My dad and his brother owned a pet store when I was a kid, so I've always been into keeping animals. As I grew older my interests shifted to aquariums and I eventually got a job at a pet store when I was 16. It's a small family owned shop, and the people there really know what they're talking about.
On my first day this young couple came in asking me to help them set up a small fish bowl for a couple of goldfish. I went over the basics and started gathering everything they needed: bowl, gravel, some decor etc. As I was about to catch and bag two goldfish, the owner came up to me asked what the hell I was doing. Not knowing any different, I explained to her what was happening. She stopped the sale dead in its tracks and gave all three of us (the couple and I) a lesson in goldfish:
Goldfish are ABSOLUTELY NOT a good idea for a "bowl" fish. In fact, you should try to stay away from keeping any fish in a bowl (with the exception of beta fish). The common misconception around fish is "they grow to the size of their aquarium". This is just flat out false, and the reality is that you're simply just stunting the growth of their skeletal system. Their organs however continue to grow, making them feel a little like...
Here's some rapid fire facts about why goldfish are terrible bowl fish:
- They are EXTREMELY messy fish. This means LOTS of poop, and bowls are hard to keep clean. This translates to many water changes, or dirty water.. your choice.
- Goldfish are pond fish. They grow big ( 12 inches plus in many cases), and they have a long lifespan. Expect 10+ years from a fish who is well taken care of. Expect 1-2 years for your average goldfish in a bowl.
- They eat A LOT. This means lots of waste on top of all the poop... gross!
- They're cold water fish and depend on stability. They tend to be a little more susceptible to temperature changes than other fish, and bowls are hard to regulate.
The point that i'm trying to get across is: Goldfish do best in aquariums of 30+ gallons. They require proper aeration and filtration in order to stay healthy. Larger aquariums are easier to maintain in terms of water quality. There's more room for mistakes, and beginners make A LOT of mistakes.
So remember, be kind to your fishy friends. Do your proper research; every fish is different and most pet stores don't tell you the whole truth when it comes to their adult size. Keeping an aquarium can be very rewarding, just make sure you do it right!!!
This was so informative! I never thought about how much it could hurt them! Poor little fish, noted that if I ever get fish they won't be in a bowl. Followed you too, love the content!
Most stores aren't honest about the requirements for a lot of species. Goldfish just happen to be one of those species where lies have been spread more than the truth about the care need for the species. Just remember to do your research!
Thanks for the support :)
Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by GnocDepatat from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, and someguy123. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the
If you like what we're doing please upvote this comment so we can continue to build the community account that's supporting all members.
I don't know I think pets like fish and Birds are not meant to be contained within a small space, they are used to their wide are in their natural environment.
I agree, ideally we'd have them all in their natural habitats. However, I also believe aquarium keeping can be a good tool in creating awareness for certain species, this leads to caring about them. It can be used to teach, and hopefully this will lead to the protection of their natural habitats :)
Congratulations @gnocdepatat! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honnor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPBy upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!