Make Your Goldfish Live a Longer Happier Life -10 yrs

Learn how to make your favorite buddy, your gold fish live a longer and healthier life. Believe it or not, a goldfish should live for 10 to 25 years or longer if it's given the proper care.

The Guinness Book of World Records cites a goldfish named Tish that lived 43 years after being won at a fair in England in 1956! Here's how to help your scaly companion survive into the "golden years."

Purchase the largest possible tank for your goldfish. While using a 2.5 gallon tank instead of a small bowl will increase longevity, 10 gallons per fish or more is preferred. Choose a tank with a large surface area to increase the amount of oxygen in contact with the surface of the water (i.e. wider is better than taller).

Set up the tank prior to the purchase of fish. Getting it ready may take two or more weeks. It is necessary to build up enough bacteria to break down the fish's wastes. To do this, do the "Fishless

Cycle" (see external links below). Once completed, your aquarium will have more than enough bacteria to break down the wastes your fish can produce. Failure to cycle a tank may result in ammonia poisoning.

Provide mental and physical stimulation for the fish. Decorate the tank with gravel, bridges, plants, etc. Gravel provides a place for good bacteria to grow, and goldfish like to hide and swim through little buildings and bridges. Rearrange the bridges and plants on a monthly basis to offer the goldfish "new" areas to explore.

Add a filter. It does not have to be fancy or expensive, but goldfish can be very messy creatures.

Without a filter, smaller tanks may foul in just a day or two. Keep in mind that having a filter doesn't mean you can avoid cleaning the tank. Even with a filter, be prepared to change 20% to 50% of the water about once every week or two.


Place an air pump in the tank. Just like humans, fish need oxygen to survive, but they must extract it from water with their gills. The bubbles from the air pump will increase and maintain the levels of oxygen available in the water. A good power filter with adequate water flow will also likely provide enough oxygen.

Clean the tank regularly. This is essential. The rule of thumb is that if stirring the gravel brings up debris, then the water needs to be changed. How often you do this will depend on the size of your tank, the number of fish, and the effectiveness of the filter.

When you add/change water, let the water sit for 24 hours in a separate container with dechlorinator added. This will allow chlorine to evaporate and the dechlorinator will remove chlorine and other minerals from tap water.

Letting it sit will also allow the temperature to equalize. However, most tap water now is processed with chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia that does not leave the water even if the water is set out for long periods of time. Chloramine is also much more toxic to fish. Purchase aquarium drops, such as AquaSafe, Tap Water Conditioner, Stress Coat, etc, which ensures the safety of the water for the fish and use it according to the instructions. Make sure that the bottle states that it will remove chloramine.

Use a pH test to ensure your goldfish's water is not too basic or acidic. This can be purchased at any pet store. Do not modify the fish's water, however, unless it is significantly different from neutral.


Goldfish can tolerate a wide pH range, and pH modifying chemicals are not a lasting solution without more consistent monitoring than most people will do. A range of pH 6.5-8.25 is fine. Many municipal water supplies buffer their water up to around 7.5, and goldfish will live very happily in this range.

Do not remove the goldfish during a water change unless the bowl or tank is too small. Using a gravel vacuum to suck debris out of the gravel can be done with the fish in the tank. Frequent partial water changes are better than full (and stressful) water changes.

If you DO need to catch your fish, consider using a plastic container rather than a net, as the fish can injure its fins and scales while thrashing around. This also increases stress! If a net is the only option, soak it prior to use. Dry nets are much more likely to cause injury than wet ones.

Allow the water temperature to change as the seasons change. While goldfish don't like temperatures over 75 degrees Fahrenheit, they do seem to like seasonal variations where the temperature falls to the high 50s or 60s in the winter. Fancier goldfish are an exception and cannot easily tolerate temperatures below about 60 degrees F. Be aware that goldfish will not eat below 50-55 degrees F.

Feed the goldfish once or twice daily with food specifically designed for goldfish. If you choose to feed them twice, then reduce the size of the meals. Give them only as much as they can eat in a few minutes, and clean any leftovers immediately.

Be sure to regularly clean leftover food and waste from the gravel.

If the air pump is too strong for the size of the tank, you may place a clip or commercially available valve on the tubing and reduce the amount of bubbles.

It is less likely that a goldfish will live a long time if you put it in a goldfish bowl. Although they can survive in a bowl, they will be much happier in a large tank. Goldfish in bowls tend to be stunted and die prematurely due to the lack of room and very poor water quality.
Carbon is arguably unnecessary. It will mask a lot of problems, and eventually it will leak all toxins back into the water.

Goldfish can grow to be over 12 inches long if put in large enough tanks or ponds!
Test your water for pH, hardness, and alkalinity initially. If your water is soft, adding some oyster shells to a mesh bag is good as it can help raise the hardness and buffer the water. Goldfish like water with a pH of 7 to 8 and moderate hardness.

Goldfish also like aquarium salt. This is different from salt used in oceanic tanks, rather a freshwater salt that releases electrolytes to improve overall health.

Gravel is a necessity in the long run. Though large rocks and colorful stones look pretty alone, gravel allows the growth of beneficial bacteria that reduce the ammonia levels of the tank.

Test the levels of Nitrite, Ammonia and Nitrate before each test. Ammonia and Nitrite are very poisonous and any level over 0 PPM is bad. If the readings are above 0 PPM check more frequently and do more frequent water changes. Nitrate is alright up to levels of about 20 PPM.

Avoid using gravel that is sharp or of such size as the fish can get it stuck in their mouths.
Be careful when adding multiple goldfish to the same tank, as they can spread diseases. When at the pet store, check to make sure the fish look healthy. If there are an abnormal number of dead fish, then use caution when buying. New fish should be quarantined away from the old fish to reduce spreading parasites, bacteria, and/or fungus.

If you are worried about the quality of the tap water in your area, call your local pet store and ask if the water is usable for fish. Your local government should be able to give you a water quality report if you have city water which will give you an idea of the water chemistry.

Be sure there is no soap or detergent residue in the container you use for your water changes. This is poisonous to fish.

If you are using a water heater, don't leave it on for extended periods of time. Also, heaters are

prone to malfunctioning and can stay on even after they are set to turn off, so monitor them with a thermometer. Most modern heaters work well and should not malfunction.

Be careful when transporting your goldfish to and from college or when moving. Stress can reduce the lifespan of a goldfish.

Get a top or lid for the tank so your goldfish cannot jump out.

Many cities put chloramine in water rather than chlorine. Chloramine does not evaporate and must be removed by adding an additional chemical. Any ammonia remover should do the job.

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