Feeding a goldfish

Providing your goldfish with a good, balanced environment will keep them happy and healthy for longer and give you less problems to deal with. You have two main responsibilities to your goldfish:
1) Feed them regularly with a good quality goldfish food.
2) Keep their water and tank clean and safe.

By following this simple guide to feeding and fish health you will be able to enjoy your goldfish and aquarium at its very best.

What goes in must come out

Your goldfish rely on you to give them a diet that meets all of their nutritional needs as well as being varied and enjoyable. Tetra’s wide range of goldfish foods and treat foods are manufactured to the highest quality using only the best ingredients, ensuring that they are not only highly nutritious but also well-liked by your fish.

Goldfish are the same as any other pet, you feed them and they create waste. Unfortunately for your fish, that waste is released into the water in which they live.To reduce the problem of waste it is essential to feed your goldfish on a high quality fish food. Poor quality diets may not only lack some of the essential nutrients that the fish require, but your goldfish will not digest the food properly.

Goldfish fed on TetraFin Flakes, Granules and Sticks will be more healthy and colourful than those fed on poorer quality diets.

How much do I feed and when?

Goldfish should ideally be fed two to three times a day, offering only as much as they will eat within a few minutes. Although your fish may look hungry, do not be tempted to feed them any more than this. Goldfish do not have stomachs and therefore do not get “full” in the same way as we do, meaning that they tend to keep eating if food is present. If you feed too much, the tank may become polluted and the fish will not utilise their food efficiently.

Which foods should I feed?

Tetra produces a variety of different feeds in order to suit the needs of every goldfish. TetraFin Flake Food provides the most balanced and nutritious diet possible for goldfish, promoting health and colour, as well as helping to maintain crystal clear aquarium water. TetraFin Flake Food should form the basis of the diet that you give to your fish to provide them with all of their nutritional needs. For younger children Tetra has developed a special food, TetraFin Floating Food Sticks, which are easy to use without the risk of overfeeding. These sticks can be given to your fish at a rate of two to three sticks per fish, two to three times a day. TetraFin Food Sticks have the same benefits as TetraFin Flakes and can also form the basis of your fish’s diet. If you keep fancy goldfish, or you want to vary your goldfish’s diet, then they can be fed on TetraFin Goldfish Granules. They can either be fed to your fancy goldfish two to three times a day, or fed occasionally as a change to TetraFin Sticks or Flakes.

Do Goldfish like a treat every now and then?

Fish, just like us, like a bit of variety in their diet, and so it is a good idea to offer something other than dry food from time to time. Tetra Fresh Delica is a range of treat foods that all fish, including goldfish, love to eat. They are available in three varieties: bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia, the sort of foods that goldfish like in the wild. They do not need freezing or handling, and they come in easy to use sachets.Your goldfish will really enjoy them and they are very nutritious as they are preserved in a vitamin-rich jelly.Tetra Fresh Delica can be fed twice a week, or more, as a treat food to supplement your goldfish’s normal diet.

Although there are many different Tetra Goldfish foods available, whichever one you choose you can be sure that it will provide your fish with all of its dietary needs.Try all the different foods and see which ones your goldfish prefer and then feed them on a variety of their favourites.

Feeding a varied and nutritious diet is vital for ensuring that your goldfish remain happy and healthy.

What else can I do to keep my Goldfish healthy?

Before we can give the answer to that question it is important for you to understand what happens inside your goldfish tank. Your fish live in a closed environment. This means that any waste that they produce will stay inside the tank with them and eventually make them sick and unhappy. The waste they produce is in two different forms: Solid waste and invisible ammonia.

Solid Waste
Like every other pet, goldfish produce waste. As it is broken down it uses up oxygen, pollutes the tank and can add to the conditions that lead to the growth of algae, making the water green. It also adds to the conditions that cause poor health in goldfish. It is therefore important to keep the build up of solid waste to a minimum. Tetra’s range of goldfish foods are of the highest quality, ensuring that solid waste is kept to a minimum whilst the fish receives all of its dietary needs. Poorer quality foods are less digestible resulting in high amounts of waste being produced.

Ammonia
Ammonia is very poisonous to goldfish, causing severe damage to their sensitive gills. Therefore it is very important that it is not allowed to build up in the tank. Even low levels of ammonia can be enough to cause problems for goldfish, leaving them weakened and open to infection. In fact, nearly all fish health problems can be linked to a drop in water quality. Poor water quality causes stress in fish, which in turn results in their immune system shutting down and leaving them open to infection and ultimately death. Goldfish kept in tanks or bowls without proper filtration are continuously exposed to ammonia and usually only last for a few months, or less, before dying. Goldfish are just the same as any other fish and it is unkind to keep them in a polluted environment.

How do I make sure that my aquarium does not become polluted?

Don’t worry, it is very simple to keep your aquarium in the perfect condition, provided you have the right equipment and that you change the water every three to four weeks. If you wish to change the water less often you can add Tetra EasyBalance to your tank.This refreshes the water just like a water change and cuts the time of changes down to every three to six months.

Filtration
Ammonia and solids removal is the job of the filter, the most important piece of equipment to have in your tank. It is unkind to keep fish in an aquarium without good filtration. Goldfish are often put into unfiltered tanks and worse still, bowls. Tetratec internal filters are specifically designed to remove ammonia and solid waste, whilst being easy to clean and maintain. To achieve this, they produce a colony of beneficial bacteria adding to the healthy environment in your tank.

Oxygen
Without sufficient oxygen levels your fish will become stressed and eventually unwell. They will also fail to grow properly and certainly won’t be as happy and lively as they should be.The bacteria in your filter also need oxygen, without it they will not remove ammonia properly. Tetratec filters and Tetratec Whisper air pumps are designed to increase oxygen levels in your tank.As well as this it is important to provide the right home for your goldfish. A good tank is much better that a tiny bowl which may not allow enough oxygen into the water. Don’t forget to pick up your “Providing a home for your Goldfish” leaflet to find out what equipment you need.

Keeping the perfect environment
Once you have installed the correct equipment it is important to keep up the good work.There are a number of simple, easily performed tasks that will keep your tank looking healthy and your fish happy.

Refreshing the Tank Water

Remember, we have already seen that your goldfish live in a closed environment. This means that you are responsible for taking care of some of the things that happen naturally in the wild. The most important of these is to keep the water fresh in your aquarium. This is because the water loses the minerals that are essential for the health of your fish over time. Also, as explained, your fish will produce waste and this pollutes the water and leads to a build up of elements that can harm the fish.

There are two ways you can do this:

1) Change one quarter of the water in your tank every 3 to 4 weeks.

2) Add Tetra EasyBalance to your tank water every week and then change half the water every 3 to 6 months instead.

If you decide to take option 1 you should make sure that you always treat any replacement water with TetraFin WaterSafe or AquaSafe to make it safe for your goldfish (remember tap water contains chlorine and heavy metals that are dangerous to fish).

Make sure that the new water is also as close to the temperature of the water already in the tank as possible. If you need to you can add some water that has been warmed in the kettle, but not water from the hot tap. Be careful with hot water and ask an adult to help you if needed.

Option 2 is even simpler but should only be used where your aquarium is fitted with a filter which is also aerating the water (you will know if your filter is doing this because you will see bubbles in the water). Alternatively you can use an air pump for this. Most importantly you should not add EasyBalance to the water if you only have a goldfish bowl or a tank without a filter or air pump.

EasyBalance refreshes the water in much the same way as a water change so that you need only then change the water once every 3 to 6 months. When you do change the water you should change half of the water in your aquarium and always treat with TetraFin WaterSafe or AquaSafe.

Keeping the aquarium clean

Even if you do have a filter, some solid waste will still fall to the bottom of the tank and become mixed with the gravel. As mentioned before, this can lead to a drop in water quality, cause disease and turn the water green. Therefore it is important to regularly “hoover” the substrate using a Tetratec HydroClean gravel cleaner. Doing this will ensure that the gravel remains clean all of the time, and it is far less time consuming and stressful for the fish than completely emptying the tank in order to clean it. Water changes are a perfect time to clean the gravel as the Tetratec HydroClean can be used to drain off the water at the same time as cleaning the gravel. If you use EasyBalance then gravel cleaning should be done according to how quickly dirt is building up (remember that all tanks are different in this respect).The filter should be maintained by cleaning the foams out in a jug of tank water. Never clean the foams using tap water, as this will kill the friendly bacteria which live in the filter and break down ammonia.

This should be done as often as needed, but if you do not have too many fish in your tank then it should be okay to do it at each water change. If you are using EasyBalance then the filter should be cleaned as and when it needs it (the cleaner it is, the more efficiently the bacteria work).

As well as cleaning the foams, all other parts of the filter should be checked and, if necessary, cleaned. Tetratec filters are easily dismantled and assembled, making this a quick and easy task. Carrying out tasks such as these on a regular basis will not only ensure that you keep your goldfish healthy, but also presents the perfect opportunity to check over your fish and ensure that all is well in the tank.

Don’t worry, all the jobs described here are very simple to carry out. Get into a routine with them and they will not be a chore.

Just remember your goldfish depends on you for all its needs and will be happier and live longer if you care for it properly.