Fish

It is good to have a basic understanding about your goldfish if you are keeping one in your tank. Oftentimes though, learning a little more is important to help better care for them. One doesn’t really need years of experience with fishes to successfully keep a goldfish. To have more knowledge about maintaining them, you could look up many reliable aquatic care websites online and get the information you need. However, when you feed your goldfish, do your regular maintenance and checkups, you get the chance to interact more with them. Constant interaction helps you get to know your fishes much better and have wider understanding of their needs and general behaviour.

When you are new to keeping fishes, you would find yourself often alarmed at every slightest change you will notice on them. Every fish keeper must be aware of the several diseases a fish can get and finding white spots on your goldfish’s gills would be reasonable enough to be concerned. However, if you are more familiar with goldfishes, you would know that finding white spots on goldfish gills is not an alarming thing, but a normal occurrence. These spots, more often called tubercules, naturally develop on the gill plates of a male goldfish when they sexually mature. The breeding tubercules feels like sandpaper when you try to hold your fish to feel the gills. Although sexual maturity of a goldfish could be attributed to several other factors like its size, age, sex and health, the white spots are one of the indicative factors.

When these white spots develop somewhere else in the body of your goldfish, and worse, noticing that your fish is somewhat unwell and irritated, it is an indication that it is sick. Your goldfish might be developing a form of fungal infection called Ich if you see spots on his body that appears like sprinkled salt. Unlike the breeding tubercules, these spots are soft to the touch. When these spots appear larger and more blotchy, your fish might be infected with columnaris (oftentimes called flex) which is a deadly bacterial infection. There is also a form of parasitic infection (called ‘White Spots’) that affects lesions incurred from rubbing against objects. They appear white and small like that of a pinhead size and are found on the fins and body of your fish. These many conditions often occur when your water conditions are not properly maintained.

The white spots on your goldfish’s gills do not indicate a problem. You see, your male goldfish is now in his prime. He is mature enough to mate, and you should prepare yourself coz you would soon be seeing newer members of your goldfish tank.

The popularity of goldfish among aquarists is owed to its amazing characteristics. Its attractive colors and lively nature brings so much life and energy to any home aquarium. But fish keeping isn’t just about bringing home a fish and putting in your tank for you to watch and enjoy. It involves some degree of care and time to make sure your fishes stay healthy and will live long. Maintaining your goldfish tank includes many aspects. The water conditions, temperature, lighting, equipments, feeding schedule and so much more needs to be attended to. One thing you have to make sure when caring for your goldfish is that they get adequate oxygen. Oftentimes, fishkeepers would notice their goldfish coming up to the surface of the tank or bowl appearing to be blowing bubbles. Others would think their fish is hungry, or trying to make bubble nests, or even playing around. When you see this behaviour in your goldfish, it is actually an indication that it is need of more air. A goldfish is very sensitive to oxygen shortage, and gasping for air at the water’s surface (‘blowing bubbles’) is the quickest way to express their distress.

Lack of air in the tank could be attributed to certain factors. Perhaps you are keeping your goldfish in a bowl or a small tank not adequate enough for the space your fish requires. Adequate space is needed in order for your goldfish to breathe properly. Make sure your tank is big enough, or if you do not have one, you should avoid overcrowding your tank. Too many fish could deplete the available oxygen in the water, and eventually suffocate your fishes. There is a guide followed by fishkeepers as to how much fishes you could stock in your tank to achieve enough space healthy enough for all aquarium inhabitants to thrive. Information for such could be obtained from fish care books and websites. But your local aquarium fish dealer could advise you on that too.

Live plants could bring a lot of good things to your aquarium and more importantly to your fishes. Adding plants to your aquarium is a good way to create an environment for your fishes that more closely resembles their natural habitat. Your aquarium inhabitants would appreciate having plants around coz it makes them feel more at home and to have lots of hiding places. It also makes your tank a lot more attractive. But their ability to give off oxygen is what makes live plants excellent additions to your tank. Regular water changes and maintenance is also a good way to keep parameters within acceptable limits. You should also check your filters and pumps and make sure they are working well. Keeping water temperature somewhere between 74 to 76 is said to be best in keeping goldfishes. When it’s too warm, your goldfish would try to swim up and gulp for air. Some would advise putting airstone in your bowl. Your goldfish blowing bubbles is something that should be given immediate attention. If these signs are ignored, it might be too late for you to save it.