Goldfish keeping doesn’t have to be difficult, frustrating…
…or expensive.
A goldfish bowl can actually be a GREAT home for your little fish – if you use it correctly.
Using these secrets I’ve learned over the years, it can be enjoyable, educational, easy and FUN experience!
Fun Fact:
Tish, the oldest documented goldfish (43 years!) lived in a bowl its whole life!
The following methods all use some kind of filtration. Filtration is important to help your fish stay alive, unless you prefer to do daily water changes instead (which can lead to your fish quickly outgrowing your bowl).
How to Set Up a Goldfish Bowl
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites
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Our Top Glass Goldfish Bowl |
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Tetra 1.8 gallon Waterfall Glass Goldfish Bowl |
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Our Top Plastic Goldfish Bowl |
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Tetra LED 3 Gallon Aquarium & Filter |
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biOrb Classic Fish Bowl |
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Our Top Glass Goldfish Bowl Picks
These goldfish bowls have exceptional surface area for better oxygenation, will not leach contaminants
into the water, will not scratch easily and are very durably constructed.
Tetra 1.8 gallon Waterfall Glass Goldfish Bowl
- Dimensions: 9″ wide diameter and 8″ tall.
- Includes built-in filtration and lighting
- Unique waterfall feature
Glass Goldfish Bowls by CYS EXCEL
The glass on these beautiful bowls is ultra thick (approximately 1/4″) and very durable. An extra large opening makes for easy access and more surface area for oxygen exchange. It comes in multiple sizes which are great value for the quality:
Drum Glass Fish Bowls by Anchor Hocking
If you are the kind of person that doesn’t like the distortion view that smaller globe-shaped bowls cause, the drum style is for you. Flat front & back offer unobscured viewing of the inhabitants, as well as allow you to easily suction heaters and filters to the side if needed.
Available in 2 sizes:
Our Top Plastic Goldfish Bowl Picks
These fish homes offer the same amount of swimming room as glass bowls
and can come in a wider selection of shapes and sizes
Tetra LED 3 Gallon Aquarium & Filter
While not technically a bowl, this cube holds the same amount of water as a 3 gallon bowl but takes up less space. It’s a great starter kit for those looking for a home for their goldfish. It’s a cost-effective option because it comes with the filter, lid and light included. The lid also helps prevent jumping antics common with fair fish/slim-bodied commons and comets.
Koller 3 Gallon Plastic Fish Bowl
If you want a reliable, sturdy basic goldfish bowl at a reasonable price, look no further than this one. It holds 3 gallons. The compact size makes it perfect for a desktop, counter top or nightstand, while still being a more spacious bowl. There’s also an upgraded version that includes a color changing LED and filter.
Our Top Acrylic Fish Bowl Picks
Acrylic is up to 20x stronger than glass, 5x lighter weight and noticeably clearer.
biOrb Classic Fish Bowl
biOrb makes the largest goldfish bowls available on the market. They can reduce your maintenance and come with everything you need to get started (such as the light, filter, air stone and biomedia). Bigger bowls can accommodate bigger goldfish. It comes in several sizes:
Sweetsea Hanging Fish Bowl
This is unusual fish bowl style is perfect for those who are low or out of tabletop surface area. Wall mounted fish bowl is made of durable acrylic and is easy to hang. Safe from pets and children.
Tips for Choosing The Best Goldfish Bowl
There are 3 main things to consider:
1. Volume
In general, the bigger the bowl – the better.
More water volume helps dilute the waste byproducts…
… and increases surface area for oxygen exchange.
Larger bowls allow more space to grow aquatic plants, which are INCREDIBLE for keeping the water safe for goldfish.
More plants = less work.
And they can support more fish.
From an aesthetic perspective:
Larger bowls have less distortion for viewing your fish than smaller bowls.
Related Post: Best Fish Bowl Starter Kits
2. Surface Area
Now:
This isn’t as much of an issue if you have some kind of electric filter or airstone creating gas exchange.
Bowls that have a larger surface area (i.e. wider opening) for the water can support aquatic life better – especially when plants are being used as the only filter.
Thanks to better oxygen exchange.
You can also achieve a larger surface area by not filling the bowl up all the way to the top (if using a typical bubble style bowl).
Of course:
You lose water volume which results in less swimming space for the fish, so starting out with a larger bowl can make up for this.
Sometimes the more unusual styles of bowls can actually afford great surface area for the size (even glass trifle or mixing bowls).
3. Thickness
If using glass aquaria, thicker glass will be more durable.
Trust me, you will want this.
Glass that is too thin can burst without warning, harming your fish and your house and leaving a huge mess.
The bigger the bowl, the more important it is that the glass is durable.
Plastic or Glass?
Plastic containers are definitely the cheapest.
I even have one myself…
… but honestly prefer glass given the choice.
See:
Plastic can leach chemicals into the water if heated which can harm aquatic life.
(The stuff used to make plastics can include glass fibers, mineral, flame retardants, colorants, release, silicone, formaldehyde and more – yikes! (source))
So while glass can be more pricey, it gives you peace of mind for the long-term health of your fish, especially if you plan on adding a heater.
The investment is well worth it.
After all:
A goldfish bowl is not only supposed to be an ornamental accent to your living area…
It’s perhaps the most fascinating and educational object you can have in your home!
Cautions & Tips
- Please ensure the fish have enough oxygen. This is a must! Gulping at the surface (especially in the morning) or lethargy can indicate too much CO2 and not enough O2… as can overnight death. Many bowls have very little surface area for gas exchange. An airstone instantly fixes this problem. Too many live plants can cause O2 deprivation.
- Please do not use too small of a fish bowl for the fish to swim around comfortably.
- Please do not keep the goldfish in an empty bowl with nothing but water. This does not allow them to have any kind of natural stimulation. They like to forage and explore. Make their little kingdom interesting! Having “hides” is recommended.
- Be sure they have access to foraging material to avoid boredom (read more about their diet needs here).
- Please do not keep one goldfish all by itself. They are schooling fish by nature and enjoy having friends.
- Take care not to overfeed. Only feed once a day or once every other day as much as they will eat in 30 seconds. Overfeeding can cause cloudy water, illness and fish death.
- Be careful never to use any soaps or detergents other than unscented castile soap if cleaning the bowl.
- Avoid placing the bowl in direct sunlight. This can cause overheating and even be a fire hazard as the glass can condense the light.
FAQ’s
Like many myths, there is an element of truth in this.
The typical goldfish bowl setup (a layer of gravel, water and a sculpture) DOES become unsuitable due to the lack of filtration. Without a filter or plants, ammonia and nitrite builds up to lethal levels. The oxygen level in the water drops dangerously.
But the bowl is not the problem – it’s the water inside it that’s become so deadly. Big tanks also can have the same ammonia/nitrite issues without a cycled filter or enough live plants to do the job.
Goldfish CAN live in bowls, but the bowl needs to be equipped to deal with the waste byproducts of the fish and allow for sufficient oxygen exchange. If you set them up right, your fish can live for many years in one happily.
(Note: people who say you can’t keep fish in bowls either haven’t ever done it themselves and are repeating online hearsay OR failed because they didn’t follow what I’m going to teach you below.)
If your fish are already larger and matured, those fish will need more room to swim and should not be kept in bowls.
If you want your fish to grow large in the future, bowls are only suitable as a temporary setup with lots of large water changes.
Great question.
However, there are no hard-fast rules (it all depends on your water quality and making sure the fish has enough swimming space). The situation can vary drastically depending on how large your fish start out, how much they grow, your water test results and how efficient your setup is.
I can only make some general recommendations.
Assuming your fish is still small, fingerling size and under:
A 2 gallon bowl could house 2-3 goldfish. A 3 gallon one could house 3-4. The larger the bowl the better if you want to keep a small group of fish.
Page recommends 1/2 gallon of water for every fish 3″ and under.
Personally I like to use 1 gallon per goldfish as it gives them more swimming room.
Neither of these are “hard and fast” rules though.
It truly comes down to water quality and swimming space.
Please don’t keep your goldfish all by itself in solitary confinement – they are social creatures.
If you keep changing the water regularly, it is a very probable yes.
If you don’t want to keep upgrading to bigger and bigger aquaria, my advice is to focus on filtration – via plants or filters – to keep the water clean.
Changing the water and replacing it with clean water is what removes the fish’s growth inhibiting hormone that keeps them small.
There is no evidence that I have ever been able to find in all my years of study that points to stunting being harmful to goldfish.
The contrary seems to be true – stunted goldfish consistently live longer.
Read More: Stunted Goldfish Growth: How it Happens (and Is it Harmful?)
Slim-bodied fish like commons and comets are the most hardy and live the longest.
They are also the cheapest, though you will need to clean them up (more on that in the quarantine section).
Feeder fish have a low success rate due to being housed in such poor conditions and most infested with disease, though some report success with these.
But any kind goldfish around 5″ can be kept in a bowl if cared for properly.
For larger goldfish yes, but for small goldfish who can’t fit a piece of grave entirely in their mouth, no. Since we intend to keep the fish small this should not be an issue. However I encourage you to monitor the fish’s foraging habits to ensure the pebble is not getting picked up in their mouth.
Once daily or every other day is sufficient. It is VERY important not to overfeed.
Bowls can foul quickly due to the smaller water volume if overfed, so be aware of that risk and remember that it is better to underfeed slightly than feed too much.
30 seconds should be all it takes for the fish to finish the amount you provide in pellets, flakes or gel food. The rest of the day they should be allowed to graze on vegetable matter whenever they wish.
It depends on how you set up your bowl.
Planted bowls can go without water changes for months at a time if balanced.
Now:
If you choose not to use live plants or a filter of any kind, it’s still possible…
…but you’re faced with the task of frequent water changes to keep the water in good shape.
More water changes also mean you are removing the growth inhibiting hormone.
This can cause the fish to outgrow the bowl.
When in doubt, go by your water test results.
If you ever have ammonia/nitrite, a large water change is in order.
Likewise, nitrate shouldn’t go above 40ppm.
If you’re referring to those electricity-driven ones, the answer is no…
… But only if you keep enough healthy live plants…
… OR if you change the water all the time.
Nature’s own filter is unparalleled.
A big mistake is when people use NO kind of filtration at all and don’t do those daily water changes, then that’s a recipe for disaster.
100% daily water changes keep ammonia at bay and the water safe for fish.
I have not personally used this method with success.
But there are some people who report that this works well for them.
So while I can’t personally endorse it, I’m putting it here for what it’s worth.
This method consists of lightly stocking and lightly feeding the fish with a weekly (or twice weekly) dump-out and gravel wash and no filter, and is perhaps seen as the standard care for goldfish bowls today.
(For what it’s worth, it seems most people who report success with this method are using well water.)
Now:
I will not say it can’t work.
But I will caution those who want to use this method that there are risks – and I have heard more negative than positive stories with its use.
Consequently, these are reasons people campaign against bowls:
- Ammonia toxicity. No filtration, plants or otherwise, is taking care of the waste products excreted by the goldfish. This can result in elevated ammonia levels that culminate until the next cleaning. Black smudges are a classic indication.
- Oxygen deprivation, since no aeration is being supplied. Evidenced by the fish gulping at the surface.
- Outgrowing the bowl. Chronic water changes remove the growth inhibiting hormone and may cause some fish to quickly outgrow the container.
Why does it work for some and not others? It may be due to the fact that some goldfish are genetically hardy enough to deal with it.
Very sparing feeding and a larger bowl can also postpone accumulation of ammonia.
Troubleshooting
Likely there is too much water changing going on. If you change the water you remove the growth suppressing hormone goldfish naturally produce. If your system is balanced only water top-offs should be required for maintenance.
There are two secret weapons I use for this, the first is floating (aerial) plants which help block out excess light and are better at absorbing nutrients so algae is starved.
The second is the nerite snail, which is the best algae removing snail I have ever owned. They clean off the glass, leaves and objects in the tank like little janitors. They eat just about every kind of algae as well.
I always keep these snails in tanks or bowls I don’t want algae in.
Congratulations. These are harmless and help to break down debris, making it more bioavailable to your plants.
It is common for some brands of freshly submerged soil to create ammonia and nitrite, monitor this for several weeks and perform water changes if needed. If you have chronic ammonia/nitrite problems after a month then there is too much waste for your plant load.
Consider adding more plants, faster growing plants, aerial plants, or a better light source for your plants and/or reducing the feeding. The plant Hornwort is a good nutrient hog.
If all else fails and you are just too overstocked you can always add a small filter in your bowl if desired, though in a balanced system this should not be necessary.
This can be caused by several factors, including:
- Parasites affecting the gills
- High ammonia/nitrite
- Low dissolved oxygen in the water
- Dropping pH
Parasites can to be suspected if the fish were not from a trusted breeder and you did not quarantine with proper treatments first.
For issues with low dissolved oxygen and/or ammonia/nitrite, adding more oxygenating plants such as ludwigia is usually just the ticket.
However:
Too many plants can suck out oxygen overnight.
You can manually oxygenate the water by removing and pouring back in a cup of water.
Lastly you can add an air stone to the bowl powered by an air pump, which is an instant fix that gives you peace of mind. Be sure you have a backup plan in case of a power outage, such as a battery powered air pump.
Low dissolved oxygen can indicate overstocking or not enough plants to deal with the bioload.
A dropping pH can happen if the alkalinity is not constantly replenished either by water changes, lime in shells, or soil.
The first suspect is the source of the fish. Low-quality sources or places that don’t quarantine (i.e. nearly all pet stores, fairs, etc.) have a high fatality rate.
After that the next question is how you are taking care of them. Get a test kit and keep the ammonia and nitrite always 0, nitrate under 30, and the pH around 7.4 for the fish to thrive. Goldfish need some form of filtration (be it plants or a filter you buy) or water changes to keep their water good as they produce waste that will quickly foul it up if nothing is simultaneously removing it. Following the instructions on bowl setup will get you a long way ahead.
If your plants grow fast enough this is not usually an issue, but if they are mowing down everything it is probably time to pick some tougher plants. I have never had an issue with Rotala Rotundifolia or Hornwort – though the goldfish do seem to snack some on the more tender plants such as anacharis and pearlweed (but it grows very fast).
The smaller the goldfish the smaller the chance they will be destructive to the plants. By getting a variety, you can help ensure some plants survive and eventually take over.
Got Pet Store/Fair Fish? Quarantine!
Not sure if your small fish are actually healthy?
Chances are they aren’t, unless you got them from a trusted breeder (or reputable importer).
They may look fine, but are probably carrying a load of “bugs.”
If you don’t deal with these to start with, they can end up killing your fish in about a month or so.
But don’t worry…
Your fish just need to be “cleaned up” at the beginning and then they will be good to go.
A quarantine bowl will need live plants (or filtration/water changes) to deal with their waste. Hornwort is my favorite as it floats and does not need to root. If it dies during treatments no big deal as I already have lots more where that came from.
For the quickest/simplest version of quarantine, you can use MinnFinn to treat all the most common goldfish diseases, followed by a salt treatment to get rid of ich parasites.
Read More: How to Quarantine New Fish Properly
Now it’s Your Turn
What you do with this information is up to you, and I hope it helps someone’s pet.
Are you realizing you want to make some changes to your bowl?
Pet ownership is a learning process for all of us. We make mistakes. We learn new things along the way.
Ultimately, we all want the best for our fish.
Did you learn something new?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
I never thought….
WHAAAAT? You can have two goldfish in a 3 gallon bowl??? Im a bit confuzzled. Sorry for the excessive comments BTW, but I really love this site and obviously also my goldfish…. I recently was going over your tank size articles and I read the top part of this one, it said could have two goldfish in a three gallon. WHAT? Is this true? Is it typo? I trust your advice.
If you start with small fish and keep the water clean and aerated, you can. The secret is keeping the water parameters balanced. Not all goldfish have to grow up to be giants. Most of the world’s oldest goldfish were environmentally stunted and lived in bowls or “undersized” tanks their whole lives. There are many myths about stunting or that small homes are bad for fish; it’s not the small home, its that the water quality was not kept under control that’s the problem. This article stunting goes into more detail about the myths. Hope this helps 🙂
This seems overly complicated. I have 2 standard sized GLASS fish bowls (available at Malwart). Once a week I fill one with fresh water and let the temperature equilibrate for a few hours, then transfer the fish over to the new bowl; the other one goes in the dishwasher along with the decorative glass pebbles (I keep 2 sets of those too). There is nothing else in the fish bowl. My goldfish is nearly 5 years old and greets me in a very expressive way the morning to get fed! This is my second goldfish that has lived to this age – in my experience they are extremely hardy. I should add that I am very careful about overfeeding, make sure the clean bowl and pebbles are well rinsed, and have unchlorinated well water of excellent quality.
Updated the article to be less complicated, hopefully 🙂 Thanks for sharing what worked for you!
Hi there! Great article 🙂
I tried to build the 5th option you gave and I think I have messed up? I replaced the pot mix by a random aquatic plants soil with no brand (those black small balls).
Do I have to quickly replace them by dirt?? Could u please explain why?
Also I checked the PH and it was acid with a 6.4 value which I think also has to do with no having dirt instead.
Thank you very much!!!
No this is fine too. Your plants will be happy, and happy plants = happy fish 🙂 You can raise the pH a bit by adding some shells if you like.
Thank you! One thing that I’m paranoid about is the oxigen. Is the bowl oxigen-ready right after finished the setup or I have to wait for a while before the plants start giving enough oxigen?
So does the dirt effectively helps on raising the PH?
Thank you!
I like to let the plants grow in for a few days if possible. More light will make them create more oxygen. Soil keeps the pH from crashing, but if you are using those clay/volcanic pellets for plants it might or might not, haven’t tried that myself.
hi I loveee your website first of all and if I get a 2 gallon fish bowl and put gravel and put a rock and attach java fern or annubias onto the rock and put fish, I should be good right and I just have to top of the water every week and do a 100% water change monthly, I should be good right ???
Thanks for your kind words! I wouldn’t advise a monthly water change with gravel only. Gravel can get nasty if it doesn’t have dirt under it and plants in it if it isn’t cleaned regularly.
G
Thank you! Won a fish at the fair and have been completely geeking out on the information you’ve curated and lived. I’ve set up a sand planted tank. Doing daily water testing and everything is surprisingly balanced. No water changes, yet. It’s been 10 days. But, I am ready, if it’s needed, thanks to your incomparable resource. I had no idea how much fun having a happy goldfish was going to be.
Thanks for your kind words, Tall Syster! Sounds like you’re doing great!
What? I didnt think this was true!
I know, I didn’t either for a long time. 🙂
Hi Meredith,
So i am getting a goldfish for my friend who is a child. I aready have gotten Bertie the fish , and my friend has a 5 gallon tank. It is a Shubunkin that weighs around 25 grams and is quite a large builded goldie, growing at a high rate. My friend has aready met this fish, and at the moment is owning it while he lives in a 50 gallon tank with a couple others at my house. I am trying to get to him that this large , fast growing fish may grow up to be incredibly big, and living in a 5 gallon will be cruel. But my friend aready loves this fish and really wants him. What should i do for Shubunkin, Bertie? Help me please!
Thanks so much, Rose
It kind of depends on how big Bertie is, to say if a 5 gallon is enough or not. If your friend loves this fish, she/he may also be able to upgrade later if the fish continues to grow.
Thanks Meredith, my friend decided he will do what is best for his fish and not keep it. But thankyou for the helpful advice.
Thanks again, Rose
Hi Meredith,
I just bought a red and white comet for my fish bowl an hour ago. But poor La Moro is not settling in well at all. She just sits at he bottom of the bowl, has stopped moving and looks very dead. Every few seconds she will start to float to the top and tries to get back down. She will not move a fin while she is in her long dead moments. I really dont think this is caused by stress. But something more serous. I dont want my darlinv la moro to die! Help please. I am only 8 and i cannot pay for any medications! Help pleaseeee
Many pet store fish are already on the verge of death when you buy them. I just expect a good portion of the fish I buy from pet stores won’t make it, no matter what I do 🙁
Hey meredith,
I was wondering if my goldie, patchy is stunted. He lives in a 50 gallon now with two other friends, but when he was a little baby i am sure he was kept in a TINY little bowl or something. His head is very LARGE compared to his body, and has a few deformaties, like a really weird shaped mouth. When his friends grow like crazy. When i got him he was 8 grams. Now he is 10. In FOUR years. Please help me determine if PATCHY is stunted.
Thanks again, btw love your website.
Molly
Could be genetics. Weird shaped mouths are genetic conditions not from stunting. Full grown fish can have them. If you got him from the pet store chances are he did not ever live in a bowl. But many pet store fish are stunted because they aren’t grown out in their early years.
Hi meredith, i am thinking about getting a goldfish for my 4 year old daughter, Ryley. She has never had a pet before, but when i took her to the petstore looking for a family pet, she didnt want a puppy, kitten, guiena pig or rabbit. She wanted a pet Goldfish. To be honest, i am not very keen on getting a goldfish, because my daughter cannot touch it, and play with it. And i am very sure she will get bored by it in 2 weeks. But it is a very easy pet to keep and doesnt cost that much. Ryley is i think, a very carefull, and gental child, so i think she wont be trying to pick it up out of the bowl or anything. I was wondering what type of goldfish would be good for Ryley. And if i should get a fish as a pet for Ryley, or make her choose a furry pet.
If she likes goldfish I’d go with that 🙂 The hardiest are the fantails. Feeders have a pretty high death rate. You can get 2 so it has a friend.
I’ve had a small goldfish in a 3.5 gal aquarium for 15 years. Had a couple tank mates at this time, all Betas. The betas only lived for 4-5 yrs so I’d buy a new one as the previous passed. They always got along good and the goldfish is happy and healthy. No filtration, only an air stone and I’d do 100% water changes every week or two. Now I find out (from everywhere else) that I’ve been doing it wrong,yet nobody could explain why my fish is thriving.
Thank you so much for your information!
Wow! Funny how so many “experts” criticize people like you, yet so few of them can ever keep fish that long-lived. And bettas to boot! 😀 Curious if you have live plants? Thanks for sharing!
Hi meredith, im a 9 year old girl, who really wants a goldfish. I asked my mom so many times.but she says no. Why? I am so angry i wish i cod get one. Maybe u coild hep me find a goldfish?
Maybe you can ask your mom the reason she says no. If you want a goldfish, mom is probably going to have to be on board.
So Meredith, you would categorically refute the arguments made here: https://www.tropicalfishcareguides.com/goldfishcare/can-goldfish-live-in-a-bowl/
While I\’m pretty certain you would, given both your credentials and credibility, I still want to straight-up ask you. The reason is that I have never kept a pet in my life and I would very much enjoy a pair of goldfish. But I am not an aquarium-keeper type of person and have no interest in becoming one, just to have these fish. However, your notion that a fully self-sustaining environment is possible is very appealing, as you say: just feed the fish and top off the tank and it takes care of itself, and I am not inadvertently torturing a living thing by stunting it\’s growth in a way that only it\’s innards continue to grow. That claim (on the page I linked to) is particularly troubling, if true.
Can you assure me that information is false?
Yes Joseph, that article is basically rehashing all the common claims made against small tanks, but lacks any evidence whatsoever to support any of those claims, either cited in the article itself or from any external source. In fact, the opposite has been observed in many successful setups with fish that have lived for decades. I find the claim that the organs can outgrow the fish to be particularly nonsensical and unsupported by any findings, scientific or otherwise. On the other hand, I have spoken with dozens of fishkeepers who maintain bowls and small tanks that conventional fishkeepers would say are impossible to maintain or have a healthy fish in, whose fish (almost always feeder/fair fish) have lived into their 20’s and 30’s – some of which are still going strong! Interestingly enough, most never grew to be very large. You may also find this post on the world’s oldest goldfish to be interesting. I’ve also got some further reading in regards to stunting, tank size in relation to growth and further growth information here. I hope it helps reassure you that small tanks in no way are harmful to fish, and it is the condition of the water, absence of disease and good nutrition that are far more important factors in a healthy fish.
Can a goldfish like black moor live in a 1 gallon bowl with a filter?
Keep the water clean and if the fish is small enough, yes.
So I could choose any top fin tank that isn’t less than a gallon?
Sure
Wow…. I…..
This website seems so useful from other websites!
Thanks!
Would this stunt the goldfish\’ growth?
Is this bad?
Thanks! No evidence exists that this harms them as far as I have been able to find.
Hi! I just bought a goldfish that is now living in my 1 gallon bowl (as I’m a poor college kid). I have gravel in the bottom and a plant in the middle. I put a little bit of API stress coat in the bowl (is this required?) and fed him with goldfish flakes.
How often should I clean the bowl? What should I use to clean it? I’m confused as to what is fact and what is fiction.
Hey Kaitlyn! I’d recommend getting yourself a water test kit and check the parameters. Then you’ll know when it’s time to change the water. If you see ammonia nitrite or if your nitrates are getting high then it would be time to clean. To clean it you can use a turkey baster to suck the gravel. You may also consider a filter or live plants rather than stress coat.
Hello Meredith,
Forgive me for being rather confused. I bought The Truth About Goldfish a few years ago and have been following your sound advice ever since. However, the above article seems to be saying everything you advised against! In your book it states \”Bowls are death chambers. Small tanks (especially 1.5 – 5 gallons) are no better than bowls, they are just shaped differently\”. Has your opinion changed since 2016? I ask because I would like to see my now solo 11 year old goldfish live a long and happy life. After Pepper lost her mate I downsized so she now lives in a 30 litre (approx 8 gallon) tank but I was considering getting something bigger as you state in the book \”no less than 15 gallons per fish\”. I also thought the floor of the tank should be gravel/sand free. Does this mean I can now use sand? I am feeling very conflicted. Would truly appreciate your most up to date advice.
Kindest, Rachel
Hi Rachel, thank you for reaching out. When the first edition of The Truth About Goldfish was released I was anti-fishbowl and pro strict rules of thumb, but my opinion has changed, I hope for the better 🙂 I would be happy to email you an updated copy if you like. Sand is awesome, as is very fine gravel.