Goldfish Question....

[kmp1191]

Ok...last Friday nite my DD(8) won a goldfish at the school carnival. We get it home....put it in a bowl and I told the kids if it was still alive in the morning, then we'd get a bowl and some food. Well, next morning we go to Walmart get the bowl and food. I also got some AquaSafe drops...I guess it's supposed to condition the water. Anyway, today I got some distilled water for the fish bowl....(not a tank, just a 1 gallon round bowl) I put the water in, then a few of the drops, then the fish. There for a while he was staying at the top....I told DH he was trying to breath....then I put some food in...and he is eating.....so here's my question....

Is it possible to suffocate a fish?

I also told DD if it survived a week, I'd get another one.....

 

[THE HAT]

I read the title and thought goldfish crackers at first, and opened it wondering what kind of question there could be on those............as to the fish....I am no help, as in our house fish have always been disposable pets......we did the whole goldfish thing for a year then gave up......good luck though

 

[java]

Good luck with the goldfish. We had a Chinese fighting fish that actually lasted almost 2 years.(those pretty looking Beta fish) They are inexpensive and actually have quite a personality - at least ours did. Oh and ONLY GET ONE!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

My mother won a goldfish at the State Fair. She kept it for awhile, then gave it to my DS. It is just a fish in a fishbowl full of water - no rocks, no plants, just water. We can't remember now how long we have had that fish, but it is AT LEAST 3 years. Our pet sitter is always amazed that the fish is still alive every time we have her come to look after our cats (and the fish).

We don't use distilled water. We have a big plastic pitcher that we fill and set aside each week. As the water sits the chlorine goes out of it, but the drops are to eliminate any remaining chlorine. We scoop the fish out with a plastic cup, dump the water from his bowl, rinse out the bowl, refill it, and put the fish back in. DS feeds him a pinch of food once a day.

I know he stays at the top when his water is getting murky and needs to be changed. Once we change it he swims around and is very perky. I don't think you could suffocate him.

Good luck with your fish!

 

[themarquis]

No advice here -- goldfish are very hard to keep alive.

As a kid, I had one that lived for about five years (unheard of among goldfish!). It was a carnival fish, believe it or not, and the thing just wouldn't die. He just kept growing and growing and growing ... in the end he was kind of huge ... like the size of a tangerine. Sadly, he um ... chose to end his own life by flinging himself out of his bowl one day . I guess life as a goldfish was pretty depressing

If the goldfish doesn't live, you might want to get another kind of fish called a betta (also known as "Siamese Fighting Fish" ). Don't worry -- they don't fight (unless you put more than one male in the same bowl). They are extremely hardy and require very little oxygen, so they can live in a tiny bowl. They are also really pretty. I had a number of bettas from elementary school through college. They generally will live for a year or more, even if not scrupulously well-cared for

 

[kmp1191]

Thanks! I just dumped the distilled water out, put tap water in, with some drops....we'll see what happens!
I have a feeling this one won't last as long as yours!!!

marie

 

[piglet too]

One that we won at last years PTA Fun Fair is still alive. We won two more this year and they seem to be doing good too.

We have a small little tank with a filter. We added rock and also bought a cleaner fish to help keep the tank, well cleaner. We use water from the tap and add as the level gets low.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

When my dd was 3 she played a game at the local carnival and won a fish. We got home, but it in the bowl with some water and that's it. She proudly named the fish Anastasia (that was the big movie out that year - sure you all remember it). Well...my dd is now 12 and that d**n fish is STILL ALIVE!!!!!! We don't condition the water, don't have a filter, just a big fishbowl, fill it with tap water, dump Anastasia back in and wallah - done. We even clean the bowl with dawn detergent and hot water. I keep buying the fish food in the tiniest packaging b/c I think that anyday now it will be her last. I shoulda bought the gigantic size at Costco LOL! I think this fish is gonna outlast us all. Who ever knew of a carnival goldfish to live that long????? When she goes (or he for that matter) no more fish for us.

 

[grlpwrd]

I am kinda cringing at the thought that the fish may have died, but just so you know - you have to acclimate the water and the fish. The water has to be conditioned and the fish's bag should be placed in the water to acclimate it. You also should never place the chemicals in the tank with the fish in it.

I have 3 fishtanks and here's my fave forum called FishGeeks: http://www.aquaria.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=PNphpBB2&file=index

Poor fishy...

 

[maelstrom]

No advice on goldfish, but betta fish are really fun. I had three of them (in seperate tanks; they'll fight to the death if they're in the same tank). They're really pretty and they have personalities; Manfred was my little baby, Gollum was grumpy (someone stole his precious, I suppose), and Nemo (as in Captain) thought himself quite pretty. I kept them each in a small one-gallon tank with no gravel or decoration, and changed their water once a week. I used a turkey baster to suck out dirt and excess food if it got too dirty during the week. If I put two of their tanks next to each other and they saw each other, they'd start flaring and getting all angsty.

 

[Mischa]

No advice here -- goldfish are very hard to keep alive.

As a kid, I had one that lived for about five years (unheard of among goldfish!). It was a carnival fish, believe it or not, and the thing just wouldn't die. He just kept growing and growing and growing ... in the end he was kind of huge ... like the size of a tangerine. Sadly, he um ... chose to end his own life by flinging himself out of his bowl one day . I guess life as a goldfish was pretty depressing

When I was a kid my parents bought me a couple of goldfish, but we had the tank, filter ... the works. They were huge! I think we had them for close to 15 years (I'm not kidding!) Then we got these Black Mollies. My dad thought it would be cool to cover the tank, the started to die (I think he was sufficating the fish at that point but you couldn't tell my dad anything, he knew "everything" ) Anyway, he finally uncovered them, and every day (until all were gone) we'd find a fish on the floor in front of the tank. Guess they couldn't take it anymore.

Good luck with the fish!

 

[Par8hed]

Why not dress in 1950's retro clothing and swallow the fish?

 

[kmp1191]

Ok....the fish is still alive!...so far.
Oh, and guess what else I just did....we went and got another one!!
I had already told told the kids if it lived a week, we'd get another one...one of these days I'll learn to keep my mour shut. The one we got tonight is a feeder fish....($.12)!...it's a little bit smaller than the other one, but the others at PetSmart were all much bigger. Oh well, we'll see what surprises we have in the morning.

 

[Dr Pepsi]

I used to buy goldfish and feed them to my pet turtle.

But I guess telling you that doesn't help keep yours alive.

 

[kmp1191]

Want a couple of goldfish??

 

[Dr Pepsi]

Want a couple of goldfish??

LOL...nah, I don't have turtles anymore. It was fun, though, just like having the discovery channel in my home.

 

[kmp1191]

We did the turtle thing too. Had 2 red-eared snapping turtles...(Princess & Vader)(they were about the size of 1/2 dollars) I had to separate them when feeding because otherwise Vader wouldn't let Princess eat. Also....the really cool thing was I could hold the food pellet in my hand and Vader would snatch it out of my fingertips!! Little bugger had a good grip too!!

They went to live with some friends when we moved....still miss those stupid things!

 

[N&B'smom]

We had some fish and then my DD got a goldfish at a magic show. (it miraculously appeared in a bottle) We've had it for over a year now and it gets along very well with our other fish.

Shelby

 

[sunkist]

We went to Petsmart last weekend I told them we wanted to buy a goldfish, they asked if we had a 20 gal tank, I said no we were going to put it in a goldfish bowl (the one they sell that has a picture of a goldfish and says "Goldfish Bowl") THe lady kinda got a little rude and told me it would die in the bowl that they need a huge 20 gal tank that they will get huge, and would not sell us a goldfish.

 

[kmp1191]

WOW!! A $.12 goldfish in a 20 gallon tank!!! I think I would have asked for a manager or something!!!
Man...if the guy last night had told me I needed a 20 gallon tank I would have laughed at him!

Just so ya'll know....both fish are still alive in the 1 gallon bowl!