Dirty Goldfish Water

[~sillycow~]

We bought a gold fish about 6 weeks ago and are having to change the water every 36 hours or so. It goes really cloudy so much so it's hard to spot the pish and when you empty the bowl, the water absolutely stinks like its been sat there for months (like amonia a bit) i've thoroughly hosed down the stones with our power shower and cleaned everything else but to no avail - any suggestions?

[~sillycow~]

Spot the pish??!! You know what i mean!!

[shaneystar2]

i am no expert on this but I had golfdish for many years ..another one of my sons' "hobbies" that Mum was left to clean out and see to ! They need oxygen ...a goldfish in a bowl with nothing to aerate the water is going to make a lot of muck. If you are going to keep it alive put it in a proper tank with a filter and an air pump and get it a couple of friends . I had to give mine away to a neighbour when we moved three years ago as it wasn't feasible to move them with us. These are the fish that my sons had fifteen odd years ago and they are still going strong !.

[wildwood]

Every 36 hours? That is quite often.

One cause could be that you are feeding your goldpish (sorry:-) FAR too much. Feed only as much as would fit on the fish's eye daily, if it is in a heated room perhaps twice as much. Watch it when you feed. The fish should eat it all in 5 minutes. The surplus food is turning the water into a bacterial soup overnight.

Is the bowl shielded from the sun??? It is amazing how quickly the water will discolour in the sun.

To add to shaneystar2's commend. A normal fish tank is much preferred. The traditional goldfish bowl is the worst environment you could keep a fish in. It is the surface area that counts in the oxygen exchange with the air. A pump/filter is even better, but filters are not miracle implements. Their fucntion is in addition to good fishkeeping, not instead of.

[B00]

Hi

Hope your fish gets his aquarium soon :-) They really cheap from Ebay.

found this too.

http://petcaretips.net/cleaning-goldfish-aquar ium.html

[~sillycow~]

Thanks all!! I have to say as of today the water hasn't been changed since Thursday and so far (touch wood) its still nice and clear. I think you might be right Wild wood, we only feed it once a day but as you said Shaney star, i have ended up taking on the job of looking after it and i think perhaps i might have given it too much food!! (oops). Its not on teh sunlight or near the heat. I think though we will have to invest in a proper tank and filter. Mind you, the fish was just a passing phase for my daughter like the rabbits and cats etc!!