Goldfish

Some types actually will limit their growth to their envoirmental surroundings, i.e. Space, food availibility, etc. Some types will grow normally until a certain size is reached and then continue to grow at a slower pace until it overgrows its container. Then there are types of fish that will just grow period. These are called tankbusters.

i think that's a bit like saying if i put a baby in a shoe box would it stay that small!

im not a biologist, so maybe im wrong, but a fish isn't going to naturally stop when it runs out of room. Its going to grow to its natural size... but chances are most cramped-up fish will die before they reach this size because of lack of space, lack of food and unnatural treatment.

Always research how big your fish will get before you buy it and make sure you can cope with it... fish arent toys and they don't deserve a horrible life. :) tom

I have heard this questiion over and over and the answer is simply no. what causes fish to become stunted are the high nitrate levels associated with too small a tank, not the size. either way, purposefully stunting a fish's growth is cruel,as the fish's organs will eventually fail. if you don't have a large enough tank, don't buy the fish.

P.S. i agree with tom.

EDIT:

Basically what we all want you to know, get the biggest tank you possible can, and the least amount of fish your gut allows. I always recommend tanks 100 - 350 gallons, they are most universal. Larger tanks are for real experienced people.

If the white is inside the eye, it is probably cataracts. There really isn't anything you can do except keep him as healthy and happy as possible. They are often genetic, or sometimes are caused by infection or injury. If the white isn't inside the eye, but on the outside, it could be from toxins like ammonia and/or nitrite. They burn the skin, eyes and gills. If the tank can't balance completely they will be elevated. This can happen when a tank is kept "too clean". I know it sounds strange, but if you are removing all the water and totally cleaning it every month, it never has the chance to build a healthy beneficial bacteria balance. Changing 25% of the water every week while vacuuming the gravel is a good regimen to follow. You should never have to remove all the water unless there is a serious pollution problem or a foreign substance has gotten in the water. If you are finding a lot of crud in the gravel, it means you are overfeeding. (Very common problem, I overfeed sometimes too.) If he has a hard time finding food, it is easy to overfeed because you will want the fish to get enough. Just do the best you can. They do have a sense of smell, so he can find it when he needs to. Feed sinking pellets if you don't already. Pellets come in many different sizes. Get one that fits in his mouth. He can find them before they disintegrate in the gravel and there will be less waste that way. I always recommend the sinking kind instead of floating pellets because goldfish suck in too much air if they are getting the food from the top. It can cause fatal indigestion.

If it were my fish and it looks like a outer eye infection, I would try cutting back on food and add aquarium salt to the tank. Use uniodized pure salt. You can buy it at local fish stores. Put in 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. When you make water changes, put back enough salt to treat the water replaced. For instance, your water changes are about 3 gallons, so you will add back 1.5 teaspoons every time. The salt helps the fish fight infection and it can also help kill the cause of infection. It is always best to avoid medicine when ever you can. Especially in chronic cases, hope this helps, i had a fish that lost both its eyes, looks horrid.

it is to get the food before it all gets eaten and also survive on its own without getting eaten by other animals

It can't be done. Goldies get huge unless they are the facy kind. Try a pond or get five in a thirty gallon.

That all depends on what is dirtying it in the first place. If you mean strip down and clean properly then any none abrasive cleaner will do the job provided you scrub all traces of the cleaner away before using the tank. If on the other hand you are refering to algae on the face of the tank then any of the glass cleaning equipment/scrapers sold in pets shops for that purpose should do the job. The new acrylics used are just about as hard as glass and should not scratch if you use sensible scrubbers.

It can be either these days due to some intensive breeding schemes, but it is typically the case that females have shorter finnage and duller colours (but as i said earlier this isn't always the case these days- your best bet would be to take a photo and ask at you local fish specialist

The amount of sand depends upon the design of your waterscape. I always have at least 3 inches of sand at the back and slope the substrate towards at least 1 inch deep at the front of the tank.

it is until they have sex then they forget everything.

A goldfish's gender will be very hard to determine before the goldfish is three years old. After this point, the male will develop little white pimple-looking things on his gills. These are called breeding stars. A female's fins will be more rounded and her tail will be convex.

Probably because its water is putrid. My advice is to do a water change ASAP. Then follow the basic rules for keeping fish. The fundamental rules for keeping any kind of fish are :- 1 inch of fish needs a minimum of 1 gallon of water. (more is much better) :- Every tank needs a permanently running cycled filter (it neutralises ammonia) :- Every tank needs at least 50% of its water to be replaced every week. (Keeps excess nitrate levels low) If you keep to the above rules your fish may stand a chance of survival. If you don't keep them I can guarantee that you will constantly have problems with your fishes health.

It probably means the fish is badly damaged and is dying. Please do a water change ASAP. Bad water is the commonest cause of death in goldfish. In order to keep fish sucessfully there are a few basic rules one MUST observe. They are :- 1 inch of fish needs at least 1 gallon of water. Every tank must have a permanently running 'cycled' filter. :- Every tank must have at least 50% of its water replaced every week..

Spawning gold fish are very active in backyard ponds.

They will "flash" - show their bellies, and chase each other around the pond.

When they go to lay their eggs you will see the females hovering on the bottom of the pond liner, and the males come over them, spreading their silt to fertilize the eggs.

Having goldfish spawn in a backyard pond is very exciting. To ensure that some of the newly hatched fry live to maturity and are not eaten by the adults in the pond, have some aquatic plants in the pond. I had great success with the hairy roots of water hyacinth.

Never. You should change the water a few times a week if the bowl is not filtered, but do't completely clean the blwl or wyou will destroy the benifical bacteria that converts ammonia and nitrite to nitrate and o2

Goldfish NEED 20 gallons for the first fish and an additional 10 gallons per additional goldfish. So for 3 goldfish you NEED a 40 gallon aquarium with A LOT of filtration.

Your 3 goldfish will be dead soon due to both ammonia poisoning and lack of oxygen.

Since goldfish have primitive gills, they require A LOT of dissolved oxygen in the water. Hence why they do better in unheated aquariums because cold water holds more dissolved oxygen then warm water does.

You need to clean that bowl like 3 times a day. It is cruelty to keep them in there. Goldfish are America's number 1 mistreated and abused pet because people cram them in bowls. When properly cared for goldfish have lifespans of 30 yrs and grow 8-24 inches depending on variety. I have personally seen 14 inch black moors and have a picture of a 15 inch red oranda.

yes they can give your pet fish bread. i tried it with my goldfish and it stayed alive for a month and half. the type of bread you can give you pet fish is white bread. you cannot give it the edge of the bread.

The sexual dimorphism of a goldfish can only be observed when the fish are in breeding condition (in Springtime) when the adult males develop white spots on their gill plates and sometimes the pectoral fins too. The females just get chubbier around the stomach area.

Goldfish jump out of the water for a variety of different reasons. Some gold fish need more oxygen than what is in their water for example.

Leaving a dead goldfish in your tank will boost ammonia levels.. You dont want ammonia in your tank. It rapidly kills fish

Damage to the fins is the first sign of bad (putrid)water. The fish will get very sick with gill and scale damage next and if you do nothing the fish will die. You urgently need to do a few major (at least 70%) water changes ASAP. Goldfish need a minimum of 1 gallon of water per 1 inch of body length. Even given a nicely set up, properly filtered, planted, well lit aquarium, they should also have at least 50% of their water replaced each week.

Depending on the type of goldfish they can be anywhere from 6-12 inches long.
Try the article at the website in related Links It is all about goldfish sizes

The same as role as lungs, to get oxygen. Only because there is little oxygen in the water the gills have lots of filinents with blood in counter-flow to the water such to maximise surface area and maintain a constant diffusion gradient for the best possible efficiency.

White spots on a goldfishes gills indicate that it is a male and in breeding condition. If the spots are on the body/fins etc it is usually the disease Ich otherwise known as white spot. This can be cured very easily by using one of several proprietory medications available from most pet shops.

As long as you have a filter and have treated the water with the correct amount of treatment it should only be a minute before it is safe to put it in, If you just have a filter and don't treat the water wait 24 hours if you can.

On people bummy bummy bum bum's and then people poo them out. :) thanks! I hope i have helped you :)