I won a goldfish at the fair, and now i'm not sure how to keep it alive. Websites aren't helpful, because no, I'm not going to spend the money for a 10 gallon tank and filter and water treatment for one damn fish.

Anyways, got it in a bowl w/ about 3/4 gallon of water, and it has some gravel and plants (which I think it just ate half of one) from the pet store in it, and I also have some goldfish flakes which it doesn't seem to know or care about. How often do I need to change the water and feed it? Can it live off the plants, is that why it's not eating the fish flakes?

fish are weird.

10/22/2009 3:48:15 PM

eat it

10/22/2009 3:49:25 PM

its a prize with a net worth of 15 cents

you got sucked out of an 80 cent stuffed animal

You'll get bored within a week and flush it

10/22/2009 3:50:49 PM

its going to die.

i did have one that lasted like 6yrs but we had a big fancy tank with a heater, filtration system, and i changed the water every couple weeks

10/22/2009 3:51:03 PM

Goldfish are very dirty. They really do need ~10 gallons each. If you keep it in something smaller change the water frequently. And don't clean what it's in with soap, ever.

10/22/2009 3:52:37 PM

it's not going to do well or live long. goldfish are the dirtiest pet fish. where you can normally go by the 1" of fish = 1 gallon of water rule with other fish, with goldfish the general rule is 10 gallons of water per fish, period. the need a lot of air circulation through the tank, like with a bubbler thingy, and a lot of filtration. they do not need heaters. they like cool water.

goldfish will eat anything they can put in their mouths but they do need protein.

[Edited on October 22, 2009 at 3:53 PM. Reason : ]

10/22/2009 3:52:49 PM

keep an eye on the water, when it starts to get cloudy or algae covered replace it, or better yet get a snail (that the fish won't eat!) it will take care of the fish poo and algae

get some de-chlorinating chemical so you can use tap water and drop of it should do the trick, really clean out the gravel every year or so?

they can eat plants and the fish flakes (flakes are more for protein), you shouldn't need anything fancy to keep them going really, just make sure there is plenty of surface area per unit of water and you should be fine (gas exchange) live plants help this

if it dies it dies

[Edited on October 22, 2009 at 3:53 PM. Reason : a swirly grave awaits]

10/22/2009 3:53:05 PM

stuffed animals weren't an option. I consider its entertainment value worth the $5 we spent trying to win it. Something to stare at when I'm tired of reading TWW

10/22/2009 3:53:19 PM

yeah, if it dies, I'll get a Betta

And I had it in an erlenmyer flask as temporary solution while I went home for the evening and could bring back a larger vase... it was gasping for air at the surface when I got back. Lesson learned

10/22/2009 3:55:33 PM

here's a question.... would DI water kill it??

10/22/2009 4:00:49 PM

if you got it from the fair, that shit will be dead within a week

10/22/2009 4:01:41 PM

My cousin won 2 goldfish at the fair and one of them lived for at least 10 years. It also kept growing to fit into the tanks it was placed in.

10/22/2009 4:07:35 PM

how big did it get

10/22/2009 4:10:39 PM

Quote :

"would DI water kill it??"

probably

10/22/2009 4:14:59 PM

i won a iguana one year with my beer pong skillz. died of mites though after like a week

[Edited on October 22, 2009 at 4:24 PM. Reason : iguana not lizard]

10/22/2009 4:24:10 PM

I have 2 black moors in a 5 gallon eclipse tank. They're ridiculously healthy, but I change the water ever week.

You need a filter in that tank, golfish are dirty dirty fish.

10/22/2009 4:32:26 PM

oh yeah, btw, it died. I dunno why. I'm thinking it gorged on one of the plants I put in with it.

10/26/2009 10:50:45 PM

i was going to ask if it's dead yet. gg, FISH KILLER

10/26/2009 10:51:16 PM

goldfish challenge

10/26/2009 10:52:49 PM

I have a lionhead goldfish in a 3 gallon filtered aquarium...had him in there for several months and he's happy and alive. On the other hand, I had a 15 cent goldfish from Petsmart that lived in a plain 1/2 gallon glass bowl with no filtration for over a year. He died when I went out of town for two days.

10/26/2009 11:35:13 PM

goldfish like cool water so you dont need to heat, but an aerator is good

10/26/2009 11:48:38 PM

i'll help you with your "goldfish"

10/26/2009 11:53:46 PM

Chilean Sea Bass?

https://www.wral.com/story/goldfish-is-changing-its-name-to-attract-adults/21685661/

10/24/2024 10:29:27 AM

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

10/24/2024 12:07:09 PM

Don't play games. Be an adult and eat store brand Great Value Penguin Crackers from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Baked-Cheddar-Cheese-Penguin-Crackers-19-oz-Kosher-Dairy-OU-Allergens-Not-Contained-Peanuts/1918527976

It's the ADULT thing to do!

10/24/2024 2:06:52 PM