Like their carp relatives, goldfish can jump, especially when startled. So, there’s always a danger that you’ll come home from work to find your beloved fishy friend stranded on the living room carpet because he’s leaped right out of his bowl! The most important step is, of course, getting a bigger tank. A goldfish is very unlikely tosurvive for long in a bowl. And, even if yourgoldfish did somehow survive long-term in agoldfish bowl, it would almost certainly suffer significant discomfort and would not grow to its full potential. That is, unless ammonia, nitrite or nitrate spike to high levels – as described above – in which case you should change 50% of the tank water immediately. Filter cleaning You may beable to gently pour the goldfish in, rather than causing unnecessary stress to the fish throughthe use of a net. The difficult bit is keeping your fish alive and healthy during the cycling process! To do this, you need to regularly take water readings using a test kit (we recommend the API Freshwater Master test kit) and change some of your fish’s water whenever ammonia ornitrite levels get too high.

Did you know that in October 2005, the lawmakers in Rome, Italy, passed a by-law that bans keeping goldfish in goldfish bowls? Other countries, including Switzerland, have since followed suit. You should aim for a filter that turns over ten times the volume of your tank per hour, or asclose to this as possible. So, if you have a 20 gallon tank, the filter should turn over 200gallons per hour. If in doubt, go for the biggerversion! Goldfish do best when kept in company with others of their kind, and keeping a goldfish alone in a bowl is cruel and stressful for the fish. If you measure more than 0.5ppm of either ammonia or nitrite (ppm = partsper million, this is the same as Mg/l, which stands for milligrams per litre) then change 50% of the tank water until the ammonia spike is under control. Try to look for a “long” style tank. They’re a bitshallower, but they contain the same amount of water because they are longer than standard tanks. This maximises surface area andswimming space!If the water temperature differs significantly between the two tanks then float the fish in asmall container within the main tank for a fewminutes before letting it swim freely. In this guide, we won’t judge you, patronise you or criticise any mistakes you may have made. We will simply offer clear, straightforward advice on how to recover from a poorstart to goldfish keeping and help you to look after your first goldfish properly. Add a filter—making sure that you choosea big enough filter for your tank! We recommend Fluval U-series filters, which come inmodels U1 (the smallest), U2, U3 and U4 (the biggest). There’s no enjoyment in keeping an animal in poor conditions where it cannot growand thrive, so get a new tank asap. “Sorry but I’m keeping my goldfish bowl!” Why? Goldfish produce a lot of waste and can grow to be over a foot long. A big, long tank gives them room to grow, space to swim andallows a stable colony of “good bacteria” to develop. This bacteria converts harmful chemicals into less harmful chemicals (more on thislater!). A big tank is key to goldfish health

Goldfish are super messy fish – they excrete a lot of ammonia, all the time. There is absolutely no way you will be able to properly cyclea bowl and keep the water quality pristine, even if you conduct daily water changes.There simply isn’t enough water to dilute the waste or enough room for a colony of ‘good’ bacteria to develop. So, how do we go about cycling the tank? It’s actually really easy. All you need is ammonia in the water (which your fish will naturally provide in its waste!) and the tank will naturally cycle in time. Cutfeeding to a minimum and you cut pollutionto a minimum too. We 100% guarantee thatyour fish will not starve. Goldfish can survivefor weeks without food! Step 2: If ammonia or nitrite rise above 0.5ppm or nitrate rises about 40ppm then do a 50%water change. Water changesLike their carp cousins, some goldfish species can grow to measure up to 12 inches long or even more in some cases. Even round-bodied fancy goldfish varietiestypically reach 6 to 8 inches in length. Why is this optional? Goldfish don’t need hig temperatures, so while a heater set to, say,76°F or more will encourage strong growthof good bacteria and your fish, it is not strictly essential. Also, a heater will reduce the amount of oxygen available to your fish, which is why you should add anair pump if youchoose toadd aheater! Step 3:

If you have a pet cat, the movement of a goldfish swimming around in a bowl can be incredibly tempting. If the bowl doesn’t have a cover, Tibbles could easily hook out your fish with her paw while you’re not around to stop her. Get a bigger tank as soon as possible! Ideally 20 gallons for one goldfish. If you have morethan one goldfish then add 10 gallons for eachadditional fish. ie. 20 gallons for one goldfish, 30gallons for two fish, 40 gallons for three fish, etc. But, as we just said, nitrite is still bad for your fish. So how do we then get rid of thenitrite? We convert it to nitrate.The number one mistake made by new goldfish owners is keeping their goldfish in abowl or small tank. Your fish’s living situation is now much betterthan when it was living in a tiny bowl and yourtank will be much easier to maintain from nowon (no more daily water changes!). As your goldfish grows – if it even gets past the first week – the water quality will continue to deteriorate and it will lead to many completely preventable goldfish diseases. Why you should avoid goldfish bowls A filter will help to keep your fish alive for a while,though, unfortunately, probably not for very long. Preparing your new tank For the reasons mentioned above, a goldfish bowl is not a suitable container for a goldfish, period. The aim of this goldfish bowl guide

So, the aim of cycling is to develop a colony of bacteria that will first convert ammoniato nitrite, then convert that nitrite to nitrate. We then control the nitrate levels with regular water changes. If you have a goldfish in a bowl or small tank then you need to take the following steps as soon as possible. Step 1:Test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at least once per week – ideally twice per week for the first few weeks after cycling – to make sure all your water parametersstay within acceptable limits. Add an air pump and an air stone. Put the airstone into your tank and attach it to the airpump (which sits outside the tank) with some tubing. Scooping the goldfish up in a jug of water(from its own bowl) and then floating that jug in the main tank for twenty minutes or sowill cause the water temperature in the jug to slowly change to that of the main tank. This will allow the goldfish to slowly adapt to thenew tank temperature and minimise stress. What is cycling?