Common Goldfish

Scientific Name Carassius auratus
Natural Habitat The Goldfish was bred from Crucian Carp in China during the time of the Tang Dynasty
Size 13 inches is an average maximum size although Goldfish have been known to grow to lengths as long as 23 inches

Temperment Peaceful, will eat fish small enough to fit in their mouth
Aquarium 125 litres
Comments The Goldfish was the first fish to be kept as a pet. It was bred from the Crucian carp over a thousand years ago in China and even today remains one of the most popular species in the hobby. Popular belief that the Goldfish is a small species that will live happily in a bowl couldn’t be further from the truth. The Goldfish is a hardy fish yet like all species poor conditions will cause it stress and eventually death.
These large fish should be kept in aquariums that suit its large size. An aquarium holding 125 litres is the minimum for three Goldfish although the bigger the aquarium the better. As you probably know already temperature is not a concern when keeping Goldfish so a heater is not neccessary. Many people keep Goldfish in garden ponds and if you ask me this is the best place for them unless you can supply them with a very large aquarium. You should also include an air pump for Goldfish as a lack of oxygen in the water will also cause them stress. Lastly and perhaps most importantly is providing a good filter.
Goldfish produce far more waste then other species of fish so correct filteration is a must. Weekly water changes of 25% to 40% are also needed to remove any waste from the aquarium and keep the water in good quality. There are not many species which can be kept with Goldfish. If you have a very large aquarium then it is possible to keep them with Weather Loach. I would not recommend keeping Common Goldfish with Fancy Goldfish however. Common Goldfish are far faster then the Fancy Goldfish due to there more streamline shape. Common Goldfish will thus eat any food you put into the aquarium before the Fancy Goldfish have a chance. Common Goldfish will also occasionly mistake Fancy Goldfish for being pregnant and take the oppertunity to chase and bully them. Feeding the Common Goldfish isn’t a hard, most fish stores should have a selection of granule and flake food which are purpose produced for the nutritional feeds of Goldfish. Feed Goldfish a small amount of food once a day and remove any food which is not consumed in 4 minutes.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask on our forum.

Fancy Goldfish

Scientific Name Carassius auratus  Natural Habitat Fancies are not found in the wild. They are the result of selective breeding of the Common Goldfish which in turn was bred from the Crucian Carp around 1,000 years ago  Size Around 6 inches in aquariums although they are reports of Fancies growing to 18 inches in length  Temperment Peaceful with each other, will eat small subtropical fish  Aquarium 60 litres at least but the more the better  Comments Where would we be today without the odd Goldfish or two? The Fancies relative, the common goldfish, were the first fish to be kept around 1,000 years ago in China. Unlike today they were a sign of wealth and royalty, especially yellow strains such as the popular yellow canary Goldfish. So much so that it was illegal in China for anyone other then the Emperor to own the Yellow Goldfish.  Fancy Goldfish are far removed from these fish kept in ancient China however. Years of selective breeding have given the hobby many different shaped and colored Fancies. There are many strains of Fancies available such as the popular Oranda (above,) the Ranchu, Lionhead and Fantail. Most strains of Fancy Goldfish are considered to be rather resilient and the perfect fish for beginners. This is however not the whole case as Fancies grow very large and produce a lot of waste and so require weekly partial water changes and a good filtration system. If this can be provided then they are a wonderful fish to own but it should also be added that some species are not as resilient as others such as the Pearlscale Goldfish. It should also be mentioned that although many Fancies are resilient, they will not stand the cold temperatures of the garden pond as Common Goldfish can. This is due to generations of these fish being bred indoors.  Swimbladder disorder is also common in Fancies but this is easily corrected. Because Fancies have been bred to have a round body, this extra body mass puts a strain on the Fancie’s swimbladder and can result in any air becoming trapped in the fishes swimbladder

Fish catagories

There are more than 30,000 species of fish, more or less evenly distributed between fresh water and sea water, and of these some 1,500 are of interest to the aquarist. Fish embody a great anatomical and biological diversity and richness, and this can be clearly seen in aquariums.
Whatever type of aquarium you choose, a minimal knowledge of the anatomy and biology of the species you are raising is an essential prerequisite. The information below, presented in layman's language, allows you to keep your fish in good health, in the best possible conditions, to feed them appropriately so that they can grow, and to facilitate their reproduction — in short, to understand them better in order to take better care of them.

FINDING OUT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURAL WATER

The European Union has set compulsory standards for drinking and environmental quality, but the strict legislation in the UK goes well beyond these. In England and Wales, for example, domestic water is monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which regularly checks up on the practices of the water companies and investigates any possible infringement of the law. The Environment Agency, on the other hand, is responsible for the quality of water in rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas. It issues licenses to discharge waste into these waters and takes chemical and biological samples to monitor the effect on the environment. The results of these controls are available to the public.

Where and when to collect natural sea water?

The ideal solution would be to go to the open sea, where the water is likely to be less polluted and to have more constant characteristics. Near the coasts, the following must be avoided: urbanized or industrialized areas and ports, which are susceptible to pollution; anywhere near river mouths, estuaries, or bays, where the water is desalted; and areas of stagnant sea water (pools at low tide) and salt marshes. Coasts with sand dunes are suitable in principle, but the water is often laden with suspended sediment. Rocky coasts are preferable regions from where water can be collected. The best periods for collection are autumn and winter, because plankton develop in spring and tourism increases the risk of pollution in summer. Calm weather is preferable, in order to avoid suspended material, although a heavy swell re oxygenates the water. In this case, the water can be collected 1-3 days later, the time in which the suspended material turns into sediment. However, the water must be filtered in all cases, first roughly and then more finely.

WATER, A HAVEN FOR LIFE

water, carbonate hardness (CH) is used in sea water, where it serves to measure the
quantity of calcium and magnesium carbonates and bicarbonates present. This is crucial for maintaining the pH, and for growing corals, which have skeletons made of calcium carbonate.

PH VALUES
As sea water is salty, its pH is therefore higher than that of fresh water. Pure sea
water in the middle of the ocean has a pH of 8.3- Near the coasts, this drops to about
8 or a little less, as its dilution with fresh water lowers the salt content. The pH of
sea water in an aquarium must vary between 8 and 8.5; beyond these values,
animals will experience certain physiological problems.
Variations in pH in a marine aquarium Sea water contains a great deal of calcium carbonate
and bicarbonate, and there are only slight variations in pH in a natural setting.
It is a different matter in an aquarium, a restricted habitat operating as a closed
cycle. The pH must not fall below 8, but a slow and regular decrease in this parameter
may be seen. Why? The water in an aquarium sometimes contains too much
carbon dioxide, which has a tendency to lower the pH.
What can you do? The first step is to measure the CH:  if it is under 7.2°CH, add calcium or
replace some of the water. This situation is, however, fairly rare in an aquarium without
corals, solely occupied by fish; if it is over 7.2°CH, there is an excess of
carbon dioxide. Stirring of the water must therefore be increased by using diffusers or
an electric pump.

THE NITROGEN CYCLE
This occurs in the same way in sea water and fresh water. In a marine aquarium the
vegetation is often less abundant than in fresh water, and so the nitrates, the end
products of the nitrogen cycle, will have a tendency to accumulate.
At high doses these pose little danger to fish but are toxic for invertebrates, especially
corals. It is therefore important to eliminate them by partial, but regular,
water changes.

SEA WATER

The main difference between fresh water and sea water is that the latter contains a great many salts which give it certain specific characteristics, and these must be understood by any aquarist who wishes to keep marine fish.

TEMPERATURE
The temperature of tropical sea water
varies little over the course of a day, or
even a year. Furthermore, marine fish are
generally more sensitive to abrupt
changes than freshwater fish. The temperature
in an aquarium must, therefore, be
fairly stable, remaining at around 25-26°C.

SALINITY
The most important salt found in sea
water is sodium chloride (NaCl), widely
used for domestic and culinary purposes,
but there are plenty more.
The salinity of water, i.e. the quantity of
salts in the water, is expressed in 0/00 or in
g/liter. The mean salinity of the Earth's
oceans is around 350/00, or approximately
35 g salts/liter.
Whatever its salinity, sea water boasts one
remarkable property: the proportion of
each element is constant.
Desalinated water does not therefore contain
less of one or more salts, but the
combination of salts is present in a lower
concentration.
The salinity of sea water varies according
to longitude. It is at its highest in open
seas in the tropics, it is lower near coasts
and after heavy rain, and it is at its lowest
near the poles (due to the influence of
melting snow).

DENSITY
In marine aquariums, it is not the salinity
of water which is measured, but the density
(often expressed as specific gravity,
S.G.), which can be calculated