Total goldfish newbie in need of advice

Hi all,
I'm not currently a fish keeper/owner (what's the correct fishy etiquette here?), but I was originally thinking, in the last few months, of getting a couple of goldfish to entertain my 3.5 year old son (and obviously be looked after by me).

However, on looking up what I'd need I've become completely overwhelmed, confused, and above all realised that fish really aren't a kid's pet (at least not a kid as young as mine). But, the more I've read, the more interested I've become for myself, rather than my son LOL.

I've only ever had goldfish before, as a kid myself, and all I knew was a small, maybe 20 litre (if that) bowl with a couple of goldfish in it, the typical child's set up, which I've only realised on doing some research is actually really, really bad . Obviously I don't want to do anything bad or cruel to the poor animals, I'd like to do it right, but I'm having trouble getting my head round what I've read (partly due to almost every site giving different information!)

Is it correct that even for just 2 or 3 normal goldfish I'd need around a 200l tank? That seems enormous to me! But hey, I'm not a fish, what would I know?

I'm looking generally to know what I need to buy, how many fish I should keep (are they social, do they need company?), should I keep just one type, where I should buy from etc.
I found the beginners section of the main site here, but it seems to be about tropicals rather than goldfish, so I'm not sure how much applies. Is the set up period (cycle?) as long for goldfish as for tropicals?
Do I need filters, PH meters, lights, aerators, real plants, etc, etc, etc or is some of that advanced stuff that I wouldn't necessarily need straight off?

I need to know everything basically LOL.

Hope I can get some help, thanks a lot in advance. (and go easy please LOL I know now that my original idea was bad, but I've learnt already, without even going near a fish )

Hi Geordie_girl,

For an intro post, I guess you're not going to have all your questions answered.

As for kids.... I think it is an excellent idea for young kids to 'own' fish, but let an adult actually do the looking after.
Let's face it, many kids get a dog and swear to look after it.....yet the parent ends up doing all the work.
At least fish do not require that much daily work. !!

Goldfish bowls are not the thing to keep goldfish in.
Inch for inch, ounce for ounce, a goldfish will tend to require more space than most (I say 'most') tropical fish.
Goldfish can grow quite large (even the fancy ones).

I'm not going to start giving dimensions on how big or small your tank should be, but a goldfish bowl is not an option (and for the price of decent tanks, goldfish bowls aren't even that economical and will give you more work to do).

But, the basic are a tank, water conditioners (to remove chlorine) and a filtration system.
To go with that, buy good quality food made specifically for goldfish (it is no more expensive than any other food).....poor or incorrect diet causes many deaths in goldfish.
You don't need a pH meter nor any other expensive piece of equipment.
A basic test kit would be strongly advised though to test mainly for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates (ie the bi-products of waste metabolism that will kill fish).

Anyway, I won't write a book on fish-keeping on a intro post.....I'm not being paid.

So...welcome along to the forum. There are goldfish keepers here (I am one).

ian

Best o luck get sorted once yer in yer HOOKED(pardon the pun)

Hi, it's pretty simple really but with the amount of info out there it might seem daunting, goldfish are relatively hardy but still need good water, as IAn said u need to condition the tap water with 'prime,
or similar to remove chlorine etc. goldfish produce a lot of waste compared to other fish. The water should be cycled by a filter that is running a few weeks prior to the fish going into the tank. Basically you have a mature good bacteria culture living in the sponges of the filter, these will allow the nitrogen cycle to happen, when cleaning sponges use only water from tank, tap water will kill the bacteria, water changes should be 20-25% per week. I would reccommend natural graver I. Bottom of tank as opposed to painted stone as these afr better for the bacteria, don't use ocean rock like what you'd see in some tanks ( these are for African cichlids) and will increase the ph to a level that's isn't good for goldfish, I wouldn't over do it with plants. Go with regular and maybe comet goldfish don't mix in the fat body ones as they can't get food as easily as regular goldfish and will suffer. I think a 120ltr should be fine for a while. As they get big you may have to move them on. make sure you filter outlet will disturb the top surface of the water or else get an airpump as these will add oxygen to water, don't overfeed and a little squashed pea with skin removed is good for their swimbladder and once a week is a good habit, hope that helps, typing from iPhone so my message is prob laced with typos!!
T

I bought by 260 l fish tank as a second hand one. People I bought it from kept goldfish in it. There were 6 big ones at the moment of sale having very limited space. They were keeping goldfish for some years but they also mentioned that as they were growing up very quickly, they were giving them back to their friend who had a pond. So, the 6 goldfish also went to that pond. Maybe try to find out if you are able to re-home yours when they become too big for the tank before you buy any.

By the way, welcome in Forum.

yep big tanks, big filters, if space or lack of funds for a big tank is an issue why not look into some other cooler water fish? or a heater? tropicals are not so daunting it is the exact same except a few quid more for a heater. tropicals, i am told cycle faster but there is more than one way to cycle a tank and different time periods for everyone.

STUDY!! le nitrogen cycle (ooh look at me getting all continental)
water, and something to hold it in (aim for the biggest you can afford)
filter, (when purchasing aim higher than your tank size, get two if possible)
heater, (optional) but if you want tropicals get two if possible. very handy to have a second
test kit, (dont buy the strips get the little bottles)
water conditioner (cheaper bought in bulk in the long run, and put in water before added to the tank)
gravel vac (to clean the bottom of the tank)
plants real or fake (both optional, but real are beneficial)