I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
“Goldfish are so awesome.”
And if you didn’t know how many eggs a goldfish can lay before…
… it will blow your mind!
I guarantee you’ll have a new respect for your female fishy friend after reading this 🙂
Just How Does a Goldfish Lay Eggs (And How Many)?
Let’s set the record straight:
A female goldfish can never be pregnant. (Read why here.)
But she can swell up with the eggs, and even perish from a condition called egg-binding if things get complicated and a male doesn’t spawn with her.
How many babies she will have depends on her age and how much she’s been eating…
But a goldfish can easily lay over 1,000 eggs at one time!
That’s just at one time.
During breeding season, goldfish will often spawn multiple times on a weekly basis.
Talk about a family reunion 😀
Fact:
Like chickens, a female goldfish actually CAN lay eggs without spawning with a male goldfish.
They won’t hatch though.
These infertile eggs usually get eaten up or decompose in the water.
Now:
If she’s ready to spawn, she’ll start releasing pheromones into the water that let the males know it’s time to breed.
They will then chase the female around, nudging her sides until the eggs come out.
As they fall through the water, he’ll fertilize them with his milt.
A Bit About Goldfish Eggs (and How to Take Care of them)
Healthy goldfish eggs are clear, and can range in color from white to yellow-orange.
They are also EXTREMELY sticky.
Of course, this is part of their survival strategy.
By clinging to the plants as they would fall to the bottom, they have a better chance of not being devoured.
That’s why breeders put “spawning mops” in their tanks. Usually these are made of yarn and the eggs stick to them instead.
If fertilized, you can see tiny black specks after the first day or so.
Those are the eyes of the tiny fry developing inside 🙂
In 4 to 7 days, the eggs hatch (depending on the temperature).
That is – unless fungus has taken over and killed them before they had a chance. 🙁
Now:
Some people add a medication that turns the water blue to prevent fungus from taking hold…
But personally I wouldn’t do that.
The condition of the water is REALLY important when it comes to successfully hatching them.
Clean water with plenty of aeration will help to prevent fungus, as well as removing infertile eggs right away (which will spread the fungus).
The tiny little wriggling creatures that emerge look like some kind of strange insect.
They feed off of their egg sack until they are ready for their first meal in another 3 days – no point in feeding them before then. 🙂
Once full grown, it all starts over again.
Safety Warning!
Goldfish make HORRIBLE parents.
They will eat all of their eggs faster than you can dial up Child Protection Services…
… And they will even eat their own newly hatched fry.
Any other bystander goldfish around will happily join in the cannibalistic buffet.
Yikes :O
So if you want to make sure your eggs hatch, they will need to be separated as soon as possible.
What do You Think?
I hope you were amazed by what you learned.
Now I’m turning it over to you.
Have you ever tried to take care of goldfish eggs, or seen any your pond or tank?
Drop your comment below (I love hearing from my readers!)
Seen my goldfish lay in the bath tub I have then in there are lots of weeds in it .dont know if any of the eggs survive just have to wait and see
Very cool, Avalon! Sometimes they hatch, sometimes they don’t.
Very informative! I learned a lot from your article. Thanks!
Glad you liked it, Mo! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
I guess my goldfish defy the odds. I have a small pond in my back yard and have five 4-6″ goldfish. The water did turn “foamy” for a few days a month or so back, which I heard was a sign of spawning. And I did notice the oldest fish kind of “bullying” the newer fish. But I today I was surprised to find an “extra” fish in the pond, which I accidentally forced out of hiding when I reached in to clean the pump. It’s already over an inch long and seems to be getting along fine with the others. I’m wondering if there are likely to be any others or if this was just a fluke?
I’d say there might be more lurking around, or he could just be the lone survivor.
I have a small pond in my backyard. Last summer we put 7 tiny goldfish in it that we bought from Walmart. We thought they had died over our short winter of only a few days of below freezing. So in the spring our grandson\\\’s wanted some more so we went and bought 2 more one had black on it. Then the next thing we knew we had 9. And now we have about 50 babies of 3 different sizes. And we haven\\\’t cleaned it out the leaf litter since spring a year ago.
Wow just goes to show how they proliferate!
My gold fish lay the eggs in my aquarium tank i absorved and put my female fish in separate tub and do hand breed with 3 males and one female.after a day the eggs are changed colour from green to light pale green. Why its happen?
Is the eggs fertilized or not.can u undestand my problem please give the answer i am very excited about your answer please sir thank you
The only way to tell if they are fertilized is to check for eye specs in the eggs. Are they looking fuzzy? A white fungus could cause them to get lighter in color.