a 40 gallon breeder.

Water Quality

Now that we have taken tank size into consideration, let's also take water quality. Goldfish need good, clean water, and so does every other fish. You will find that Fancy Goldfish may be harder to keep than that of the single tailed variety. The reasoning behind this is that fancy goldfish are more sensitive to ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. I recommend 80% - 100% water changes WEEKLY. This, of course, after cycling as occurred.

Feeding

Of all the topics I have covered so far, food is probably the most obvious. The food that you make available to the fish is one of my pet peeves. PLEASE do not feed any sort of flakes. They offer little to no nutritional value, and once added to water, simply make a mess. Not to mention, they can also make fancies floaty and constipated. I highly recommend gel food, such as Repashy Super Gold or Solient Green. You can also find numerous homemade gel recipes online.

One thing about goldfish is that they love variety and if you want them to grow, do just that! You can add a good quality pellet such as Jappies Fish Food or New Like Spectrum into the mix. Also give them an assortment of fresh veggies like lettuce, spinach, or broccoli for treats. You should be feeding two to four times per day, only as much as the fish can eat in two - three minutes.

Remember! Uneaten food will pollute the water and cause ammonia spikes, which can become fatal if not take care of.

Filtration

Being the Batman fan that I am, I simply couldn't resist adding this photo. First of all, it's not JUST a goldfish. If you say that to any goldfish enthusiast, they will likely slap you cross eyed... Me included.

Filters remove the uneaten food and waste products from the water, so you can have a nice, clean tank. Filters also grow beneficial bacteria that eat ammonia and break it down to nitrite and eventually, into nitrate, which is much less harmful to fish. Think of the bacteria as neutralizers. Not only do these bacteria's live in the filter, but they also live in the substrate and surfaces within the aquarium. They do NOT live in the water, so doing water changes will not remove them.

My rule of thumb is to have a filter that circulates the water volume 8 - 10 times per hour. For example, a sixty gallon tank would have a turnover rate of 480 to 600 gallons per hour. I highly recommend the Aqua Clear 70's as an excellent hang-on-back filter.

Don't forget to rinse your filter media with weekly water changes!