kolling@decwrl.UUCP (Karen Kolling) (10/17/85)
> I'm thinking about getting some goldfish, and am trying to figure out > what sort of set-up I need and what I'm getting myself into. ...... > She said goldfish can live in a bowl, but the bowl should be cleaned > every other day. Whoa. Get yourself a book on the care of goldfish, and read it, or you'll wind up killing the fish. I distinctly recollect from having goldfish as a kid that the bowl certainly doesn't have to be cleaned every other day. Also, it was very important to let tap water sit at least overnight, so the chlorine would evaporate from it, before you could add it to the bowl. I thought you could get an aquarium setup with filters, a pump, the right type of plants and snails, and so forth, so that it was balanced and hardly ever needed cleaning, but we just had a plain old bowl, so I may be wrong.
dpb@cbosgd.UUCP (Dan Bidinger) (10/17/85)
i have a goldfish (well its part goldfish) in a fishbowl, and no way do i clean it out every ther day. I clean it out about 1nce or 2wice a month. Water has to be dechlorinated or else the fish will die. You do this by putting the water in an empty container ( i use an empty gallon plastic milk bottle, wash it out first so you get all the milk out ) if you put a lid on it then it should wait for about 1week to dechlorinate it. It only takes about 2-3 days in an open container. (*NOTE: The container should be the same size at the top as at the bottom if you don'y put a lid on it. So not putting the cap on a milk carton (or whatever you use ) will not dechlorinate the water in 2-3 days. ) Cleaning out a fish bowl ( wich holds about anywhere from 1/2 - 1&1/2 gallons depending on the kind, ) every other day is preposterous. Your water bill would be a little high and it would be pretty hard to keep track of water that is dechlorinated and water that is in the midst of being dechlorinated. The fishbowl doesnt get that dirty in a day or two. Maybe she meant a cereal bowl or something.
bill@hp-pcd.UUCP (bill) (10/22/85)
Oh, come on. A gallon or two of water per day is only 30-60 gallons per month. You're not even going to notice any increase in your water bill. That's about the same as flushing the toilet less than 10 times per month. Doesn't anybody use dechlorinator? I've been using it for a couple of years (as opposed to letting your water sit out for several days before using it) and haven't had any chlorine problems. You just add one drop of dechlorinator to each gallon of water before you add the water to your tank -- chlorine is removed "instantly". bill frolik hp-pcd!bill
ned@scirtp.UUCP (Ned Robie) (10/24/85)
> She said goldfish can live in a bowl, but the bowl should be cleaned > every other day. Fish bowls are generally not a good home for fish because the water surface area is not large enough to allow proper aeration. They look nice, but you'll find the fish will eventually start gulping at the surface because there's insufficient oxygen. A 5 or 10 gallon aquarium is a good choice because the water surface area is fairly large. A fish bowl might work ok if you put an aerator in it (a stone with air pump), but the constant water changing can be a problem for you and your fish. To really do it right and to avoid excessive water changing (fish don't like water changes because the water and temperature change and handling can shock their little bodies), get a 10 gallon tank with a good filter (outboard siphon types work much better than submersible cheapies, especially when activated charcoal is used), an aerator, and a heater and thermometer if your house temperature may go below 70 degrees F. All of this ain't cheap, but it's not too expensive either, and it will save you lots of headaches (and fish) in the long run. The heater may not be necessary for gold fish, but tropicals like the water temp between 70 and 80 degrees. With a properly aerated and filtered tank, you should only have to clean the tank once a year (at most) and your fish will be very active ('cause they like where they live). I also recommend a hood... it slows evaporation and keeps the water from spraying outside the tank. It also looks nice, especially if you get one with a light. As for feeding... I've found that if I feed my fish every day, they get too big. I only feed my fish about twice a week. But if you want your fish to grow, you may want to feed them more. The best food I've found (and there IS a difference) is made by TetraWerke (or just Tetra). This food also isn't cheap, but it will keep your fish very healthy. I DON'T recommend Hartz. Chlorine can be removed from the water by just letting it stand for a few hours, but this method doesn't get rid of unwanted salts. There are chemical conditioners that do both quickly and easily. Hope this helps... -- Ned Robie