How’d you like to like to see my secret stash of mind-blowing fun facts about goldfish?
Well consider yourself very lucky…
… because today I’m going to pull back the curtain and share the absolute BEST ones with you.
Warning: You are not going to find anything about genetics (blah) or species history (yawn) here.
I’m bringing the noise.
1. The goldfish is the most popular aquarium fish in the world.
You heard it right, folks.
In fact…
They are one of the most popular pets EVER!
Goldfish (along with dogs and budgies) have been kept as pets longer than any other animal.
This is crazy:
Over 480 million goldfish are sold every year!
That’s actually more than both dogs and cats combined.
But that’s no surprise considering what great pets they make, right? 😉
Not to mention the price to take care of them is far less!
2. You can tell how old a goldfish is by it’s scales.
A tree and a goldfish don’t seem to have a whole lot in common.
But get this:
For every year of a goldie’s life the fish develops a ring on its scales! Those rings are called circuli.
Just count the number of rings (like you would on a tree stump) to determine the fish’s age.
Here’s the catch:
You’d need a microscope to see them.
3. Goldfish actually see more colors than humans.
Guess what?
Your eyes can only see combinations of three primary colors – red, yellow and blue.
Not a goldfish’s eyes!
They can see FOUR different ones…
… which let’s them see ultraviolet light.
This helps them see movement in the water and find food easier.
But don’t feel too bad:
A goldfish’s actual eyesight isn’t all that great.
Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, so they have a big blind spot right in front of their nose.
Plus, they can’t see very far. And certain breeds that have special eye modifications (like the Telescope or Bubble Eye) have even worse vision than normal.
4. It’s a myth that goldfish have a 3 second memory.
This is interesting:
Some scientists in Israel trained their goldfish to come to a dinner bell sound.
Then, they let them go into the sea.
(Psst – don’t try that at home!)
Can you believe it?
FIVE MONTHS later they played the bell sound – and the fish all came back!
5. Goldfish are music experts (well, almost).
Japanese researchers used two pieces of classical music by different composers (Bach and Stravinsky) to test the goldfish’s knowledge of the arts.
Half of the goldfish were trained to bite a red bead during Bach’s music – and the other half during Stravinsky’s music.
If they bit during their piece of music, they got food.
Granted:
It took 100 of these “music lessons” to get them to tell the difference. But come finals… 75% of the time they chose the right one!
6. Goldfish have a sixth sense.
You may have noticed a row of tiny dots down each side of your goldfish.
That’s called the “lateral line.”
It’s an organ that actually gives a goldfish the ability to feel pressure changes in the water like vibration and currents.
What’s it like?
Well, the best we can compare it to is hearing, touch, balance and sonar all in one.
So yes, your goldfish DOES have super powers 😀
7. There are taste buds on a goldfish’s lips.
Goldfish don’t actually have taste buds on their tongues – instead, they’re located all over the lips inside and outside of the mouth.
That’s why you see goldfish pecking at everything in the aquarium.
They want to tell how it tastes!
8. If you keep a goldfish in the dark it will turn white.
True story:
A “feeder fish” lived in a filter for 7 years to escape from the tank predators.
When it came out – it had turned completely white!
Why?
No light = no color.
That’s because light helps the goldfish to produce pigment in their skin.
Read More: Goldfish Tank Light for Healthy Fish
9. A goldfish will eat any fish that fits in its mouth.
The motto of life for a goldfish is, “If it fits in the mouth and can be eaten, it’s food.”
As gross as it sounds:
That includes their own babies.
So if you keep goldfish with other fish or much smaller goldfish, you might find that one day they’re here…
… the next day, they’re gone.
10. A president kept pet goldfish.
Grover Cleveland imported fancy Japanese goldfish for his ponds.
He owned HUNDREDS of them!
11. Male goldfish have breeding stars.
You might have noticed some white dots on your fish’s gill plates or fin rays.
They’re rough like sandpaper.
Nobody knows for sure what they’re for – but some think they might be to impress females or even be used as weapons for spawning behavior.
Once in a great while a female has them.
(Read more about how to tell the gender of a goldfish).
12. Goldfish can recognize faces.
And not just faces, but also shapes, colors and sounds!
So good news:
You’re not jut a shapeless blob to your pet.
13. Goldfish can’t blink.
So don’t try to have a staring contest with it!
They don’t have eyelids… so they don’t even close their eyes when they sleep.
14. The goldfish lives longer than any other domestic fish.
Pretty astounding, right?
Most people think goldfish can’t make it very long and die quickly. But just how long do goldfish live?
Well, the oldest goldfish (on record) made it into his mid 40’s.
Yours can too.
But here’s the catch:
ONLY if it is well taken care of will it live a long time.
15. Giving a goldfish as a gift was a sign of friendship.
This used to be a practice in Asia.
A husband would give his wife a goldfish as a present on their first anniversary!
That is, until goldfish got more common.
16. They (usually) get along fine with each other.
There are some exceptions to the rule – like if your tank is too small or it’s breeding season – but for the most part, they get along with each other just swimmingly.
Matching in size seems to help, too.
17. You can train them to do tricks.
Some people think goldfish aren’t very smart.
But get this:
Using food as a reward, goldfish can learn to do all kinds of tricks!
Pushing a ball through a hoop, playing soccer and go through an obstacle course are just some of what they can learn!
18. It’s a rumor that goldfish are messier than other fish.
Goldfish DO excrete lots of ammonia into the water.
And more than, say, tropical fish.
But that’s because they’re so much bigger.
They don’t produce more waste than any other fish of their same size.
And as scavengers…
… they are constantly cleaning up tiny specs of algae and food.
19. Goldfish don’t have stomachs.
The goldfish may seem to be on the short end of the stick compared to, well, the cow (which has four stomachs!).
Instead, they have one long intestine that does the job of digesting in different areas.
Want to know something else?
Food moves through it – FAST.
20. Royalty is in the goldfish’s blood.
At one point in China’s past, only royalty could afford the luxury of pet goldfish.
They were even used as bribes by courtiers!
The yellow-colored ones were the most prized by them.
So if you were a peasant… you were BANNED from owning a yellow goldfish.
See, yellow was the imperial color.
And THAT is why we have so many orange-colored goldfish around today.
21. At night, goldfish DO go to sleep.
No, they don’t close their eyes (because they can’t!) while they rest.
That’s why they appreciate having the lights off at night.
Their coloring may fade during this time, too.
Learn more about how goldfish sleep.
22. Yuck! Goldfish will eat their own poop.
Gross, right?
Well, goldfish digest things pretty quickly.
(Sometimes a little TOO quickly.)
So every once in a while they eat their poop to get nutrients they missed the first go around.
23. A school of goldfish is called a “troubling.”
There’s no leader as they swim.
Here’s how they do it:
When one veers off, the others follow.
Or if they don’t follow, the runaway comes back to join the crowd.
24. Some goldfish are born albino.
Now:
Just because a goldfish is all white does NOT make it albino.
It will have pink pupils instead of black ones.
25. They have a longer attention span than people.
9 seconds is the average goldfish attention span…
… But yours is probably only 8.
Why?
Maybe because your fish doesn’t have a cell phone. 😉
26. The largest goldfish is the size of a cat.
The Guinness record for the world’s longest goldfish stands at 18.7 inches from nose to tail.
That’s pretty big!
In fact, it’s bigger than the average cat size of 18 inches long (without the tail).
An Oranda named Bruce used to hold it at 15 inches.
27. Breed a koi to a goldfish and their babies can’t have babies.
Yep, just like if you breed a horse to a donkey…
The resulting mule (or fish) won’t be able to reproduce.
In fact, you may have seen some of these new “black comet” goldfish on the market lately. Actually, if you look closer you’ll see small barbels (koi whiskers) on their mouths.
They’re hybrids too!
28. The goldfish is tougher than you’d think.
Temperatures in the 100’s F.
Frigged winter ice.
Toxic water.
Yep, goldfish have been surprisingly able to tolerate all of that – and far more.
Granted, the fancier kinds are more delicate…
… but even some of them have made it through unbelievable conditions.
And while it’s never a good idea to keep a goldfish in a bowl, varieties like the Common have been known to endure it (incredibly) for years.
29. A goldfish WILL eat itself to death.
Now don’t blame them…
If you didn’t have a stomach, you’d have a hard time knowing when you were full too!
They have one mission in life: eat.
And eat as much as possible.
Hint: something to remember during feeding time.
30. Goldfish have teeth in the back of their throats.
If a goldfish took a selfie, it would have a pretty gummy smile.
That’s because they DO have teeth – flat ones, but in the back of their mouths.
Scientifically, they’re called pharyngeal (far-in-jee-uhl) teeth.
Get this:
Listen closely at mealtimes and you may hear crunching as they grind up their pellets!
31. There are more types of goldfish than any other species.
The Chinese have numbered over 300 different varieties of goldfish.
It’s taken many years and lots of hardworking breeders to get as many kinds of goldfish as we have now.
The US has only contributed one of them, though.
Which one?
The Comet goldfish.
32. During spawning a female goldfish can lay over 1,000 eggs at a time.
Think you have a big family?
Well imagine having over a thousand siblings.
But usually not all of them will hatch – some will be fertilized, some won’t be.
Or some will be eaten.
33. Goldfish make sounds.
You just can’t hear them.
If that doesn’t shatter your perception of reality… I don’t know what will.
Researchers using special technology found that goldfish make squealing and grunting noises through their noses while eating and fighting.
34. The goldfish is actually a carp in disguise.
The carp is actually the great-great-granddaddy of the goldfish.
How are they so different?
It all comes down to one thing:
Selective breeding.
It’s just only taken about 2,000 years of it.
35. Goldfish do have brains.
In fact – all living animals have brains.
Contrary to popular belief, goldies also have good memories (NOT 3 seconds like the myth goes).
And in case you were wondering…
Fish such as the Oranda or Lionhead don’t have brains on top of their heads.
Those are wens – fleshy growths of skin.
36. For up to 3 weeks they can survive without any food.
That’s a long time!
See, goldfish (like carp) are great at storing fat for lean times.
So:
Next time you go on vacation, don’t sweat about who’s going to feed the fish. They’ll be better off without food – especially because most pet sitters overfeed.
37. All goldfish have clear scales.
Betcha didn’t know that one! 😉
The skin UNDERNEATH the scales is what gives each goldfish its own unique color pattern.
How shiny the fish is depends on the type of scales. And a goldfish’s scale type will never change no matter how old it gets.
Goldfish can have metallic scales (shiny)…
… matte scales (not shiny)…
… or nacreous scales (mix of shiny and not shiny).
Black moors have matte scales. That’s why they look so “velvety.”
38. Goldfish don’t have tongues.
Instead they have a little “bump” on the floor of their mouth that helps them eat.
It can’t move around like a human tongue though.
(And it has no taste buds!)
39. Goldfish have a sense of smell.
Believe it or not, goldfish can smell. And they actually have a better sense of smell than humans.
Look closely and you can see two little flaps above your fish’s mouth – these are the fish’s nostrils called “nares.” They use their smell to find food and other fish.
Bad smells (like from poisonous water) make them feel dizzy.
40. A goldfish can grow to the size of its tank.
You may have heard otherwise…
… But it’s a MYTH that goldfish can’t stop growing in a small tank
Now:
They will often grow huge in a big tank.
But they produce a hormone that regulates their growth when water changes are not done frequently.
(This is true in big tanks as well as small bowls.)
41. Got a laser pen? Your goldfish will chase it!
Yeah, it’s true!
Maybe some hunting instincts at work.
It’s REALLY fun to watch a large group of goldfish in a tank all go for it at once.
42. Goldfish can hear.
They hear vibrations with internal ears called “otolith.”
They don’t hear as well as people though.
A word of caution:
Tapping on the glass of the tank can stress them out.
43. There is no such thing as a pregnant goldfish.
To be pregnant an animal (or person) has to be carrying live young in its womb.
Listen:
A female goldfish may have eggs inside her.
But she has to release her eggs into the water for them to get fertilized by a male goldfish. Then the eggs stay outside the fish’s body until they hatch.
44. Goldfish can’t live in bowls.
Putting a goldfish in a bowl for its home is a big no-no.
They are chambers of DEATH for just about every fish that lives in them!
How come?
Lots of reasons. But the main one is their water turns toxic really fast.
45. The fins and scales of a goldfish can grow back.
All is not lost for the goldfish who has been injured!
Given clean water (and some time) they can repair most damage pretty well.
Well…
They might not if the fins have been shredded all the way up to the base of the tail.
46. Entire lakes have been taken over by goldfish.
Some people (stupidly) released a few goldfish into a lake in Boulder, Colorado.
It only took 3 years before there were thousands of them!
How did the story end?
They eventually were eaten by herons and the lake was saved.
47. A goldfish will eat out of your hand.
It doesn’t take long for most goldfish to learn where the food comes from.
With a little patience, you can have your goldfish trained to eat from your fingers at mealtime. They don’t bite either as they nibble.
Cute, right?
48. To clear its gills a goldfish “yawns” backwards.
No, they don’t yawn the same way as people.
But they DO take in water the opposite way to flush out their gills.
It’s not because they’re sleepy!
49. Goldfish get bored.
Life in a glass container by yourself with nothing to do all day… sound like fun to you?
Of course not.
Goldfish need amusement, too!
Here’s a solution:
In the wild goldfish are foragers. Giving them fibrous veggies to graze on during the day isn’t just good for their health – it’s enjoyable for them as well.
50. There are infinite color combinations in goldfish.
Like snowflakes, no two are the same.
That’s part of what makes them so much fun!
This is interesting:
In 3 generations of goldfish breeding back to carp, the babies will lose all of their bright colors.
51. In the winter goldfish kept outside go into hibernation.
Their heart rate slows down and they stop eating.
Then, they sleep.
After winter is over, they come out of their long winter’s nap often ready to spawn!
What Do You Think?
Now I want to hear from you.
What do you think of this list?
Or maybe I missed an interesting piece of information.
Either way, leave a comment below right now to let me know.
And before I forget… don’t forget to check out our book so you can become a goldfish expert!
wow amazing, can I share this to my blog?
Glad you enjoyed it Giovanni, and you’re welcome to post a link to it from your blog =)
THIS IS AWSOME
Thanks!
I am going to post it now and going to share it with my fellow hobbyist too.
I’m glad that you see it as worth sharing, Giovanni! Hope they enjoy it =)
actually there has been a time where two snowflakes were the same
Not that I know of … 😉
I enjoyed to read this very much, I will give it to my 10 year old daughter to read this too.
Just two questions: Israelis trained goldfish…then they let them go to the sea? They are water fresh fish.
They mix between different varieties? I have black moors with common goldfish can they have babies?
Thank you.
Glad you liked it, Marcela. Yeah I wondered about that myself, ha ha. Maybe the sea was a freshwater one. Just a guess.
And to answer your other question, yes. Goldfish varieties can intermingle as different as they may be. If a black moor bred with a common, the babies might look something like single-tailed telescopes (which aren’t very common but I have seen one in person).
Love your 50… I have a question for you. When the pond is calm the Goldfish hang out on the surface. Chomping on the surface edge. Are they hungry are they trying to get oxygen or are they just bored? Thank you
If you have a lot of algae it could be a problem with oxygen, might want to ensure you have a nice big filter.
What vegetables specifically and cut up real fine?
Goldfish will eat lots of different veggies, melinda, but lettuce, spinach and kale are the easiest for people to give them. You don’t have to cut them up, they will tear them apart as they get soft in the water.
May I make a video on ur 50 facts
Sure, just give credit 🙂
I added a nice baby spinach leaf that I rinse off in some of the hospital water.
Really enjoyed it! Will be telling all my uninformed friends too. I’ve got 2 goldfish,named Jonah and Astro. I’ve had Jonah for 4 yrs and I’ve never had a goldfish last that long! Must be the tasty snacks! Bloodworm, anyone? 🙂
That’s great to hear, Charlene! Keep up the good work with your fish and they will be around even more years to come. And bloodworms are always a delicious treat. 😉
Great info. My goldfish is 13. I loved reading all this stuff. Thought I knew everything about them. Guess not! You must really be a great lover of goldfish. Thanks for the insight.
Any time, Linda. You sound like a great enthusiast yourself, and your fish has done very well because of it! Keep it up =)
How common is it for a gold fish to have two different colored eyes? I have a white goldfish that has an orange spot on top of its head and it had one blue eyes and one red eye. The blue eye I’d not the color of a blind eye is a vibrant blue. I’ve never seen any fish with two different colored eyes so I am curious to see how common it is?
Not terribly common, usually both eyes are the same color, but they’ll turn up now and again. It’s a genetics thing, kind of like with odd-eyed dogs or cats =)
I have four goldfish in an outdoor pond. One fish is larger than the others. The three smaller fish have started chasing the larger fish. Why would this be happening?
Sounds like breeding behavior to me, Linda. The large fish is likely a female being pursued by three males ready to spawn.
Hi, really enjoyed reading this and looking at the pictures.
The picture of a goldfish brushing his or her teeth was the one I loved the most, as it reminds me of my male goldfish, Mohican. He plays music with his pharyngeal teeth and he has done this for about eight years. He is not eating, just happy and it is like a cat purring and playing at the same time. I love the sound and it is part of my home. It is very loud too but he can make it quieter, depending on how he feels.
My female goldfish, Mermaid, does indeed blink. I have seen her doing this hundreds of times over ten years. She has no eyelid and so her eye looks like a camera lens when the shutter is coming down and then goes up again. It looks very mechanical and camera like. It is amazing, as is the blissful music making or speaking of my Mohican. I have never seen him blink though, and I have never heard her make music with her teeth. So the difference in goldfish genetic and personality and abilities is quite huge, if you think, with all those over 300 species, it would be.
So happy you enjoyed it, Rachel! That’s really interesting about Mohican… I wish I could hear it 🙂 Goldfish all have their own individual personalities, don’t they. Part of what makes them so much fun. 😉
Hi, cheers. Yes, Mohican’s music making is really cool. I need to point out that Mermaid actually blinks inside her eyes, if this makes sense. This is also unexpected, along with my musical fish. Her eyes literally can be seen tipping her whole lens from a vertical to horizontal position and then back again, which looks like a blink. What is cool is that over all these years they both found out things about their own different bodies and started to use them to do different things with. It is really funny. Fish are so nice. Thanks for posting again. Best wishes, Bye.
I am an animal lover, this has to be one of the most interesting article I have read in a long time, it is my grandsons fish & he moved, I wanted to make sure I was taking good care of his fish until he visits & this is by far the most knowable & artical I have read, who would think all goldfish were such great pets, even though I did get attached to the. I am looking forward to spending more time with the goldfish, I am going to put music on Thank you BARBARA
Meant to say knowledgable articles I have read I am reading some of the comments they also are interesting, I was really also wondering about their sleeping, I’m glad I read this, this sounds crazy I put a light cloth over a side of the tank to make it dark, I don’t think they liked it, There was one aggressive fish in the tank & they all came from the same fish, i separated them but they all were hanging around the screen trying to get to each other, tonite when I was cleaning the tank, they were all together the aggressor kept going after one of the other fish so I kept putting my finger in when he was being aggressive, for an hour I did this & it stopped, for now anyway, I feed them once in the morning & once at night, am I wrong to be doing that
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Barbara! Thank you so much for your kind words. Your fish may be exhibiting spawning behavior, which is characterized by males pursuing relentlessly the females. You might also like to check out our article on food and feeding so you feel confident in that area. 🙂 Happy fishkeeping!
The BEST article. So many great facts and stellar artwork! Thank you.
Thank you so much Tony! Happy to hear you liked the artwork 😀
I’m doing a school project and this was so helpful! Thanks!
Happy to hear you found it useful, Sarah!
THIS IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i did NOT know goldfish could hear sounds?? is that why they always are watching TV with me? or they hide when i vacuum???
Glad you enjoyed it, Kate! 😀
Yes, you are exactly right about that. They sense the vibrations. Vacuuming probably is very loud to them.
Interesting….
good thing i don’t vacuum every day or they’d really get stressed out!!!!
I do need a less noisy air pump………i just found one at the pet store, so i think i’ll buy that in a few weeks 🙂
i love my goldfish so so much!
You’re definitely not alone on that 😉
All kinds of new facts! Thank you! I have 3 fish. 2 fancy goldfish & a bubble eye. If I run my finger across the tank, my one fish, Flutter will follow along! And I used to have a goldfish that would yawn!
You are very welcome! Have you tried feeding them from your hands? That definitely helps them learn to “follow the finger.” 🙂
That was awesome cant wait to present it to my class in biology today
Glad you liked it, Kalebbeneyam! 😀
wow i never knew some of this stuff lol thanks so much
More than welcome, Sarah 🙂 Happy you learned something new!
love it so intresting
Thanks, gyu!
Omg so neat
Thanks! 🙂
Cool! Who new goldfish were so smart! here’s the only thing: my goldfish lasted 4 WEEKS with no food!
They are amazing, aren’t they?!
I have 5 goldfish.. All different and the’re all fabulous. Yes I have trained them. So many interesting facts so now my fish make sense. Might need to get a live plant for them as a treat for being so fab!
Your fish sound like a lot of fun, Susan! I think they would appreciate the live plant, especially if it is edible 🙂
I have a goldfish named Daisy and she is about the size of my whole hand and how much times should I feed her and how much? By the way thank you for all these facts! I learned things I NEVER could have known! Thank You!
Happy to hear you liked them, Daisy! Check out our feeding guide for advice on that 🙂
I loved your post! I’ll definitely visit this site again in my free time.
I do have something I would like to ask, though. I was doing some further research (may or may not have been trying to find videos of squealing goldfish… it sounds like it would be so cute!!) and found an interesting source that made me just tad disappointed D:
http://www.seeker.com/fish-talk-to-one-another-1765071701.html
Unfortunately, upon further research, I could not find any other trustworthy sources (I don’t even bother with yahoo answers, wikianswers, or answers.com (“What sound does a goldfish make? Making bubbles.”) when it comes to discussion) so I was wondering where you got your information from?
Hey Laura! Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Actually I got that information from two sources.
1) Gregory Skomal’s book on goldfish
2) My own experience
Sounds crazy, but I have actually heard my own goldfish make noises. Rarely, but it happens sometimes during meals. It sounds kind of like a yorkie dog barking.
Oh my goodness! That’s awesome, my hope has been restored 😀
What kind of goldfish do you have? I have a black moor and a calico fantail with me now, comets and commons back home
Yep, keep your ears open! 😉
So you keep slim-bodies and fancies! Nice! Me? Orandas. I <3 Orandas. Their names are Kona & Melia. Also finished growing out a group of Broadtails over the summer 🙂
Aww! They are cuties. I’m just starting out in my hobby but I already know I’m probably going to have more fancies in the future; I can’t help but find them to be the cutest variations with their pudgy bodies and long fins XD
I agree 😀
Thank you for all the wonderful information. I plan on sharing your information with my students at school. I enjoyed learning fun facts and I think they will too.
Why thank you very much, Kemmie! Happy to hear I could provide something of interest to them and you 🙂
I might get a goldfish and this was very helpful
So glad you liked it, Kate! We would definitely encourage you to do so 😉
How do you tell if they are male or female, My grandkids got 2 in April and I bet I have 30 babies now, I want to keep 3-4 but want all to be the same gender
At that age it’s probably too soon to tell. 🙂
when can you tell and how, are they different colors?
Genetics causes different color combinations 🙂
So helpful for my school project?
Happy to hear you found it useful! 🙂
Hi,
I have a comet goldfish named Stream and it is my favorite! It has long tail and fins… That’s beautiful 🙂
Never knew the US contributed it 😉
I wish i can hear its sound though..
Stream sounds like a beautiful fish! Their fins do get so long and pretty. 🙂
Thanks Pure Goldfish!!!! That helped so much for a school project I’m working on.??????????????????
You are so welcome!
I’ve a doubt that actually how much time it takes for a gold fish fry to be a fully grown 4 inch bleeder Fish ,??……
Can you please explain,sir?
A fry to a 4 inch adult? Depends on lots of factors like food and water temperature. But usually it would take 2 years.
I am trying to find out the color of the roof of a goldfishes mouth…. any help?
all the other information here is wonderful, very helpful.
thank you
d
I believe it’s pinkish 🙂
Thank you very much I found this very helpful and I enjoyed it.
My common goldfish Tiny has the best personality where he makes it his job to make as loud of a noise as he can by sucking his lips on the top of the tank. I can even hear it from 3 rooms away
Sorry for posting when you are probably sleeping, but it is 5:23 where I live
No worries, Emily! Tiny sounds like such a fun little guy to have around! I know one that does the same thing… 😉
yo peeps
How can you tell the difference between the males and females?
Males sometimes have breeding stars 🙂
Two years ago I inherited a gold fish from my grand-daughter.s wedding table center piece.I had two but one jumped overboard but I still have the one that I keep in a fish bowl. As it grew I changed it to a bigger size bowl. This fish and I have a routine. As soon as he or she hears us moving in the morning it comes to the top of the bowl and circles until I approach the bowl. I lightly tape the top of the bowl and it waits for me to feed it. I change the water with filtrated water every three to four days. His name is Rocky. Is it trained?
Sure sounds like it! 🙂
Hi –
We have (2) Comets that are about 6″ long and we need to upgrade the tank size.
What tank geometry do you recommend? Rectangle/horizontal? Square? Rectangle/vertical?
Thanks,
Jef
Wow thanks for the info. How mush goldfish should I have in a 24x25x24 tanks am try to have goldfish farm?
Check out this article for tank size guidelines 🙂
Hey Thanks for interesting topic, have a question! Do gold fish get lonely? I have one goldfish and I feel he get board sometimes or look into mirror of aquarium and see himself ! I read somewhere that they dont need company but now I feel he gets board. Thanks
Bored could mean he doesn’t have anything to forage.
Hey Thanks for interesting topic, have a question! Do gold fish get lonely? I have one goldfish and I feel he get board sometimes or look into mirror of aquarium and see himself ! I read somewhere that they dont need company but now I feel he gets board. Thanks
I do think goldfish get bored. They are schooling fish, but they can also do quite well by themselves as long as they have lots to do foraging. Just make sure the tank is big enough if you want to get him a friend 🙂
Thanks for all those facts, didn’t know most of them.. I’ve recently built a fishpond with waterfall and now have 6 goldfish happily swimming around.
Happy to hear you liked it, Brett! Goldfish ponds are so beautiful and relaxing to watch.
i recently went to the pet store to buy goldfish and was told that I should wait till October. The fish they get it now (august in Florida) come in diseased. Is this true?
All pet store goldfish can come in diseased at any time of year :/
I wanted my goldfish to make baby’s but I can not tell which are make an female???
Check for breeding stars on the gills?
Love this!
Does anyone know..
Do the fins of a fantail or veiltail keep growing?
Or do they stay same ratio to their body as it grows..
I’ve got a couple fancytails without very fancy tails;/
I love them but…was hoping fins would grow long and lucious someday;)
I think finnage develops with age and gets larger in proportion to the body on many fancy varieties. There is hope! 🙂
Thanks for compiling all these very interesting facts about goldfish. I inherited an outdoor pond with a pair of 1-year-old comets when I bought my house. Although I never planned to keep goldfish as pets, the female of the pair had such a compelling personality I’ve become very attached to her. She spawned 35 youngsters 15 of which I’ve kept. I have a question I’ve not been able to find an answer to anywhere on the internet. Do my fish enjoy being petted? Often, when they’re waiting to be fed, or after they’ve eaten and are full, they will swim through my fingers allowing me to stroke their sides as they swim past. I allow them to swim to me rather than pursuing them. Some people believe that could damage their slime coat but I haven’t noticed any problems yet. Is this something you have ever done? Do my fish like being touched or are they just trying to persuade me to give them more food?
Gentle touching is fine 🙂 I think they do like us. They also like food.
Can you keep Koi and Goldfish in the same fish pond? For example, if I wanted to build a semi-large fish pond in my yard, could I keep both Koi and Goldfish?
I’d keep slim-bodied goldfish with koi in a pond only.
Me like this site.
I needed it. : P
Woohoo, Caleb 😀
hope they enjoy
hope they enjoy =) =) =) =) =) =) =) =) =)
nice
nice
Thanks 🙂
can i give cabbage to my goldfishes
Sure, but probably in small amounts as it’s gaseous.
Love this site! I have 2 goldfish, Rocky and Nougat, and they are the best fed fish in town in terms of fresh veg and fruit! Their absolute favourite is brussel sprouts and cauliflower and they love a piece of apple which is great as apple floats around the top and gives them something to play with too! They are the most active fish i have ever known and dont keep still for a second haha. I know that eventually they will have to go to an outside pond as the tank they are in they have just about outgrown (having spoken to my local aquarium). I dont have the space for a bigger tank. When would be the best time to find them a new home in a pond? Spring/Summer when the water is warmer?
Thanks for sharing about your fish, Elen! Spring and summer is a time when many people start up their ponds.
I am planning to build a small fish pond and – while doing some research – found this site which I found totally enlightening, especially since I know nothing about the subject.
So glad you enjoyed it, Tony! Hope your pond is a success!
Thanks for the facts!
You are welcome, Janay!
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFO ON GOLDFISH. I have a pond and all my fish are 20 plus years old. When I went out to feed them this am I was totally surprised to see at least 12 babies in there. They are about two inches long. I have about 20 of my elder fish. Will the babies be okay with them ? There has never been any babies before as far as I know.
Glad you liked it, Judy! If they are big enough to fit in the mouth of the other fish then no, they could get eaten.
great work
Thank you Bob!
hey can you make on about guppies please
I don’t know many facts about guppies actually, but maybe in the future I will learn up on them 🙂
That’s probably the most “detailed” description about GoldFish I’ve read.
It was really fun to read and I learned a lot.
Thanks 🙂
Happy you liked it, Sajjid!
This article is AWESOME, I\’m looking forward to getting a new scaly friend!!
Glad you liked it, Ryan!
I just got three goldfish, who I named ‘The Three Amigos’ because I can’t tell them apart, and they are very timid since I got them at a fair, but they’re getting happier and more active. This article helped a lot with understanding them and figuring out how to make them happy little fishies(:
Thank you for your kind words, Hannah!
Very fun and interesting, i loved the pictures!
Glad you liked it!!
I am designing an infographic about goldfish I can’t wait to use some of these cool facts!
Love to see it when you’re done!
Hi, I know this article was from a while back but thanks for educating me on some new facts. Heres some more facts Ive learned in the last 5 yrs of keeping them or researched myself,that may help newcomers to goldfish. Goldfish will eat and enjoy cabbage, spinach, lettuce and in fact most leafy green but peas are thoroughly enjoyed and also help in their digestion which is important as they are susceptible to swim bladder disease. My fantail once suffered it and was swimming upside down so I took it out fed it peas and within a week it was back to normal. They also enjoy soft fruits, but only feed as a rare treat as the sugars can alter the water chemistry. Ive has success with bits of grapes,melons, bananas. Ive kept fish for over 20 yrs but the 2 goldfish I have are the first Ive kept. Bought them second hand at 2-3 inches about 5yrs ago and now my fantail is about 5 inches from head to tail, and my black common is almost a ft long. The fantail is more friendly but they both are happy to take food from my hand and for me to stroke them. One final thing, when they are spawning, the male will chase and try to (squash) the female against the floor and tank walls, this is done to try and force the eggs out of the female into the water for fertilising. Hope this helps any interested readers and thanks again for the article.
Thanks for sharing your facts, Lee!
My 8 yo used this site to work on a Goldfish presentation
Thanks for sharing, Jen! Hope it went well!
I have a small pond with 7 goldfish. We have had these fish for at least 5 years. They have grown but not produced. What could be the problem?
You might have all the same gender. Or conditions aren’t just so. They can be quite picky.
I live alone in a very remote area. I have had a comet goldfish in a lined half wine barrel outside on my back covered porch right by my back door for 10 years. She is about 10 inches long. I feed her and she has floating plants a filter and aerator. It freezes over every winter and I stop feeding her when the temps get cold. I have never had another fish in with her but yesterday I went out to feed her and there was another small black/grey gold fish in the barrel with her. HOW can this be? Someone please tell me. I don’t have any neighbors and I have not bred her. What is going on? The plants I have are duckweed right now because it is still too cold here for water hyacinths. Which I add in the summer. Please help me figure this out.
Love this article. Will be getting my 4 new goldfish with a new tank tomorrow.
Fun times!
After reading this, I love my goldfish all the more! I never thought I could love a fish!
Glad you found the article inspiring! 🙂
I just bought 2 pairs of gold fishes today and its my first time. These facts really helped me a lot to get to know my fishes. Thankful in lots of ways. 😇
Sure 🙂
Meredith Clawson and Puregoldfish have you ever heard of the goldfish swim? search it up and see what it is about and you will hate it just like me!!!! PLEASE READ AND RESPOND AND SEARCH UP
Do goldfish have stomachs? Here you say they don’t but in The Truth About Goldfish it says they have a small stomach. Just curious. Thanks!
It’s not a true stomach in the sense of an acid bath. But they do have a little compartment there about the size of their eyeball. There’s a bit of debate on whether or not to call it a stomach. 🙂
hi i like dis
i wanna goldfish from reading this
Glad you liked the post, Matthew! Goldfish are amazing creatures and fabulous pets!
I’ve Had my goldfish for 5 years, and his name is Beast Boy and hes so awesome. thanks for posting this so i can know more about him!
Happy to hear you found the article interesting, Lukas! Beast Boy sounds like a neat fish.
My wife and I bought a feeder even though dude said he would die overnight our white gold fish (Mgr. Elvis) and hes doing good 2weeks strong after 1st week I felt he was lonely and I got him a black and gold buddies another feeder gold fish (odd ball) they live in a cleans its self as seen on tv fish tank about the size of a half gallon Mabry little bigger we give them strictly glacier purified water at least every 48 hrs. They were cool seemed happy enough but the small L.E.D. light that the as seen on tv fish tank came with was really dim so my wife got a L.E.D. touch light night light today we turned it on when the sun went down an hour later odd ball was dead.
did the brighter light stress him to death you think?
did the two duke it out?
Is this container ok for now? He might be an inch long.
Would you get him a buddy again.
Any other possible question was answered here very helpful thank you
No it’s not the light that did that. You can look for signs of aggression like torn fins but chances are it was something else. Check out here.