Goldfish Tips - Keeping The Aquarium Clean

You do clean your house don’t you? Well you have to clean your Goldfish’s house too and it’s a lot simpler! Cleaning and maintaining a goldfish tank is a must because this breed is really dirty. Even a teenager’s room would be better than a goldfish tank that’s left alone for a week! The Goldfish are descendants of the scavenger Carp fish and that makes them scavengers too. They will eat a lot, which means that they will produce a lot of fish waste that will degrade the quality of the water. More than a complete overhaul of the tank, you will need to give frequent weekly cleanings.
How do you use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank?
You will need to use a siphon to clean your goldfish tank because it efficiently cleans up the muck, does not disturb your fish and is easy to use. It’s essential to use during the partial water changes. A typical aquarium gravel vacuum would be a wide tube attached to a narrower siphon tube. By cleaning the gravel every week you would get rid of a lot of substances that could turn toxic for your fish over a period of time. Here’s how you begin the siphoning process:
* Put a bucket on a low stool or even on the floor in front of the fish tank, and place the wide end of the gravel vacuum in the tank.
* Now gently suck at the other end and hold it over the bucket. Once you feel the water flowing into the tube let it flow into the bucket. Be careful not to swallow the water though- but even if you do, it isn’t going to be harmful!
* Now that the siphon has started, use the wider end to suck out the dirt and debris out of the gravel and flow out of the tank into the bucket.
* Pass the vacuum end over all the gravel and keep doing so till you have removed 10 to 15% of the water.
* If gravel gets stuck in the vacuum, release the gravel by plugging the other end of the siphon tube with your finger or thumb.
* When you want to stop the siphon just raise both ends above the level of the tank
* To stop the siphon, simply raise either end of the siphon above the surface level of the fish tank.
There are gravel vacuum that can be attached to a faucet but this would mean that you be putting back tap water directly into the tank which might not be good for your goldfish if there is a marked temperature difference. Also you would be adding all the chemicals present in the tap water without allowing the chlorine to evaporate. The best option is to keep a container of fresh water overnight.
The Weekly 10-15%
Cleaning your tank is essential to your goldfish’s well being. In fact, both your plants and your goldfish need fresh, clean and healthy water to survive. All you need to do is set aside a little time every week to do what is called a Partial Water Change or 10-15% Water Change. This weekly routine will not only keep your aquarium look nice and clean, it will keep your goldfish healthy. Partial water changes are no sweat – all you have to do is scrape the algae, vacuum the gravel and replace the water you remove with fresh water. Here’s what you need to do:
* Remove the algae on the surface of the tank with an algae scraper before you siphon out the water.
* As the name suggests you need to remove 10 to 15% of the water from your aquarium.
* There is no need to remove your fish to a separate container.
* As you remove the water use the siphon to remove the messy deposits in the gravel.
* In case you have an under gravel filter, then you would have to clean the gravel during weekly water changes.
* Do not take out all the ornaments and decorations and scrub them clean because you might destroy some of the much-needed beneficial bacteria that act as natural biological filter.
* You can clean the filters during the weekly water change but do not change all the cartridges, sponges, carbon packets, etc., as this might remove all the good bacteria and harm your goldfish in the long run.
* Also remember to rinse any new filter media in cool running water before introducing it to the system.
* Once you have siphoned out 10-15% of the water and most of the dirt and the alga, it’s time to replace the amount of water you removed with fresh, dechlorinated tap water which has been left at room temperature over night, in container free of soap residue.
* Use a siphon to transfer the fresh water into the tank as this would be a gentle way to put the water back in and it won’t disturb the plants and the gravel. You would also spill a lot less!
* Do make sure that the fresh water is of somewhat the same temperature as the water in the tank. You cannot just dunk in cold water because Goldfish are not tropical fish. Do remember to leave enough space between the top of the water and the tank hood so that your goldfish get enough oxygen to breathe in.
What not to do:
* If you see that the level in your aquarium has gone down, do not simply add water to make it level again. This is harmful, as you are not getting rid of the impurities in the water. You are just adding water without removing the dirt and thus making the water harder and more difficult for the goldfish to live in. So don’t add water to top off the tank, do a partial water change.
* Never add water directly from the tap. Please keep a separate container only for aquarium use and leave the water overnight so that the harmful chemicals and chlorine evaporate.
* Please do not skip weekly water changes because if you do not partially change the water, you are allowing the build up of waste products like Nitrate that are not removed by the filter, and contribute to the growth of algae.
Dane Stanton -www.goldfish-secrets.com 
Dane Stanton is an expert on goldfish health care. To visit his website visit http://www.goldfish-secrets.com for more information on Goldfish care and other aquarium related topics. *Recommended*
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dane_Stanton

Goldfish Tips - Finding Out The Gender of Your Goldfish

Boy or Girl?
How can you tell whether your Goldfish is male or female? You might want to know because you want to breed them, or give them the right name before Jack turns out to be the mother Goldfish! Here are some clues that might help you sort out the Goldfish boys from the Goldfish girls:
* The female Goldfish are slightly bigger than the males and look even heavier in the abdomen when they are full of eggs.
* Male Goldfish develop white spots on their gills and pectoral called “breeding tubercles” during spawning time.
* Males have midline ridges on their undersides beginning from the back of their pelvic fins and ending at their vent opening. This feature can be absent or smaller in females.
* Males have firm abdomen while in females; the area between the pelvic fins and the anal fins is more pliable.
* Male Goldfish have longer and pointed pectorals as well as stiff fin ray, while females have more rounded pectorals and shorter, finer front fin rays.
* Male goldfish have smaller and more oval anal openings and the anal fins are not as thick as that of the female goldfish who has a larger and rounder anal opening with a slight protrude. The anal fin is also thicker.
* The spawning time is the easiest time to distinguish the boys from the girls. The female opening will look larger and more swollen as the eggs begin to ripen. She would look big and heavier. Since fish reproduce through external fertilization, you can make out when a male is ready by the white breeding tubercles and you can actually push out the milt through his ventral opening by running a gentle finger along his sides.
* There is one more obvious, but kind of time taking way to make out which one of your fish is male and female. Find out who is chasing who – the chaser will be the male and the chased and tired out one will be the female! It’s the natural tendency on part of the male goldfish to chase and nudge at a female’s rear part.
Dane Stanton - www.goldfish-secrets.com 
Dane Stanton is an expert on goldfish health care. To visit his website visit http://www.goldfish-secrets.com for more information on Goldfish care and other aquarium related topics. *Recommended*
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dane_Stanton

Goldfish Tips - Choosing The Right One

Tips to getting the right Goldfish
Goldfish are a temperate breed that can be found in cool streams, lakes, and ponds throughout Asia and part of Eastern Europe. However, the ones you will buy for your tank have been bred in captivity. Once you’ve decided that the Goldfish is the right one for you – you will need to find the right kind of goldfish. Take your time and find out more, rather than just rush out and buy the first goldfish you find in the first pet store you come by. Decide on how many you want to buy. If you really want just a single Goldfish, please do a re-think on the issue because it can get lonely and boring for a lone ranger in a tank! Once you’ve though it out, here are some of the things you must keep in mind:
• Choose the right pet shop. Ask people you know who are committed fish keepers for reputed goldfish dealers. These are the people who care and would have professional knowledge of breeding and nurturing goldfish. See if they give a proper fish guarantee. When you enter the shop, look around at all the tanks. Make sure that the tanks are not overcrowded with fish. See if all kinds of fish are thrown together in one tank or care is taken to separate the various species. Look out for dead floating fish. The dead fish could have spread an infection to the other fish.
• Question the Goldfish Dealer. If the dealer claims that the goldfish are imported, then find out which country they are from and when they arrived. Ask him or her is the correct quarantine procedures have been adopted before putting up the goldfish for sale. If they were bred, find out when they were bred and how the fish have been kept till now as in what kind of medications if any has been used and for how long. Find out if the dealer has used salt in the water.
• Observe how the fish swims. This is a good gauge to identify healthy fish. A fish should be active, swimming with ease and style and poking around curiously at nooks and corners. Choose a goldfish that looks active and doesn’t wobble or tilt to one side or just rest at the bottom. Tap the tank and see how the goldfish reacts. A fish that is slow in its reaction might be a sick one. Make sure that it’s not opening its mouth too much for air, as it might be an indication of problems with the gills.
• Check out the fins. Make sure that the dorsal fin is straight and stands up. The backs of the goldfish should be smooth, without unsightly bumps. Also check that all the fins are healthy, even and are not rotted away or damaged. In all, a Goldfish should have a dorsal fin (unless it is a goldfish without a dorsal fin), pectoral fins that extend out on sides, two anal fins or one right in the middle. Beware a goldfish with just one anal fin that’s placed kind of off to one side. It could mean that the other anal fin is growing inwards and that could be fatal to the goldfish.
• Inspect the looks. Make sure that you give the goldfish you are choosing a thorough look over. See that the fish has a nice symmetrical shape and make sure they don’t have large heads compared to their body. It would do good to feel the fish to check if the skin is too slimy or too dry but at least ensure that the skin is free of spots and odd bumps and that the gills are red. There should be no redness in the anal region and definitely nothing sticking out or leaking out. The outside of the mouth should be free from redness and white strings and the eyes free from white flecks.
• Bag ‘em right. Where you’re buying goldfish, you will have to put them in the ubiquitous plastic bag, but do so with care. Make sure that the dealer leaves enough space on top for the oxygen and the right amount of water. The right amount of the water is that which covers the fish. Do not allow the dealer to add any medicine or drops or anything else. Don’t make the bag too tight and avoid a big bag that might lead to too many folds in which the fish could get trapped and hurt. The bag should be tied till it is adequately taut.
Dane Stanton - www.goldfish-secrets.com 
Dane Stanton is an expert on goldfish health care. To visit his website visit http://www.goldfish-secrets.com for more information on Goldfish care and other aquarium related topics. *Recommended*
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dane_Stanton