Some goldfish are actually known to be relatively aggressive, like the Ryukin. Because of this, they should not be kept with more delicate breeds, such as Bubble Eyes or Pearlscales. A good tank mate for a Ryukin would be Fantails and some of the single-tail varieties, such as the Shubunkin or the Comet – or of course other Ryukins!

Oranda’s generally do okay with other slow moving types of goldies, such as longer finned Telescopes and Moors. However, sometimes this doesn’t even work out because the Oranda may start picking at the Telescope’s eyes – or it may be reversed where the Telescope or Moor begins to nibble on the Oranda’s wen!

Goldfish such as the Pearlscale and the Bubble Eye should only be kept with their own kind due to how fragile they are. You should always pick out their tank decorations with caution as well, since sharp ornaments can rip scales off and puncture eye sacs.

Some Final Words About the Different Types of Goldfish

Goldfish may be a very popular first pet for many people, but they certainly aren’t for the majority of beginning fish keepers. There’s a lot of information to learn about their care before you can ever hope to see one grow to adulthood.

Many goldfish can tolerate less than perfect fish tank conditions for a short amount of time, but you should always remember that just because your Goldie is surviving it may not be thriving – and isn’t the goal of keeping any living animal in captivity to have it thrive in its environment?

© Fish Problems

Unfortunately, many new goldie owners are led to believe that goldfish live happily in bowls – and this couldn’t be further from the truth!

A goldfish that lives a whopping four months in a bowl didn’t even come close to its full life expectancy, yet most people think that’s normal and just keep replacing Bubbles.

There are many different types of goldfish, and every single one of them will outgrow a bowl – in fact, most of them will even outgrow a 20 gallon aquarium as well. For the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to group goldfish into two categories – fancy and single-tailed.

The fancies have a double tail and a very round, egg-shaped body that can grow as large as a softball. Single-tailed goldies are a very stream-lined fish that can grow up to a foot in length, and sometimes over! An example of a fancy goldfish is an Oranda, and by single-tail we are referring to breeds like Comets and Shubunkins.

But I’ve Always Kept Goldfish In a Bowl?

There are many reasons why your new goldfish can’t live its life in the confines of a glass bowl. Here are some of the most important ones.

1. Goldfish are very messy fish in general.

If you were to keep a baby goldfish in a bowl, you would be doing multiple water changes per day in an effort to keep the water quality pristine. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the time to dedicate to such an endeavor.

Goldfish are not only very messy when they eat but they are also constantly grazing which leads to quite a bit of fish waste throughout the day. It’s hard enough to keep the ammonia levels from breaching deadly toxicity in an adequately sized fish tank – imagine how much more work a bowl is going to be.

2. Goldfish grow very large, very quickly.

Goldfish don’t stay small for very long, and as they grow that tiny bowl won’t be enough room for them to comfortably turn around in. Expecting a goldfish live in a bowl is similar to buying a dog crate with your Chihuahua in mind, and then deciding that you’d rather put a Great Dane in it.

3. Goldfish need oxygen and plenty of it.

Goldfish rely heavily on well-oxygenated water to function properly. A bowl just cannot provide this for them.  Once you place them in an environment where the oxygen is limited they will begin gasping at the surface and showing signs of distress.

The surface area is a large factor in aerating the water – a bowl does not provide a very long or wide surface and thus does not have good potential for aeration. Just remember, the bubbles from your air stone do not magically put oxygen into the water – the disturbance at the surface of the water does.

4. Goldfish need a good filter, it’s not an option.

Because they excrete so much ammonia throughout the day a goldfish needs a good filter that can remove the waste from the water. A good filter should be able to filter at least twice the amount of water you have in the tank, and it should provide all of the three types of filtration – biological, mechanical and chemical. It would be impossible to find a filter that meets these requirements and still fits on the side of a fish bowl.

Some Final Considerations About Having Goldfish Live in Bowls

© Fish Problems

Aside from the above reasons, keeping a goldfish in a fish bowl is just cruel. You wouldn’t subject any other kind of pet to this kind of inhumane abuse, so why would you be willing to let a goldfish live in an environment that forces it to swim around in its own waste?

Provided that it receives good care, that tiny goldfish has the potential to live a couple decades. They may not be able to come out of the water and sit on your lap or kiss your face, but they do recognize their owners. If you aren’t willing to commit to the level of care that a goldfish requires then you should probably consider a different type of pet that doesn’t require as much space and maintenance.

1. Sliced oranges.

This is one of those treats that almost all goldfish seem to love! Take the orange and make a thin slice — almost like you’re going to serve it on the side of a drink. You can then chop it up into tiny bite-sized pieces or leave it in a larger chunk for them to pick at. Just remember to take it out after about an hour so that you don’t risk your water quality!

2. Frozen blood worms and brine shrimp.

Just remember to thaw them out first and then rinse the juice off before you offer them to your goldfish!

3. Live worms.

Earthworms can make excellent treats for your goldie, just keep in mind that you will probably have to cut them up into smaller pieces before you can offer them as a treat.

4. Goldfish flakes.

As ironic as this sounds, goldfish flakes can make a relatively good treat — just don’t use them as your goldies only source of food. Make sure you place them underneath the water as opposed to allowing them to float on the surface — you want to prevent your goldfish from gasping at the surface.

Some Final Words Regarding Feeding Goldfish

Once you’ve realized that you will have to look somewhere other than the standard goldfish flakes in order to create the perfect goldfish diet, you’re well on your way to having a long-lived goldfish that will thrive! Just remember that the key to a healthy diet is variation, so don’t choose only one food. Instead, it’s best to rotate through several primary foods, and supplement the diet with a few healthy treats as well.

If you are using any kind of dry or flake food always remember to moisten the food and then offer it below the surface of the water — a turkey baster works incredibly well for this!

And remember, your goldfish does not have to eat multiple times a day — or even every day for that matter. Depending on your individual stocking levels and tank size, it may be beneficial to your fish if they were fed every other day to help keep the ammonia down. If you choose to feed your goldie multiple time per day make sure you are only offering a small portion each time. Overfeeding will not kill him, however the water pollution that results from an excess of uneaten food and increased fish waste will.

1. Plenty of green vegetables.

You might not enjoy eating your veggies at dinner, but your goldfish loves them! You can use both fresh and frozen, or even a mixture of both. Try to remember to stick them in a microwavable safe bowl, filled with water, and heat them up for a few seconds — Regardless of the type you decide to go with. Zucchini, squash, green beans, broccoli and peas are all wonderful choices! You can also use just about any kind of leafy green found at the supermarket — you don’t have to toss these in the microwave, but it would be best to use a clip to hold them in place while your goldfish is eating.

2. Frozen food.

Try to stick with vegetable-based varieties, although the occasional brine shrimp or blood worms won’t be harmful. There are quite a few formulations that are spirulina-algae based — you can find these in packages that are formulated for African cichlids, algae eaters, and aquatic turtles. Just remember that if you choose to go with frozen food you should always allow it to thaw out before you offer it to your fish — and your water will stay considerably cleaner if you rinse the juices off before feeding!

3. A vegetable-based flake food.

While most flakes formulated for goldfish aren’t suitable, many of the veggie-based ones are — as long as they are truly vegetable/algae based. Always remember to check the label before you buy the bottle, and look for ingredients like spirulina and kelp in the first few items listed — these should come BEFORE any meat based ingredients! Many suitable veggie flakes can be found in the saltwater section of your local pet store. There are a lot of ‘veggie’ flakes that contain more fish and shrimp ingredients than they do vegetables.

Ready to wrap the discussion up and take a look at some healthy goldfish treats?

Click here to jump to the next section!

Most of the goldfish flakes out there are also very high in protein with a minimal amount of fiber – this should be the other way around! Fancy goldfish should be kept on a maintenance diet that contains larger amounts of fiber so that you can avoid having to deal with a constipated goldie. This is very important when you’re keeping the ones with very exaggerated egg-shaped bodies because their intestines are also likely to be distorted.

Constipation Is No Laughing Matter When It Comes to Feeding Goldfish

When your goldfish is fed a very high protein diet, he is not able digest it properly and thus move it out of his system. Once he becomes constipated, it leaves him at a much higher risk for developing buoyancy problems — commonly referred to as “swim bladder disease” by those who don’t realize that there are many factors that can make your goldfish turn upside down and they aren’t all related to the swim bladder!

By feeding your goldie a diet high in fiber you are helping to ensure that he can properly digest all of his food — and doing so will prevent him from developing one of the most common problems with Goldfish. A good way to assess whether or not your goldfish constipated is by taking a few minutes to observe his feces daily. You are looking for a solid, brown string that doesn’t have air pockets or strings attached. If you notice that his poop looks very clear and stringy something is either wrong with his diet or he may possibly have internal parasites.

All right, so now that we’ve covered why Goldfish flakes aren’t a balanced diet let’s take a look at what we really should be feeding goldfish!

Click here to jump to the next section!

Did you miss the previous type of goldfish? We’ll see you when you get back!

Shubunkins and Comets both exhibit a similar appearance in body style. They are both very stream lined fish, and I generally refer to them as being torpedo-shaped. They are a single-tail variety of Goldfish, which is a trait that instantly places them at an advantage to double-tailed breeds – all of the previously mentioned types of Goldfish were double-tails. They grow to approximately 8 inches and 12 inches, respectively, which makes them excellent candidates for outdoor ponds!

The Shubunkin is a calico goldfish, while the majority of Comets you see are orange. There are obviously exceptions to this generalization! Some of the prettiest Comets are completely white or tri-colored. Many people find that their Comet will undergo a complete color transformation as it ages — it is not uncommon for a gold fish to turn white, or for a black one to go orange. Both breeds can have either long or short fins.

A Shubunkin or Comet is neither movement nor sight impaired. They have the ability to move very quickly because of their torpedo shaped bodies. Longer-finned varieties will move considerably slower than their short-tailed brethren, but still much faster than say, an Oranda!

Keep going to learn about what types of goldfish should not be kept together.

Pearlscale Goldfish may be one of the most comical looking goldies yet! They are purposely bred to have a very deep, rounded body that causes them to appear to waddle around the tank – even more so than an adult Oranda. Their scales are meant to protrude out from the body, similar to little beads – this is the reason behind the name Pearlscale.

However, please don’t confuse a Pearlscale’s upraised scales to a fish that is exhibiting the symptom Dropsy ( Yes, it’s a symptom not a disease). Every scale on a healthy Pearlscale will connect completely to the body. However, a fish that has developed Dropsy will have scales that ‘pine cone’ out from the body. It is very easy to distinguish between a Pearlscale and a pine-coned fish by taking a look at their profile from above.

A Pearlscale is movement impaired, which is pretty easy to see once you have watched one swim around for a few minutes! Different fish have varying degrees of roundness, but they all move pretty slowly in comparison to the other types of Goldfish out there.

Ready to read about the next type of goldfish?

Did you miss the previous type of goldfish? We’ll see you when you get back!

Bubble Eyes are a type of Goldfish that has been bred to have large, fluid filled sacs underneath their eyes. Similar to Ranchus and Lionheads, they lack a dorsal fin. Bubble Eyes come in a very diverse set of colors — the most popular being orange. A completely black one is a very pretty fish!

The Bubble Eye Goldfish should not be kept with sharp tank decor or anything else that might damage its delicate eye sacs – this is a lot easier than it sounds! The sacs will generally grow back if they are punctured, however the initial damage leaves the goldfish very vulnerable to infection while it is healing. A damaged eye sac may never grow back to the same size, which is one of the leading reasons you see Bubble Eyes at the pet store with one bubble sac smaller than the other one!
A Bubble Eye would be considered a movement impaired Goldfish – however, large eye sacs that come up into the eye would also make them at a disadvantage sight-wise as well. The combination of large fluid sacs and the lack of a dorsal fin make it very hard for this Goldfish breed to get around in the fish tank. If you’ve ever personally kept one you can attest to them being a very clumsy fish!

Ready to read about the next type of goldfish?

Did you miss the previous type of goldfish? We’ll see you when you get back!

For the purpose of this discussion I am grouping Telescopes and Moors together – without getting too technical, they are essentially the same exact fish when it comes to body shape. Both breeds of fish have a very odd shape to them – the body is on the long side, but still considered round, and the eyes protrude a good distance from the head. From above, they almost appear to be miniature hammerhead sharks!

A Moor is a completely black Goldfish – a well bred specimen should be so dark it appears to have a velvety texture. Did you know that the term ‘Black Moor’ is actually a redundant phrase? All you are saying is ‘Black Black’ Goldfish! A Telescope Goldfish can come in a variety of different colors. There are tri colored ones, red ones, calico ones and plain white ones.

Unfortunately, many of the Moors out there have been bred from very poor stock. This results in a fish that does not retain its black color. Many people are dismayed to find their Moor transform into a tri colored Telescope over a relatively short amount of time. While this can still lead to a very attractive looking fish, it definitely isn’t what you thought you were purchasing!

Both Telescopes and Moors should be considered movement and sight impaired. Their over-exaggerated eyes make them very top heavy which makes it difficult to move quickly, and the direction that their eyes point results in a difficulty navigating the tank. Celestial Goldfish would also fall under this category.

Ready to read about the next type of goldfish?

Did you miss the previous type of goldfish? We’ll see you when you get back!

Ryukin Goldfish are a very regal breed of goldie. A well bred Ryukin will also have a very deep, egg shaped body. However, unlike the Oranda they will not develop the wen on the top of their head. As long as they have a good genetic background, they will also develop a very deep hump behind their head.

You can purchase Ryukins in all kinds of colors – one of the most common varieties in my area are the calico ones. They also come in white, black, orange and tri colors. I really like the red and white ones that have a lot of contrast to their colors.

Because the Ryukin does not develop a wen or protruding eyes it can move a lot faster than a lot of the other breeds — there are both short and long tail fin varieties. Many people have observed their Ryukin fin-nipping the other goldfish that it is kept with. This is especially apparent when the other tank mates move too slowly to get out of the way.

Ready to read about the next type of goldfish?